Cook in Basingstoke

The role of the Cook is to prepare and serve healthy, balanced meals to residents in our homes. You will oversee weekly budgets and shopping lists. On occasion you will work alongside other staff or residents in the kitchen, ensuring everyone’s safety is paramount.

Key duties

• Creating appropriate, exciting and well-balanced menus for residents
• Preparing and serving meals for the home
• Ensuring all special dietary needs are followed
• Familiarising yourself with residents’ allergens
• Preparing food to a high standard
• Maintaining relevant records and controlling stock rotation
• Ensuring the kitchen is always clean and hygienic
• Completing weekly shopping while managing the budget and adhering to safety standards
• Setting a professional example with all working methods, procedures, personal presentation, timekeeping and hygiene
• Maintaining health and safety at work practices at all times

Hours and Salary

Hours: 27.5 per week
Salary: £12.25 per hour

Qualifications and Experience

Essential: experience in food preparation, knowledge of safety and hygiene standards, ability to follow dietary requirements and manage budgets. Strong organisational and communication skills.

Personal Attributes

• Organised and willing to learn
• Committed and enthusiastic approach
• The ability to maintain the required quality and service standards
• A can-do attitude
• Satisfactory written and verbal communication skills

Benefits

• Holiday entitlement - 28 days inclusive of Bank Holidays
• Sick pay entitlement
• Employee Assistance Programme – health and wellbeing support for staff
• Refer a friend scheme – £500 payment for recruiting a friend
• Choiceversary – vouchers at 5, 10 and 15 years of service
• Christmas bonus – vouchers for all staff
• Life insurance
• Annual staff awards
• Access to in-house training programmes
• Paid day off on your birthday
• Monthly prize draw for frontline staff
• Blue Light Card eligibility
• Support with healthcare costs and access to financial wellbeing tools
• Access to Wagestream for financial flexibility
• Minimum service periods may apply to some benefits

Who are we?

Choice Care is one of the UK’s leading residential care providers for people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health conditions. With over 30 years of experience, we are at the forefront of national best practice, with among the highest CQC ratings of any comparable organisation. Our homes are like a second family for everyone we support. Each home is a close-knit community, with its own unique personality, built on trust and unconditional care. Our colleagues build close bonds with the people they care for, helping to create enduring, positive relationships that build confidence and self-esteem. In every Choice Care home there is a strong emphasis on living life to the full and having fun, with purposeful daily activities based on individual preferences and capabilities, along with regular social events, projects, outings and holiday breaks.

Where will you work?

Stoke Lodge is a large, detached house in a residential cul-de-sac, one mile from Basingstoke town centre. The home provides support for up to nine men of varying ages and needs, with a dedicated building for day activities, IT and computing, art and crafts, and a sensory area. The home has its own transport for local travel and leisure, with opportunities for outings further afield.