Job Description

Job Title: Junior Chef

Department: Hospice Cafe and Inpatient Unit

Reporting To: Head Chef / Assistant or Deputy Catering Manager

Accountable To: Head of Catering

Responsible for: Catering Assistant (on duty)

Hours: 30 hours a week (contracted hours to be worked flexibly in accordance with the needs of the service to include weekends/evenings and bank holidays, including on call provisions)

Salary: 13,400 per annum / 12.85 per hour / 25,124 per annum - full time equivalent

Overview

The Mountbatten hospice group provides palliative and end-of-life care to the communities of the Isle of Wight, Southampton and large parts of Hampshire and this role is based in our Hospice Care and Inpatient Unit. Alongside our Inpatient Unit we also offer specialist bereavement and support services, including psychological, creative and complementary therapies, together with a wide range of innovative community services both at our Hospice and via our 24/7 care coordination centre, community nursing and care at home teams. With over 400 employees and nearly 700 volunteers, Mountbatten exists to ensure no person who is facing death, dying and bereavement is ever ignored or left alone.

Job Purpose:

To be responsible for the preparation, cooking and serving of quality, seasonal food in a contemporary style, providing clean and hygienic food service and food preparation areas throughout the site. The role will work in the kitchen preparing food for the cafe and inpatient unit, ensuring patients, families and other customers receive excellent customer service, with an understanding of their specific needs in an end of life / palliative care hospice environment.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities:

Overall duties

To support the Head Chef in developing and planning menus that are in line with hospice and customer expectations, specifically tailoring menus to the needs of patients receiving care at the hospice.

To produce food in a timely manner to ensure smooth service to all customers.

To oversee the Catering Assistant(s) on duty, ensuring they are directed in completing required tasks and providing supervisory support and guidance as required.

To ensure all appropriate ingredients are available for the menus and where necessary take action to source ingredients being mindful of available budget.

To assist in developing and producing new services styles and food concepts.

To communicate with relevant parties, including the catering and clinical teams, all requirements for and changes to planned menus.

Maintain all standards of quality, food hygiene and health and safety under the guidance of the Head Chef and Manager.

On occasions responsible for some aspects of food service to customers and provide high standards of customer service.

To work on a shift basis as required by the business.

To attend training courses and attend Hospice meetings as required.

Food Production

To prepare and, where necessary, serve all food to the highest standard and in line with the hospice style and in a timely fashion

To complete duties in the kitchen and service areas that are necessary to ensure an efficient, hygienic service is provided.

To oversee and ensure the transport all food items from the delivery area to kitchen storerooms and to kitchen preparation areas as required.

To oversee the Catering Assistant including:

o Directing them in the preparation of food.

o Ensuring the cleaning of kitchen floors, walls, waste bins, hot plates, kitchen equipment, canopies, delivery areas, storerooms, walk in fridges, and all other areas as necessary to ensure that the kitchen and service areas are hygienic.

o Ensure they clean, wash, dry and polish all kitchen equipment and service items by hand or machine in an efficient manner

o Ensure they carry out the correct disposal and recycling of all rubbish.

Use equipment carefully to avoid breakage.

To check all stock against delivery orders and ensure correct items and correct quantity are delivered.

To monitor all stock brought into site and ensure it is stored appropriately to minimise waste and loss.

Assist in monthly stock-takes as directed.

Health & Safety

To understand and comply with Hospice and statutory health, hygiene and safety, quality standards including COSHH and HACCP ensuring all tasks are carried out in accordance these standards in all areas of the site.

To carry out equipment and food temperature readings as directed and ensure they are recorded appropriately and daily where required.

To ensure all food is labelled and dated in fridges and freezers

Wear the correct uniform and safety shoes as directed and maintain uniform items appropriately.

To support in ensuring all deliveries are received, inspected and checked off correctly and put away and stored correctly.

To decant all food items in delivery area and store in the appropriate containers to reduce the chance of cross contamination. All food items to be stored in line with company and health and safety regulations.

Use and store all chemicals appropriately in line with standards.

Report any equipment and/or building fabric faults and any hygiene, health and safety hazard to the Head Chef, Assistant / Deputy Catering Manager or Head of Catering.

Customer Service

To maintain a professional and friendly image with patients, families and all customers.

Work effectively with all colleagues including clinical staff to ensure excellent customer service.

Attend to customer needs in a polite and helpful manner providing assistance where necessary and tailoring service where possible to meet patient / customer needs.

To assist with the service of food as required and accurately handle cash sales.

This job description and person specification is a guideline only and not exhaustive. You may be asked to perform other duties which are not detailed but are in line with the general purpose of your job role and we reserve the right to make changes to this job description as appropriate.

General - all Mountbatten employees are:

Required to abide by all Health & Safety legislation, policies and procedures and take action when required.

Required to abide by and ensure Safeguarding policies and procedures are followed at all times.

Required to attend mandatory and refresher training

Required to respect confidentiality applying to all organisational areas

Required to comply with the requirements of information governance and data protection policies and legislation.

Required to work within and abide all organisational policies and procedures

Required to participate in and contribute to team meetings and cooperate and liaise with departmental colleagues

Expected to use and promote at all times Mountbatten's philosophy and values

Expected to demonstrate at all times a commitment towards equality and diversity

Expected to demonstrate a commitment to their own development, to take advantage of education and training opportunities and develop their own competence

Expected to make a positive contribution to fundraising and raising the profile Mountbatten

Our Values

We care about what we do.

We appreciate that people are different and we are kind and compassionate to our patients and families, to our local community and to each other

We are experts in our field.

We are professional at all times, aspiring to be the best that we can be in everything that we do

We are innovative and bold

. We respond quickly and creatively to the changing needs of our society within the scope of our human and financial resources

We respect our community.

We exist for our local population, now and into the future, and we believe that we can achieve more together by working in partnership with others

This role profile is not exhaustive and all employees are expected to undertake additional reasonable duties as requested. The profile will be subject to periodic review and may be amended following discussion between the post holder and employer.

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: 13,400.00 per year

Expected hours: 30 per week

Benefits:

Company events Company pension Cycle to work scheme Employee discount Free flu jabs Free parking Health & wellbeing programme On-site parking Sick pay
Schedule:

Day shift Holidays Weekend availability
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 22/05/2025
Reference ID: VC229a