Catering Services Rating

The Royal Navy represents the United Kingdom worldwide, forging new alliances and maintaining old ones. Being a Catering Services Rating in the Royal Navy is a career that is literally miles from anything you could do at home. Travelling around the world, your job will range from cooking for the ship's company on board warships or Royal Marines on land operations, to serving a fine dining experience to politically influential VIPs and royalty.

Wherever you may be in the world, you'll perform a pivotal role: making sure our most important asset - our people - have the fuel they need to get the job done.

Our world-class training means you'll learn all the ins and outs of running a highly efficient commercial kitchen, including responsibility for ordering, receiving, and accounting for provisions to sustain the menus you'll write, as well as learning how to offer the highest level of premium front of house experience and the behind the scenes organisation that enables it. Be part of the team whose role is a lot more than just food. Your crewmates, at all levels, look forward to mealtimes, so keeping high morale and optimised health are an essential part of the job.

Learn additional, crucial skills as an integral part of the ship's advanced medical, fire fighting and damage control teams. Travel the world, learning all about new ingredients and cuisines to incorporate into your culinary repertoire.

Pay & benefits

• A starting salary of at least £26,334
• Potential earnings of £64,866 as your career progresses
• An excellent pension scheme
• Six weeks of paid holiday every year
• Free medical and dental care
• Skills for life

Qualifications you'll gain

• Study for GCSEs, A-Levels, an apprenticeship, or a degree
• Gain specialist vocational qualifications as your career progresses including an apprenticeship 12 months after completion of training

Skills you'll develop

• You’ll learn every aspect of cooking, running a commercial kitchen and how to deliver a hospitality event of the highest standard, regardless of the operational pressures of what is going on around you
• A pin-sharp eye for detail, collaborative teamwork, leadership and management skills, and the ability to communicate at all levels

Eligibility

• You’ll need to be aged between 16 to 44 (You can start your application from 15 years and 9 months old however you must be at least 16 years old on day of entry to basic training)
• No prior qualifications are required to enter the CS specialisation; however the CS Fast Track scheme is only available to those with prior catering qualifications or experience
• You must be a United Kingdom national, or Commonwealth citizen, or Dual National. Dual Nationality restrictions do apply
• A Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18 and 28 (between 17 and 27 if under 18)

Skills & interests

• A keen interest in high standards of food and hospitality
• A cool head for the pressures of a busy kitchen
• A problem-solver, with a common sense approach, who can work well as part of a team
• A real sense of adventure, with a high level of physical and mental fitness

Joining process

• Step 1: Submit an application. Once you’ve registered your interest in a Profession, and have satisfied some basic eligibility criteria, you will be sent an online application form.
• Step 2: Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA). You’ll be tested on: Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Work Rate, Spatial Reasoning, Electrical Comprehension and Mechanical Comprehension. You will need to attempt all sections of the DAA. To help you prepare, you can practise the DAA.
• Step 3: Interview. A formal Selection Interview to confirm suitability of your chosen Profession followed by discussion of your preferred roles that are available within that Profession, including Submarine Service. It will also cover the initial stages of the Security application. This is normally conducted using your own device over the Shine video platform.
• Step 4: Candidate Preparation Course (CPC). This is a four-day induction to life in the Royal Navy, which includes assessments of your Fitness and your Medical eligibility, it is a pass or fail course.
• Step 5: Start training. Once you’ve passed all eligibility criteria, including a Security Check, you’ll be offered a place at HMS Raleigh to commence your initial training. Allocation to a specific role within your chosen profession will occur during the latter part of initial training.

Career progression

• Phase one training: 10 weeks at HMS Raleigh, learning basic military skills
• Phase two training: Develop your professional skills and start your Apprenticeship
• First year: Complete catering task book, deploy using new ingredients
• First promotion - Leading Hand: Leading Rates Command Course, manage galley and junior Caterers
• Second promotion - Petty Officer: Become a Caterer and take on a senior managerial role