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.