Keeper of The Catch - Culinary Lead

The Opportunity:

CODE is developing a new premium food and drink experience within our Edinburgh hospitality portfolio, which currently includes The Court, The Lost Close, and The Pend.

We’re looking for a talented, commercially minded culinary lead to help shape and launch a new seafood‑led guest experience in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town. This is a hands‑on role for someone who understands exceptional Scottish produce, can build strong supplier relationships, and knows how to deliver quality, consistency and pace in a premium but accessible format.

This is not a traditional restaurant role. It is a chance to influence a new concept from the ground up, from sourcing and menu development through to stock control, service flow, team training and guest experience.

We need someone who can make the food side work beautifully, commercially and consistently.

What You’ll Do

• Shape the food offer
  Develop and maintain a short, seasonal, seafood‑led menu that is simple, brilliant and led by the quality of the produce.
• Build supplier relationships
  Source well, negotiate confidently, and build trusted relationships with fishmongers, shellfish suppliers, smokehouses and Scottish producers.
• Own the standards
  Oversee food safety, storage, preparation, presentation and consistency across the operation.
• Support the guest experience
  Work with the wider CODE team to create a food and drink offer that feels distinctive, premium and rooted in Scottish provenance.
• Curate complementary drinks
  Help shape a concise drinks list that pairs intelligently with the food offer and sits comfortably within the wider CODE portfolio.
• Lead a small team
  Recruit, train and manage a compact kitchen and service team, setting clear standards without unnecessary fuss.
• Manage the numbers
  Take responsibility for food cost, GP, waste, stock control and supplier spend. This is a premium product, so the margins need to work.

Who You Are

• You have genuine experience sourcing and working with high-quality Scottish seafood.
• You understand when the product should be the star and when to get out of its way.
• You’ve run, led or helped develop a kitchen, food counter, seafood offer, pop‑up, events food operation or premium casual concept.
• You understand speed, consistency and quality in equal measure.
• You are comfortable with supplier negotiation, stock control and food safety compliance.
• You can think commercially without compromising the product.
• You care about provenance, sustainability and Scottish food culture.
• You are hands‑on, ego‑free and excited by the idea of helping build something new

The Details

• Location:
  
  Edinburgh Old Town
• Company: CODE
• Reporting to:
  Head of Experience and CEO
• Contract:
  
  Open to salaried full‑time, freelance or consultancy arrangement initially
• Start:
  As soon as the right person is found
• Salary:
  Competitive and commensurate with experience. To be discussed at interview.

The initial phase will involve supplier conversations, menu development, operational planning and preparation ahead of launch.