Back-of-house staff agency in Portsmouth
Kitchen porter cover for Portsmouth hospitality businesses — same-day where you need it, contracted weekly where you want stability. A naval-base city with a hospitality market built around three distinct cores: Gunwharf Quays' waterfront destination dining, Southsea's seafront independent restaurants, and the Royal Navy contract-catering operation at HMNB Portsmouth. Our operatives know Portsmouth — the gunwharf quays and spinnaker tower waterfront destination dining pattern, the southsea albert road, marmion road and palmerston road independent crowd, the local kitchen culture.
Why Portsmouth kitchens need boh staff
Gunwharf Quays venues are modern-build (post-2001) with designed-in TR19-compliant extract systems. Southsea is Victorian/Edwardian seafront conversion with salt-air corrosion accelerating stainless-steel wear. Old Portsmouth is constrained heritage-narrow-streets. Naval base catering runs at production scale with cleared-staff-only access. Service rhythms in Portsmouth demand reliable BOH cover — a naval-base city with a hospitality market built around three distinct cores: gunwharf quays' waterfront destination dining, southsea's seafront independent restaurants, and the royal navy contract-catering operation at hmnb portsmouth. Our Portsmouth pool is built around that pattern.
Portsmouth venue clusters we cover
We work across the major Portsmouth hospitality clusters: gunwharf quays and spinnaker tower waterfront destination dining; southsea albert road, marmion road and palmerston road independent; old portsmouth historic dining and quayside pubs; hmnb portsmouth naval base contract catering. Portsmouth waterfront and Southsea kitchens face salt-air corrosion that accelerates extract steelwork degradation and increases cleaning frequency requirements. Most coastal Portsmouth operators run 6-monthly TR19 cleans rather than annual. Naval base contract catering needs cleared operatives — schedule lead time is longer.
Access and out-of-hours work in Portsmouth
Out-of-hours access via the M27 and A27. Gunwharf Quays service vehicles routed via the dedicated service road off St George's Road — pre-booked windows only. HMNB Portsmouth requires security-cleared operatives and prior site-access approval; our naval-cleared engineering team handles base work specifically. KP shifts in Portsmouth run from breakfast prep to close — we send operatives kitted in non-slip kitchen shoes and clean uniform.
Back-of-house staff agency
- ✓Kitchen porters and pot-wash
- ✓Plate-up runners (banqueting, large events)
- ✓Cellar and bar-back operatives
- ✓Linen and stillage runners
- ✓Event BOH teams (5–50 operatives with on-site lead)
- ✓Direct PAYE employment — no umbrella, no IR35 risk
From enquiry to sign-off.
- 1. Define the role
Tell us what BOH role, shift pattern, kitchen type. We confirm availability and rate.
- 2. Vetted operative deployed
Operatives arrive kitted and briefed. Single shift, week or rolling cover.
- 3. Weekly invoicing
Timesheet signed by duty manager. Weekly invoice. No hidden fees.
£22–£44/hr outside London · £24–£52/hr in London · Kitchen porter, waiting and bar staff from £22/hr (£24/hr London); commis chef from £24/hr (£28/hr London); chef de partie from £29/hr (£34/hr London); sous chef from £36/hr (£42/hr London); head chef cover from £44/hr (£52/hr London). All-in including PAYE, NI, holiday pay and pension.
Prices shown exclude VAT. London rates apply within the M25. All other UK cities use standard rates.
Get a quote for PortsmouthBOH staff in Portsmouth — questions
Do you cover all of Portsmouth? +
Yes — we cover every postcode in Portsmouth, including the major clusters: Gunwharf Quays and Spinnaker Tower waterfront destination dining and Southsea Albert Road, Marmion Road and Palmerston Road independent. Out-of-hours access patterns vary by cluster; we coordinate access ahead of every visit.
What does a kitchen porter cost in Portsmouth? +
Standard rates apply across Portsmouth — £22–£44/hr outside London · £24–£52/hr in London. All PAYE, no umbrella, single invoice.
Which EHO covers Portsmouth? +
Portsmouth City Council Environmental Health covers civilian venues. HMNB Portsmouth catering operations sit under MoD food safety oversight in parallel to civilian EHO — separate documentation and audit pipelines apply. Standard 18–24 month inspection cycles for civilian venues.
What BOH roles do you cover? +
Kitchen porters, pot-wash, plate-up, cellar, bar-back, linen and stillage, event BOH teams. Not chefs — we partner with chef-specialist agencies for that.
Are operatives employed or self-employed? +
PAYE-employed by us. No umbrella companies, no IR35 risk for you, single invoice.
Can you supply an event BOH team? +
Yes — 5 to 50 operatives with an on-site lead. Regular cover for hotels, corporate venues and exhibition centres nationwide.
Get a same-day quote for Portsmouth
BOH staff across Portsmouth. Same-day quotes, scheduled within 48 hours.