Cook

Accountable to - Nursery Manager / Deputy Manager

Full time position - Monday to Friday

Hours - 7.00am until 16.00pm

All Year Round Position

Key Responsibilities

• To provide fresh, nutritious and well-presented meals, suitable for children and babies, under the age of five, according to current menus.
• To be responsible for the day to day running of the kitchen.
• To maintain a high standard of hygiene at all times and to follow infection/cross contamination control procedures.
• To constantly be aware of special dietary needs - referring to food allergies, food intolerance's, cultural needs, vegetarian and vegan requirements and any other, according to the special dietary needs form in the kitchen.
• To be aware of and carry out duties in connection with health and safety at work (e.g. risk assessments, COSHH, RIDDOR etc) and to update and manage the safer food, better business file daily.
• To be familiar with procedures carried out in case of an accident/fire.
• To follow standard food hygiene procedure (e.g. food temperature checks and monitoring; recording daily).
• To undertake any additional training in accordance with current guidelines.
• To complete food orders within the allocated budget and the appropriate timescales for deliveries.
• To adhere strictly to the following safety rules; never to leave the kitchen when the cooker is in use. Not to allow children into the kitchen.

Tasks

To prepare health snacks and meals throughout the day for each room and age as required.

To follow all children's needs in regards to dietaries and age appropriate stages such as weaning.

Ensure all areas of the kitchen and safe and clean and that they are maintained to an outstanding standard at all times, in line with health and safety regulations.

To ensure that equipment and materials are safe and cleaned at the end of each day and that all paperwork is completed to evidence this.

Report any faulty equipment to the nursery manager straight away and remove safely.

To rotate stock and keep on top of this, ensuring you monitor stock and order appropriately.

Weekly food orders to be completed inline with expected numbers of children.

Defrost the fridges and freezers on a regular basis to maintain efficiency.

To have a ready supply of recipes for staff to use with the children an to ensure availability of equipment for the children to experience cooking with the carers.

Ensure all frozen meals, foods are checked on a weekly basis and that any foods that are not in date or nearing end date are thrown away and listed with an explanation of waste.

To work as an effective part of the nursery team, ensuring staff maintain good morale, a high reputation both in and outside the nursery and ensure that all Little Giggles Nurseries standards are met.

This specification is not exhaustive and additional tasks are as directed by the nursery manager/deputy manager

Experience

• Cook: 1 year (Required)

License

• Basic Food Hygiene (Required)
• Qualification in catering

Desirable

• Food Allergy Awareness qualification
• Experience of working within a very busy setting
• Experience of cooking for large numbers and vast dietaryrequirements

Job Duties

• Prepare all food items as directed in a sanitary and timely manner
• Follow recipes and presentation specifications
• Operate standard kitchen equipment safely and efficiently
• Maintain a clean working station whilst adhering to health & safety standards
• Assist with the cleaning and organisation of kitchen and equipment
• Restock items as needed throughout the shift
• Adhere to all food hygiene & safety standards

Additional Duties

• Recording food temperatures
• Preparing reports

Satisfactory references will be required prior to employment commencing in line with Statutory Framework and Safer Recruitment policies.

Applicants for posts within the nursery are clearly informed that the positions are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974