Assistant Head Cook

NHS; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust offers an exciting opportunity for a full-time Assistant Head Cook. You will be instrumental in food preparation, safety standards, and supervisory management in a dynamic hospital catering team, providing approximately 700 meals per service with a strong focus on staff training and food hygiene.

Benefits

Enhanced rate of pay for weekends and bank holidays

Qualifications

• Qualified to City & Guilds 706/2 or NVQ Level 3 in Food Preparation.
• Experience in large scale catering required.
• Knowledge of food hygiene principles essential.

Responsibilities

• Supervise food production/service shifts maintaining hygiene and safety standards.
• Prepare and cook hot & cold foods for patients.
• Ensure meals quality control while managing kitchen staff.

Skills

Basic Information Technology skills

Ability to prioritise workload

Ability to record information accurately

Education

City & Guilds 706/2 or NVQ 3 in Food Preparation

Basic Food Hygiene

Knowledge of HACCP Principles

Job description

Go back The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Assistant Head Cook

The closing date is 08 June 2025

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a full time Assistant Head Cook to work as part of the catering team based at the Freeman Hospital, but also with the opportunity of working cross sites, in our different bases.

• 37 hours 30 minutes /week
• Enhanced rate of pay for working weekends and bank holidays.
• You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE

Main duties of the job

• You will work on a three-week rota cycle working two weekends out of every three on early and late shifts, the early shifts will be from 6am to 2pm and late shifts from 12.00pm to 20.00pm also offered is an excellent weekend enhancement package to your pay.
• Duties include preparation and cooking of hot & cold foods, the hygiene within the kitchen to include Temperature Controls of all products.
• You will also be responsible for the staff on duty within the kitchen to ensure all meals are completed for the patient meal service to the standards required providing approximately 700 meals per service.
• Knowledge and Experience with a broad range of cooking methods would be an advantage.
• You must be qualified to City & Guilds 706/2 or NVQ Level 3 in Food Preparation and also have Level 2 Food Hygiene qualification or have the relevant experience in large scale catering. You must also provide proof of qualification or experience at the Interview.

About us

Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:

o Freeman Hospital

o Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)

o Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)

o Newcastle Dental Hospital

o Newcastle Fertility Centre

o Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria

o Northern Genetics Service

These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.

We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.

Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under 'Documents to download' or 'Supporting documents'.

For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Job responsibilities

• A working supervisory role with responsibilities for a food production/service shift with the emphasis on food hygiene and safety standards, quality control and supervisory management.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate.The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first months pay.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• City & Guilds 706/2 or NVQ 3 (food preparation) or Significant Experience
• Basic Food Hygiene
• Previous experience in large scale catering
• Knowledge of (HACCP) Principles Level 3 Supervisory Leadership or equivalent

Knowledge

• Demonstrate an understanding of managing Health & Safety and food hygiene principles
• Working in a customer focused environment
• Customer care

Skills

• Basic Information Technology skills to include Word and Excel
• Ability to prioritise workload
• Ability to record information accurately

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust