About Us
We are a well-established and welcoming residential care home in Budleigh Salterton, providing high-quality care in a homely and respectful environment. Good food is central to our residents’ wellbeing, dignity and enjoyment of daily life, and our kitchen plays a vital role in delivering nutritious, traditional meals tailored to individual needs.
The Role
We are seeking an experienced Care Home Chef / Cook to take responsibility for the day to day running of the kitchen and preparation of meals within our care home.
This is a hands on cooking role with leadership responsibility. You will be personally responsible for preparing breakfast, lunch and supper each day, cooking from fresh ingredients, managing special diets, and maintaining high standards of food hygiene and presentation.
In addition, you will take overall day-to-day charge of the kitchen, setting standards for food safety, ordering, cleanliness, record keeping and handovers. You will be expected to lead by example and support, guide and oversee the other cook and kitchen assistants to ensure these standards are consistently met.
This role is not suitable for applicants without substantial hands-on cooking experience. Experience limited to kitchen assistant, domestic or supervisory roles without regular responsibility for cooking from scratch will not meet the requirements of this post.
You will work as part of a small kitchen team, working closely with the other cook across alternating shifts and ensuring clear handovers, consistent standards and effective communication so the kitchen operates safely, efficiently and to a consistently high standard.
Key Responsibilities
- Prepare nutritious, traditional meals from scratch for residents and staff.
- Cater safely and appropriately for special diets and food consistencies, including a variety of IDDSI level foods, fortified, diabetic, gluten-free and allergen-specific diets.
- Ensure compliance with food hygiene, infection control and health and safety standards.
- Maintain accurate food safety records, temperature checks and cleaning schedules.
- Order and manage food supplies in a cost-effective manner.
- Engage positively with residents to understand preferences and enhance their dining experience.
- Support, guide and oversee the other cook, ensuring correct ordering processes, food hygiene practices, cleaning routines and effective handovers are followed consistently.
- Take a lead role in the day-to-day organisation of the kitchen and work collaboratively with other kitchen staff.
Essential Requirements
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Proven experience working as a Cook or Chef with responsibility for preparing meals from scratch.
- Experience of taking charge of a kitchen or leading day-to-day kitchen operations.
- Strong working knowledge of food hygiene, cleaning schedules, record keeping and safe food handling.
- Confidence to guide, support and oversee other kitchen staff, including cooks and kitchen assistants, to ensure standards are maintained.
- Food Hygiene Certificate Level 2 or above.
- Ability to work reliably on-site in Budleigh Salterton, including early starts and weekend working.
- Willingness to apply for an enhanced DBS immediately upon offer.
Desirable Experience
- Previous experience in a care home, hospital, school or similar setting.
- Knowledge of nutritional needs of older people.
- Experience of mentoring, supervising or developing another cook.
Practical Recruitment Process
All appointments are subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check. Applicants should be aware that DBS processing times are currently variable and may take several weeks, and in some cases up to three months. Applicants must be willing to engage promptly with the DBS process. We can support a swift application and discuss supervised induction arrangements where appropriate. We therefore ask applicants to consider this timescale carefully before applying.
Location and Travel
This role is based on-site in Budleigh Salterton. Reliable daily travel is essential. Please consider the commute carefully before applying, particularly where travel time exceeds 30–40 minutes each way.
What We Offer
- A stable, supportive working environment.
- A role where your cooking genuinely improves residents’ quality of life.
- Ongoing training and professional development.
- Supportive management and a respectful workplace culture.
If you are an experienced, hands-on cook who takes pride in providing good, honest food and wants a stable role where your work truly matters, we would be pleased to hear from you.
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates. Please note that we are not able to offer visa sponsorship for this role.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £14.00-£17.60 per hour
Benefits:
- Company events
- Discounted or free food
- On-site parking
- Referral programme
Application question(s):
- Do you have at least two years’ experience working as a Cook or Chef preparing meals from scratch?
- Have you previously had day-to-day responsibility for running a kitchen, including food hygiene, ordering and cleaning standards?
- Have you previously guided, supervised or supported other kitchen staff, such as cooks or kitchen assistants, to follow food hygiene and cleaning standards?
- This is a hands-on cooking role where you will personally prepare meals each day. Are you comfortable with this expectation?
- This role is based on-site in Budleigh Salterton and involves early starts and weekend working. Can you reliably travel to work for these shifts?
- Approximately how long would your one-way commute to Budleigh Salterton be?
- Do you currently hold a DBS certificate, or would you be willing to apply for an enhanced DBS immediately if offered the role?
- Do you require Visa sponsorship in order to be able to work for us?
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
