Care Home Chef

Job Description: Chef/Cook

Location: Castle Grange, 16a Dean Road, Scarborough

Job Type: Permanent, Full-time (36 hours per week, including occasional evenings and weekends)

Sponsorship: Unfortunately, sponsorship is not currently available.

Make a Difference Every Day - Join Our Team at Castle Grange!

At Castle Grange, we believe that good food is about so much more than what's on the plate. It's about bringing people together, creating enjoyable experiences and making every day special for our residents.

We are looking for a passionate, enthusiastic and caring Chef/Cook to join our friendly team in Scarborough.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who takes pride in preparing delicious, nutritious meals and understands the importance of catering for individual tastes, preferences and dietary needs.

You'll be joining a supportive team where kindness, compassion and respect are at the heart of everything we do. Your contribution will play an important part in ensuring our residents enjoy a varied, balanced and enjoyable dining experience.

If you love cooking and want to use your skills to make a genuine difference to the lives of older people, we'd love to hear from you!

What You'll Be Doing

As our Chef/Cook, you will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the kitchen, ensuring residents receive high-quality meals and an excellent catering service.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Planning, preparing and cooking a varied selection of fresh, nutritious and appetising meals, taking into account residents' individual preferences, requests and special dietary requirements.
• Following the St Mary's Care Homes Good Food Guide and ensuring meals meet the nutritional needs of our residents.
• Creating interesting and varied menus that offer choice, quality and enjoyment.
• Providing leadership, guidance and support to the kitchen team, promoting a positive and welcoming working environment.
• Supervising kitchen staff, carrying out appraisals and supporting their ongoing development.
• Assisting with recruitment, interviewing, induction and training of kitchen team members.
• Ensuring full compliance with food safety legislation, HACCP, COSHH, Health and Safety and Environmental Health requirements.
• Maintaining excellent standards of kitchen hygiene and cleanliness, including implementing and monitoring cleaning schedules.
• Ensuring food stocks are maintained, supplies are ordered from approved suppliers and stock rotation procedures are followed.
• Monitoring food quality, portion control and minimising food waste.
• Ensuring kitchen equipment is maintained in a safe and satisfactory working condition and reporting any faults or maintenance requirements.
• Working closely with the Home Manager and wider care team to ensure residents' catering needs are met.
• Attending resident and relative meetings, listening to feedback and making improvements to the catering service wherever possible.
• Ensuring residents feel listened to, valued and involved in decisions about their meals and dining experience.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who is:

• Passionate about cooking and creating enjoyable dining experiences.
• Friendly, approachable and caring, with a genuine interest in working with older people.
• Experienced in preparing and cooking nutritious meals for a large number of people.
• Knowledgeable about special diets, food allergies and nutritional requirements.
• Organised and confident in managing kitchen operations and food ordering.
• Able to lead, motivate and support a kitchen team.
• Knowledgeable about food hygiene, health and safety and relevant food safety legislation.
• Reliable, flexible and able to work independently as well as part of a team.
• Positive, enthusiastic and committed to maintaining high standards.

Previous experience within a care home, nursing home or similar catering environment would be an advantage. Relevant catering qualifications and food hygiene certification are desirable.

Most importantly, we want someone who takes pride in their work and understands how much a good meal can mean to someone.

What We Offer

At St Mary's Care Group, we believe our colleagues are just as important as the people we care for.

When you join our team at Castle Grange, you'll benefit from:

• A friendly, supportive and welcoming working environment.
• A rewarding role where you can make a genuine difference every day.
• Opportunities for ongoing training and professional development.
• Opportunities to develop your catering and leadership skills.
• The chance to be part of a close-knit team that values compassion, teamwork and respect.
• The satisfaction of knowing that your cooking helps make residents' days brighter.

Ready to Join Us?

If you're a passionate Chef/Cook looking for a rewarding opportunity in the Scarborough area, we'd love to hear from you.

Join us at Castle Grange and help us make mealtimes something our residents can look forward to every day.