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Job description

Wild IS Earth — Plant-Based Fermentation-Forward Chef / Kitchen Lead

Location: Kentish Town, London

Hours: Part-time to start, with room to grow

Ideal: Level 2 / Level 3 Food Safety trained, or willing to complete

Wild IS Earth is a London kombucha microbrewery, botanical bar and closed-loop fermentation space in Kentish Town.

We serve small-batch live kombucha on tap and in reusable 330ml bottles, alongside botanical kocktails, booch mocktails, low-intervention wines, UK craft beers and organic plant-based aperitivo bites. Rooted in circular practice, we transform spent tea into mushrooms and surplus SCOBY into biomaterials for art, design and experimental food.

A home for fermentation, creativity and community.

We are now looking for an aspiring, plant-based, fermentation-forward and wild-thinking chef to help fully operate and manage the WISE Kitchen.

This is an opportunity for someone who wants to grow with a young, creative food and drink space — someone who can bring skill, imagination, organisation and care into a forward-thinking kitchen rooted in plants, fermentation, seasonality and low-waste practice.

The Role

You would help lead the day-to-day running of the WISE Kitchen, working closely with Livia to develop and deliver a small but distinctive plant-based food offering.

This includes:

• 100% Organic plant-based aperitivo bites
• Spelt focaccia and seasonal toppings
• Mushroom pâté and fungi-led dishes
• Fermented vegetables, pickles, sauces and condiments
• Cake of the week using organic, seasonal ingredients and ancestral grains
• Experimental toppings and small plates that connect with the botanical bar
• Dishes that celebrate local produce, wild ingredients and seasonal goodness

The aim is to build a food offering that feels deeply connected to Wild IS Earth: botanical, fermented, sensual, nourishing, creative and rooted in circular practice.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for someone who can eventually take ownership of the kitchen rhythm.

You should be excited by:

• Plant-based cooking
• Fermentation, pickling, koji, miso, sourdough or lacto-ferments
• Wild and foraged ingredients
• Mushrooms and fungi-led food
• Seasonal, organic and local produce
• Ancestral grains such as spelt, rye, einkorn, heritage wheat and buckwheat
• Simple but beautiful aperitivo-style food
• Cakes, bakes or sweet specials
• Low-waste kitchen systems
• Creative collaboration
• A small, independent, community-led venue

Ideally, you will have Level 2 or Level 3 Food Safety, or be willing to complete it before starting.

You do not need to be a fully established chef with a perfect CV, but you do need to be clean, capable, responsible, organised, creative and ready to take initiative.

Responsibilities

You will be involved in:

• Preparing and plating the WISE food menu
• Managing kitchen prep and service during opening hours
• Keeping the kitchen clean, organised and compliant
• Supporting HACCP and food hygiene systems
• Managing stock, ingredients and prep lists
• Developing seasonal specials
• Creating cake-of-the-week options
• Working with kombucha, spent tea, mushrooms, ferments and botanical ingredients
• Helping shape a food identity that sits naturally alongside the bar and microbrewery

Current Opening Hours

Wild IS Earth currently opens:

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday | 4pm – 11pm Saturday | 12pm – 11:30pm

We also host kombucha tastings, aperitivo evenings, workshops, private hire and creative events.

There is room for this role to grow as the business grows.

What Makes This Different

Wild IS Earth is not a traditional bar or restaurant.

It is a working kombucha microbrewery, botanical bar and creative fermentation space with a developing closed-loop ecosystem:

• Kombucha brewed on site
• Mushrooms grown on spent tea
• SCOBY transformed into food and biomaterials
• Organic and seasonal ingredients
• Plant-based aperitivo bites
• Creative events, tastings and collaborations
• A former family-run Italian patisserie evolving into a next-generation fermentation space

This is a kitchen for someone who wants to be part of something alive, experimental and meaningful.

Who This Would Suit

This role would suit an aspiring or emerging chef who wants to grow into a kitchen lead position within a creative, plant-forward venue.

You might be a plant-based chef, fermentation enthusiast, supper club cook, baker, wild food lover, or someone with strong kitchen experience who wants to move into a more meaningful and creative food environment.

You should be practical, reliable and able to work independently, while also enjoying collaboration and experimentation.

Application information

Please send:

• A short introduction about yourself
• Your CV or relevant experience
• Any photos, menus, socials or examples of food you’ve made
• Your availability
• Whether you have Level 2 or Level 3 Food Safety

If this might be you, then please contact Livia at Wild IS Earth emailing your CV to askanything@wisekombucha.com along with a brief paragraph describing yourself and why this role suits you. 

📍 Wild IS Earth 327 Kentish Town Road London NW5 2TJ

🌿 Website: www.wildisearth.com Instagram / TikTok: @wildisearth

If you’re a plant-based, fermentation-curious chef ready to help shape a forward-thinking kitchen, I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s grow something wild, seasonal and alive.

Thank you and look forward to hearing from you!

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