Café Cook (Aylesbury)
New Meaning Centre: Park View Café at NMT Enrichment Centre Aylesbury
Employer: New Meaning Training (NMT)
Type: Permanent, Full Time, All-Year-Round
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Schedule: Monday to Friday 08:30 –16:30
Salary: £28,000-£31,000 pa
Job ref: BUCAYCKC082602
Closing date: 24/08/26
Introduction
On 1st September 2026, a much-loved community café in Aylesbury will begin an exciting new chapter.
The café will reopen under new management as Park View Café, operated by New Meaning Training. For existing customers, it will remain the same welcoming space they've come to know and enjoy. The familiar faces around the tables, the groups that meet regularly, the people who call in for a coffee and a chat — all of that remains at the heart of what makes the café special.
What we're looking for is somebody who can help take it forward. Park View Café is already used by a wonderfully diverse mix of people. We welcome knitters, teachers, carers, families of young adults with SEND, wheelchair users, local residents and Buckinghamshire Council staff who use the space for meetings. For many people, it's far more than a café. It's a community hub.
Alongside serving customers, the café will continue to create opportunities for young people to gain workplace experience and develop skills for employment. However, your primary responsibility will be running the kitchen and helping the café thrive as a successful business. We're looking for a Café Cook who can confidently take ownership of the food offer. Someone who enjoys creating fresh, appealing menus, maintaining high standards, ordering stock, managing supplies and delivering great food consistently. We want somebody who can look at the café's existing success and ask: "How could we make this even better?"
This is an opportunity to shape the next stage of a café that already has a loyal customer base whilst attracting new visitors from across the local community. If you're an experienced cook who enjoys creating good food, takes pride in running an organised kitchen and wants daytime hours in a role with genuine community impact, we'd love to hear from you.
Key Responsibilities
- Plan, prepare and serve fresh food for daily café service.
- Develop and introduce menus that build on the café's existing reputation whilst attracting new customers.
- Order food, ingredients and kitchen supplies and manage stock levels effectively.
- Monitor food costs, minimise waste and support the financial sustainability of the café.
- Ensure consistently high standards of food quality, presentation and customer service.
- Maintain food hygiene, health and safety and allergen management processes.
- Complete food safety records and documentation accurately.
- Organise and manage the day-to-day operation of the kitchen.
- Maintain kitchen equipment and ensure safe working practices are followed.
- Work collaboratively with the wider café and centre team.
- Support young people to gain workplace experience by modelling professional standards and creating a positive working environment.
- Contribute ideas and initiatives that help the café continue to grow and develop.
You will have:
Essential
- At least 2 years experience working as a cook in a café, catering, hospitality or food service environment.
- Experience planning menus and preparing food for regular service.
- Experience ordering stock and managing kitchen supplies.
- Good knowledge of food hygiene, health and safety and allergen management.
- The ability to organise your workload and manage a busy kitchen effectively.
- A commitment to high standards of food quality, presentation and cleanliness.
- Strong communication and teamwork skills.
- A positive and professional approach to customer service.
- Basic IT skills for ordering, emails and record keeping.
- Food Hygiene certification or willingness to obtain one.
Desirable
- Experience helping to develop or grow a café food offer.
- Experience managing food costs and stock control.
- Experience working in community cafés, social enterprises or public-facing venues.
- Experience supporting trainees, apprentices or young people in a workplace environment.
- Understanding of SEND and the benefits of supported workplace learning.
About us
New Meaning Training offers education with a difference. We work with young people aged 15–25 who haven't always had a straightforward experience of education. Some have disengaged from learning, some have additional needs, and some simply need a different environment in which to grow in confidence and develop practical skills.
Park View Café forms part of our Aylesbury Enrichment Centre and provides a genuine workplace environment where young people can gain experience, develop employability skills and build confidence for the future. At the same time, it continues to serve the wider local community as a welcoming, inclusive and valued café.
For many people, the café is already a place to meet friends, hold informal meetings, connect with local groups or simply enjoy good food and company. As we begin this new chapter, we're looking for someone who can help us preserve everything people already love about the café whilst introducing fresh ideas that help it reach even more people. Because community matters. Good food matters. And the right person can help this place become something really special.
Why work for New Meaning Training?
Generous annual leave
- 20 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
- Up to 10 additional “gifted” days off each year (taken during school holiday periods)
- Annual leave increases with length of service, up to a maximum of 24 days
Pension
- Auto enrolment into The People’s Pension
- 5% employee contribution with 3% employer contribution
Blue Light Card
- Access to hundreds of national discounts (retail, food, travel, days out)
- Admin fee fully reimbursed by NMT
Service recognition
- Additional annual leave as a thank you for long service
- Gift rewards at key milestones (e.g. 5 and 10 years)
Wellbeing benefits
- Annual flu vaccination voucher (paid for by NMT)
- Birthday gift voucher to celebrate your day
Sustainable travel schemes
- Cycle to Work scheme (salary sacrifice)
- Electric Vehicle scheme via Octopus Energy (salary sacrifice)
- Green Travel to Work initiatives with rewards for taking part
A supportive, values-led workplace
- Strong focus on staff wellbeing, development, and collaboration
- Training and CPD supported as part of your role
- The opportunity to make a meaningful difference in young people’s lives
Safeguarding
New Meaning Training is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff to share this commitment and adhere to our safeguarding and professional conduct policies.
- Checks: This post involves regulated activity and is subject to an Enhanced DBS check (including a Children’s Barred List check) and satisfactory professional references.
- Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA): This role is exempt from the ROA 1974. Applicants must disclose all convictions and cautions that are not ‘protected’ under the Exceptions Order 1975 (as amended 2013 and 2020). For guidance on which offences are ‘filtered’ and do not need to be disclosed, please refer to the DBS filtering guide.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £28,000.00-£31,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
Application question(s):
- Would you be able to confidently say you're happy to work in an environment with 16-25s who have Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs?
Experience:
- cook or chef: 2 years (required)
Work Location: In person
