Chef / Catering Assistant, York Gate

York Gate is a vibrant, beautiful Art and Crafts garden, café, plant nursery and shop in Adel, Leeds. We are welcoming more and more visitors every day, so we have the opportunity to expand our workforce to help us to provide an amazing service to our visitors; we currently have an opening for a Chef / Catering Assistant to help us.

Visitors and volunteers are both a vital part of what we do. As Chef / Catering Assistant, you will be passionate in providing delicious well-presented food, and a safe experience for our visitors.

Using your knowledge, experience and talents you will help provide an excellent service to our visitors, giving them an experience second to none.

Overall purpose

We are looking for an additional member to join our friendly team, offering daytime hours and a healthy work life balance. With your passion for food and your appetite to provide an exceptional service, you will develop and cook changing seasonal menus with healthy appetising food, incorporating fresh produce from our kitchen garden. Preparing daily an array of homemade cakes, scones and traybakes, working alongside our kitchen team and volunteers. Assisting our catering manager, you will share responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the café, with consistent professional service, ensuring a welcoming environment to all customers and volunteers.

Main responsibilities and duties

• Assist on food preparation, ensuring that appropriate food hygiene standards are always adhered to.
• To have good working knowledge and awareness of how to cater for those with specific dietary requirements and allergies.
• To support the Assistant Catering Manager/Catering Manager
• To observe all hygiene, first aid and health and safety at work regulations to the highest standard and to follow risk assessments and COSHH procedures, maintaining daily health and safety records.
• Assist in the organisation of stocks and supplies, ensuring that everything is stored to Food Agency Standards, regularly checking use by and sell by dates.
• Participate in staff training and undertake ongoing Food Hygiene training and complete First Aid at Work Certificate
• Provide high standards of customer care by assisting visitors with queries in a prompt, professional, courteous, and friendly manner. Guide the visitors experience to the café, utilising volunteers to assist, making the most of their time and expertise.
• To undertake any other tasks as deemed necessary for the smooth running of York Gate as part of your job role.

Person specification

(E) = Essential (D) = Desirable

Knowledge

• Good up to date knowledge of food hygiene and allergens (E)
• Food preparation, cooking, and presentation skills – especially those relevant to a healthy café setting (E)
• Familiarity with the Food Standards Agency requirements e.g. using the standards of Safer Food Better Business for Caterers (E)
• Working knowledge of First Aid in the workplace (E)
• Flexibility to help out where required, working together and supporting café team

Experience

• Varied paid experience in the food service industry, including food preparation, ordering, budgeting, and stock control (D)
• Customer Service experience (D)

Skills

• Passionate about food (E)
• Customer focussed with great communication skills (E)
• A good team player (E)
• Creative, proactive, and organised (E)

Qualifications

• Level 2 food hygiene certificate (E)
• Other qualification relevant to the role (D)
• Willingness to undertake further training especially relating to food safety (E)

General

• Good interpersonal skills
• Able and willing to work seasonal and weekend hours as set out
• A pride and passion in your job role that is clear for others to see, always being an advocate for York Gate

Key terms and conditions

These terms and conditions are provided for information only and in no way represent a contract. In the event of an appointment, if there is an anomaly between the contract and these terms, the contract is deemed to be the correct version.

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holidays – no unsocial hours

Holidays: 25 days per annum plus Bank Holidays (with increases for long service)

Pension: The Charity operates an auto-enrolment pension scheme and will match employee contributions up to 7%. Details of the scheme will be available following a formal offer of employment

Other: Sick Pay, Death in Service Benefit (3 x salary). The Charity has a number of well-established, family-friendly policies, including ‘buying’ extra (unpaid) leave, time off for dependents, variations to normal working hours etc. Further details on request.

General Considerations: All posts within the Charity are subject to a probationary period (6 months) and periodic review

Smoking: The Charity operates a non-smoking/vaping policy on its premises and in company vehicles.