Are you a passionate chef looking for an exceptional work-life balance within an award-winning team?
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) is seeking a dedicated and skilled Production Chef to join our state-of-the-art Central Production Kitchen (CPK) based at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital .
Our CPK produces high-quality, nutritious patient meals using a modern cook-freeze regeneration system. We proudly hold the Food for Life Silver Award , reflecting our strict commitment to sustainability, local sourcing, and organic produce.
This role offers a highly stable employment environment with standard healthcare hours and no evening or weekend shifts required (subject to future service reviews), providing a rare opportunity for true work-life balance in the culinary industry.
Base Location: Central Production Kitchen (CPK), Royal Bournemouth Hospital
Hospitals Served: Bournemouth, Poole, and Christchurch Hospitals
Working Pattern: Full-time, Monday to Friday staggered shifts (7:00 am to 5:00 pm)
Interview: August 21st
As a Production Chef, you will prepare nutritious meals that cater to a wide range of dietary and cultural requirements, directly impacting patient recovery and well-being. Your core responsibilities include:
High-Volume Cooking: Preparing, batch-cooking, chilling, and portioning dishes safely using approved standard recipes and production schedules.
Specialist Nutrition: Supporting patient meal delivery by preparing specialized dietary meals, including IDDSI texture-modified recipes.
Food Safety Compliance: Monitoring critical temperature controls, chill logs, food storage parameters, and strict stock rotation protocols.
Hygiene & Environment: Maintaining exceptional levels of kitchen cleanliness and food hygiene protocols in alignment with statutory legislation.
Allergen Management: Strictly adhering to ingredient controls and allergen legislation to safeguard vulnerable patient groups.
Team Collaboration: Partner with the catering assistants and management team to maintain smooth, highly efficient kitchen operations.
Service Innovation: Contributing professional ideas toward future menu planning, recipe development, and food waste reductions
Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued teammates and colleagues.
UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme. This means that some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruiting Managers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions that you have about this at interview.
Please note if the role or service is relocated as part of a planned move, employees will not be eligible for excess mileage reimbursement. Travel from the postholder's home to the new work base will be considered a normal commute. Any other changes not related to this relocation will be managed according to the relevant Trust or National terms and conditions.
Experience & Knowledge
- Proven experience cooking high-volume dishes using structured production schedules.
- Comprehensive understanding of food safety legislation, HACCP controls, and kitchen hygiene protocols.
- Practical knowledge of specialist dietary requirements, cultural preferences, and allergen management.
- Previous experience working within a hospital or large-scale institutional catering environment.
- Documented experience or formal training with IDDSI texture-modification standards.
Skills & Attributes
- Strong teamworking mindset with a willingness to support and train junior kitchen team members.
- High attention to detail regarding portion controls, weighing accuracy, and recipe adherence
To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert.
