Guest Chef Residency - Live-Fire Pop-Up - Manchester - Profit Share + Fee & Exposure
A one-month headline residency for a Guest Chef to put their name to a premium-casual live-fire kitchen in Manchester, with a full team behind them.
The Role
A rare opportunity for an established or rising Guest Chef to headline a limited-season outdoor dining series in Manchester. Each month, one Guest Chef creates a menu built around charcoal grills and open fire, then hands it to a strong in-house brigade to deliver. The season runs from mid-November to May, with one Guest Chef residency per month.
The Operation
- Premium-casual outdoor restaurant on a large site, 60-80 covers
- Wednesday to Sunday service, with multiple sittings at weekends
- Kitchen built for live-fire cooking: charcoal grills and open fire, plus fryer and flat-top
- Established operator with existing Manchester sites, suppliers and central support
- In-house Head Chef and Chefs de Partie to run the menu day to day
- Opening and closing events to bookend the season, with marketing and social content throughout
The Guest Chef Role
- Create a live-fire menu at a premium-casual price point
- Set up the kitchen, recipes, systems and standards at the start of the residency
- Train the in-house team so the food lands properly when the Guest Chef is not on the pass
- Three to four visits across the month, ideally cooking one or two services a week
- Support press, photography, filming and social content around the residency
- No relocation and no investment required, with the option to bring members of your own team
The Ideal Guest Chef
- A recognised or emerging name with a following, through a restaurant, TV, cookbooks, press or social media
- Strong in live-fire, grill, barbecue or produce-led cooking
- Premium-casual or modern restaurant background
- New to the Manchester market, whether from London, other UK regions or abroad
- Comfortable trusting and leading an existing team
- Commercially minded and open to a profit-share model
- Developing a new concept, or keen to test a menu before a future opening
The Package
- Profit share on the residency month plus a paid fee for time on site, with full figures shared by the operator
- Travel and accommodation support available
- A low-risk platform to test a concept in front of a new audience
- Marketing, PR and social exposure in one of the UK's busiest food cities
- Limited slots: one Guest Chef per month, with residencies available from November into spring 2027
- Potential involvement in a future permanent live-fire restaurant project
If you are a Guest Chef with a live-fire or premium-casual following and want a month in the spotlight in Manchester, send your CV or a short note on your concept to Olly at COREcruitment dot com today.
