Senior Cook / Head Chef

Job overview

The Yeatman Hospital is seeking a skilled and experienced Senior Cook/Head Chef who is passionate about food and wants to make a difference.

The ideal candidate will have a passion for culinary excellence, strong leadership abilities, and a keen eye on detail.

As Senior Cook/Head Chef, you will have full operational and financial responsibility for the hospitals catering facility, leading the team to deliver the highest quality of food and service to 26 in-patients, as well as our staff and members of the public in our friendly hospital café.

You must be able to work flexibly as part of a rota including working weekends and bank holidays.

Applications from candidates that require visa sponsorship to work in the UK are unfortunately ineligible to apply for this position.

Main duties of the job

Responsibilities

• Supervising and supporting a small team of catering staff, ensuring the smooth day to day operation
• Recruiting, managing and training catering team
• Planning of menus, orders, deliveries and budget control
• Managing food safety, Health & Safety and Allergens legislation, overseeing food safety practices and compliance and conducting periodic audits

Requirement

• Desirable - Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate or willingness to undertake
• Strong knowledge of kitchen operation, food production and culinary techniques
• Excellent leadership and supervisory skills
• Understanding of HACCP, allergen regulations and best practice
• Awareness of COSHH regulation
• Basic IT skills/computer competence

Offer

• Permanent contract – no late nights
• Generous holiday allowance increasing with service
• NHS pension
• Uniform provided
• On-site free parking
• Healthcare discount scheme

Appointment to this post is subject to a standard DBS certificate.

Although this is a full-time position of 37.5hrs per week, we are committed to supporting flexible working in line with service needs and would consider 30 hours availability.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification.  When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application.  However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidate’s individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience.  If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety.  If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact [email protected]