Cook in Newtownabbey

£13.37 per hour & great benefits. Full-time position available at 42.5 hours per week, working within the hours of Monday to Sunday, 5:00am to 10:00pm, with a degree of flexibility required.

Our Glenwell store in Newtownabbey will be a hub of activity, offering convenience, value and excellent customer service to our local community and visitors. The store will have an impressive range of grocery, fresh and frozen produce and will include an amazing deli offering.

We are looking for a special candidate who will lead our hard-working and friendly team, assisting the chef in the safe and hygienic preparation and production of high quality meals sold in our store and maintaining great hygiene standards by keeping the prep and service areas clean. You will be supported by a team of brilliant people, and there are fantastic career development and progression opportunities.

As Cook you will:

• Set up workstations with all needed ingredients and cooking equipment.
• Check quality of ingredients and report any concerns to the Chef.
• Prepare ingredients to use in cooking (peeling and chopping vegetables and cutting meat etc as required).
• Follow recipes and methods in a very strict manner to ensure the highest possible quality and consistency of food production.
• Portion, arrange and garnish food to the required specification.
• Cook food as required using various utensils and kitchen appliances.
• Exercise and enforce constant watch over Health & Safety, Security, Discipline and Due Diligence.
• Carry out food safety control checks in all areas to ensure all standards are being maintained and recorded.
• Prepare and cook all food in line with company procedure and Health and Safety regulations.
• Ensure a high standard of cleanliness in the Kitchen area is maintained at all times.
• Be accountable for the enforcement of all legislative demands/standards of fire, health, hygiene and safety and these conditions are strictly adhered to.
• Receive goods-in ensuring all legislative requirements, quality specification and shelf life of products is adhered to.
• Ensure effective stock rotation practices are in place to use older products first and reduce wastage.
• Assist the Chef with stock control procedures including stocktaking & ordering.
• Undertake other duties as required for the role.
• Work closely with and assist other members of the team with other duties of a similar nature or level of responsibility as required.

Skills for Success

The minimum criteria you will need is:

• Good standard of education and very good communication skills, ability to work under pressure and apt in multiskilling, have the ability to follow instructions and great attention to detail.
• At least 2 years experience in a catering environment.
• Previous experience of all types of food preparation.
• Knowledge of Food Safety practices and procedures - minimum Level 2 qualification in Food Safety.
• Commercial Awareness, and ability to deliver on Key Performance Indicators such as sales, costs and profitability.
• You must be aged 18 years or over (for store legislative requirements).

As part of this role, it will be important that you feel aligned with the values that we live and work by:

• Ambition: We always strive to be better. We seek new challenges and look for ways to do things better.
• Customer First: We provide exceptional service. We put customers at the heart of everything and support our communities.
• Teamwork: We succeed together. We help colleagues to succeed, and we share our knowledge and skills.
• Integrity: We are fair, honest and ethical. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are inclusive and champion diversity.

The impact you can make with Henderson Group goes far beyond your day to day. You will be part of a business supporting defibrillator installations and school sports days. You will have the balance necessary to enjoy your job and your life. We will help you to feel proud of what you do and achieve. And we will be here to celebrate your success. Our business has been recognised externally for delivering excellence in employment. We value employee development and heavily invest in our people. Benefits include attractive pay, employee assistance programme, discount scheme throughout UK/Ireland, staff discount (grocery/fuel) at SPAR/EUROSPAR Henderson Group company-owned stores and many more.

Shortlisted candidates will have the opportunity to discuss working hours and shift patterns in further detail at interview. Completed applications must be submitted online by midnight on Monday 12th January 2026. Communication on the progress of your application will be made via email and the career site, therefore please check regularly. We are an equal opportunities employer.