Apprentice Commis Chef – Traditional British Inn | Rosette-Level Food
We’re looking for a motivated and enthusiastic Apprentice Commis Chef to join the kitchen team at a traditional British inn near Petersfield, Hampshire, with a clear ambition: to serve proper pub food, cooked with care and delivered to an award-winning standard.
We are building a kitchen focused on British produce, seasonality, strong classical cooking and traditional comfort food, with the standards and attention to detail expected of a Rosette-level operation.
This is a great opportunity for someone at the beginning of their career who wants to learn properly, work with quality ingredients and build strong foundations as a professional chef, while completing a recognised Level 2 Commis Chef Apprenticeship.
The Role
As an Apprentice Commis Chef, you’ll work closely with the senior kitchen team, learning on the job while supporting preparation and service across the kitchen.
You’ll be involved in:
- Preparing fresh ingredients and components for service
- Learning different sections of the kitchen
- Supporting chefs during busy services
- Helping produce seasonal British dishes from scratch
- Learning proper preparation and cooking techniques
- Maintaining high standards of cleanliness, organisation and food safety
- Receiving and storing deliveries correctly
- Learning stocks, sauces, pastry and basic butchery
- Developing your knife skills, speed, confidence and consistency
- Learning how a professional kitchen operates day to day
As your skills develop, you’ll gradually take on more responsibility and become more involved in service and section work.
The Apprenticeship
Alongside your work in the kitchen, you’ll complete a recognised Level 2 Commis Chef Apprenticeship with an approved training provider.
Your apprenticeship training will take place as part of your paid working hours and will support what you’re learning in the kitchen.
The aim is not simply to gain a qualification. We want to help you become a capable, confident and well-rounded chef with the skills to progress through a professional kitchen.
For the right person, there may also be the opportunity to progress onto further training, including the Level 3 Chef de Partie Apprenticeship.
About You
You don’t need previous professional kitchen experience.
What matters most is your attitude and willingness to learn.
We’re looking for someone who:
- Has a genuine interest in food, cooking and hospitality
- Wants to build a career as a chef
- Is keen to learn and develop their skills
- Takes pride in doing things properly
- Is reliable, organised and willing to work hard
- Works well as part of a team
- Is comfortable taking instruction and asking questions
- Has good attention to detail
- Is willing to work evenings and weekends as part of the restaurant rota
- Wants to learn proper cooking rather than rely on shortcuts
Some previous kitchen experience, catering education or cooking experience would be useful, but it is not essential.
The right attitude is more important.
What You’ll Learn
This isn’t a kitchen built around shortcuts.
You’ll have the opportunity to learn how to prepare and cook food from the ground up, using quality ingredients and proper techniques.
That could mean learning how to:
- Make stocks, sauces and reductions
- Prepare meat, fish and poultry
- Learn basic butchery and fish preparation
- Produce traditional pies, roasts and pub classics
- Work with seasonal British vegetables
- Prepare desserts, puddings and pastry
- Organise and run a kitchen section
- Prepare efficiently for service
- Maintain consistency during busy services
- Understand seasonality, ingredients and flavour combinations
- Control waste and look after produce properly
The aim is to give you the technical skills, discipline and confidence to progress through the kitchen and become a strong professional chef.
The Opportunity
You’ll be joining at an exciting stage and becoming part of a kitchen that is being built with long-term ambition.
Our goal is to create a pub known for warm hospitality, proper British food and consistently excellent cooking, while developing a team that takes genuine pride in what it produces.
For someone serious about becoming a chef, this is an opportunity to learn in a working restaurant environment where you’ll be exposed to real ingredients, proper techniques and high standards from the beginning of your career.
We want to develop people who can grow with the business, progress through the kitchen and take on greater responsibility as their skills improve.
Location
We’re based near Petersfield, Hampshire.
Because hospitality involves evening and weekend work, applicants should make sure they have a reliable way of getting to and from the restaurant, particularly when public transport is limited.
Who This Role Would Suit
This role could be ideal for:
- A school or college leaver looking to start a career as a chef
- Someone studying catering who wants more hands-on professional experience
- Someone working in hospitality who wants to move into the kitchen
- Someone who enjoys cooking at home and wants to turn that interest into a career
- Someone with a little kitchen experience who now wants structured professional training
You don’t need to know everything when you arrive.
What we’re looking for is enthusiasm, reliability, curiosity and a genuine desire to become a good chef.
If you’re passionate about food, eager to learn and want to begin your career in a kitchen with high standards and real ambition, we’d love to hear from you.
Pay: £9.50 per hour
Work Location: In person
