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Are you an experienced Chef who enjoys cooking and wants to have evenings to yourself, and only work 5 days a week without being under heavy pressure or stress while working with fresh seasonal ingredients?

Join the brand-new Neurological service, The Lakefields in Chigwell, which is opening 2024, and you’ll be preparing and freshly cooking nutritious meals - lunch and dinner, which includes catering for individual’s needs and dietary requirements.

There will be activities, events and special occasions throughout the year which you’ll also get to cater for – world food day, Christmas, Easter, family day etc. In other words, plenty of chance to be creative and do something different.  

You will be part of the catering team working 37.5 hours per week, with colleagues to set a professional example to, where the kitchen will be run to hotel/restaurant standards. A degree of flexibility is required with the shift patterns to meet the needs of the service, which includes working one weekend in two.

This is a social role where, as well as your catering colleagues, you’ll get to engage with the staff and service users daily as you serve your fresh and delicious dishes.

As a Chef you will be:

Supporting the Head Chef for the day-to-day running of the kitchen. 

Maintaining good food storage procedures and stock rotation according to established procedures.

Preparing, planning and cooking meals to a consistently high standard, taking account of any special requests or dietary requirements within the unit.

Serving service users, staff and visitors with food and beverage in a professional and courteous services manner.

Preparing and producing foods for conferences and banquets.

Participating in food costings through effective cost control procedures.

Adhering to the ‘Safer Food Better Business’ standards and record keeping.

Adhering strictly to Food Hygiene Regulations and other safety procedures at all times.

Taking full shift responsibility for the catering operation

Assisting the Head Chef by researching and creating new menus ensuring meals are of a high quality and compliment healthy eating guidelines.

Correctly filing of all paperwork in relation to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system (HACCP) i.e. Fridge temperatures, food temperature logs and cleaning schedules

To be successful in this role, you will need:

To be 18 years or older

GCSE or equivalent English

City & Guilds 706/1 and 2 (or equivalent) Basic Food Preparation Cooking

Basic Food Hygiene (essential)

Intermediate Food hygiene (desirable)

Previous experience in a similar environment

Previous experience in delivering a service on mass

Menu planning, costing, ordering, stock control and budget experience

Where you will be working:

The Lakefields Neurological Centre is a brand-new 22-bed service that delivers specialist 24-hour nursing and therapy services for people with complex long-term neurological conditions who require ongoing support and assistance to maximise their functional ability and improve their quality of life. The Centre specialises in neuro-rehabilitation, tracheostomy and ventilator care.

Bedrooms are adapted to individual requirements, fitted with high dependency equipment including ceiling track hoists, wall mounted suction and oxygen equipment. There are also well-equipped therapy facilities, spacious lounge areas and wheelchair access to beautiful gardens.

 What you will get:

Annual salary of £26,000

The equivalent of 33 days annual leave – (inc Bank Holidays) plus your birthday off!

Free meals and parking

Wellbeing support and activities to help you maintain a great work-life balance.

Career development and training to help you achieve your career goals.

Pension contribution to secure your future.

Life Assurance for added peace of mind.

Enhanced Maternity Package so you can truly enjoy this special time.

There is also a range of other benefits including retail discounts, special offers and much more.

About your next employer:

You will be working for an established, stable and agile company with over 8,000 employees and a unique approach to the delivery of care. With a network of over 90 services across England and Wales covering Mental Health, Neurological, Learning Disabilities & Autism, Children & Education, there is opportunity for you to grow and move. 

Elysium Healthcare is part of Ramsay Health Care with a global network that extends across 10 countries and employs over 86,000 people globally. 

Elysium Healthcare follows safer recruitment of staff for all appointments and is a Disability Confident employer, committed to inclusive and accessible recruitment. It is a requirement that all staff understand it is each person’s individual responsibility to promote and safeguard the welfare of service users. All candidates will be subject to a DBS disclosure