Cook in Cambridge

We're looking for a skilled and quality focused Cook to join our catering and facilities team at our Hospice in Milton, Cambridge. This rewarding role offers the opportunity for your work to have a meaningful impact on the people we care for every day at the hospice and those who work or visit there.

As the Cook, you will support the planning, preparation and service of high quality meals for a range of people using the site, including our service users, family members, staff, volunteers and visitors. Working alongside the Lead Chef, you'll help maintain a well run kitchen that meets food safety standards and delivers a high standard of catering in a relaxed, welcoming setting.

Main duties of the job:

• To assist in the planning, preparation and delivery of high quality meals to service users, staff and volunteers taking account of relevant dietary needs or allergies and complying with health & safety law and best practice.
• Covering all aspects of work in the kitchen and dining room including catering for functions, meetings and events held by the charity while maintaining the highest standard of hygiene.

Job responsibilities:

• Ensure that all food is prepared and served within a clean and hygienic environment adhering to food safety and health and safety regulations at all times and that records are kept up-to-date.
• Assisting the lead chef and deputising in their absence.
• Ensure that systems such as refrigerator temperature monitors and food labelling are carried out at all times.
• Support the development of menus alongside the lead Chef to ensure both nutritional and presentational considerations are taken into account based on service users' needs.
• In lead chef's absence, responsible for ordering supplies, designing recipes and menus, all food preparation, complying with daily cleaning and hygiene requirements as well as deep cleans.
• To support and develop other members of the kitchen staff as required.
• Ensure stock control & rotation practices are maintained and that food is stored in optimum conditions.
• Ensure staff, volunteers & service users have a positive catering experience, updating menus when appropriate to do so in line with current trends.
• Maintain a safe and hygienic kitchen environment.
• Ensure that children with special dietary needs have meals prepared in accordance with guidance received from the Care Team.
• To ensure the COSHH regulations and risk assessments are fully complied with, data sheets of products are received and shared with colleagues, risk assessments carried out and ensure that all statutory kitchen records and audit records are maintained.
• To provide all records for inspections as and when required.
• Ensure that all relevant documentation is completed on a daily basis and provided for inspection when required.
• When there are no catering requirements in the hospice, the Cook may possibly be required to support the facilities team in their duties, which may include site management, grounds management or housekeeping duties.

Person Specification:

• Experience within a small to medium scale professional kitchen/catering setting or similar food-preparation environment.
• Experience of providing a high standard of food preparation and production control.
• Experience and ability to meet food hygiene requirements.
• Experience cooking in a small to medium scale restaurant/pub/bistro environment.
• Experience of creating weekly menu plans.
• Able to demonstrate working experience of preparing food to meet special dietary needs.

Skills and abilities:

• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Basic IT skills including email & word.

Other requirements:

• Current full, valid driving license.
• Basic Food Hygiene Certificate.
• Able to demonstrate awareness of preparing food to meet specific dietary needs including allergens.
• City & Guilds, Catering for the Commercial Industry qualification 706/1 & 706/2 or equivalent NVQ 1 or 2.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.