Café Chef – Heritage Centre

Groundwork NE & Cumbria; England; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A community-focused charity is looking for a creative chef to join their team at a vibrant café in Winlaton Mill, Gateshead. The role involves preparing seasonal dishes with a focus on quality and presentation while maintaining hygiene standards. Typical hours are 8:30am–5:00pm, promoting an excellent work-life balance. The ideal candidate enjoys working in a busy environment and leading a kitchen team to create a positive experience for visitors.

Benefits

Staff discounts in the café and shop

Supportive team environment

Opportunity to be creative

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a kitchen environment.
• Strong knife skills and knowledge of food hygiene.
• Ability to be creative with seasonal menus.

Responsibilities

• Support the Lead Chef in developing fresh, seasonal menus.
• Prepare and cook food to order, ensuring quality.
• Maintain high standards of hygiene and food safety.

Job description

Overview

Salary: £12.21 – £13 per hour (negotiable depending on experience)

Hours: Minimum 35 per week, typically 8:30am–5:00pm including weekends (with occasional evening/event work)

Location: Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre, Winlaton Mill, Gateshead

About Us

Our café is a vibrant, welcoming space where we serve delicious food and drinks to our loyal customers. We pride ourselves on being a close-knit team of friendly and kind individuals who make every customer feel special. The café has become a local favourite, and we’re proud to see so many return customers who value our high-quality service. All the profits from our café go towards supporting Groundwork Northeast and Cumbria, a charity that helps improve communities and the environment. The Land of Oak & Iron (landofoakandiron.org.uk).

We are looking for a creative, passionate, and enthusiastic chef to join our kitchen team. You will be responsible for delivering freshly made to order dishes while ensuring the highest standards of food hygiene, presentation, and customer care. We are seeking someone with a real passion for preparing and cooking fresh, seasonal food using locally sourced ingredients, someone keen to experiment and innovate with menus, has excellent knife skills, can work well under pressure, and has hands on experience with a range of kitchen equipment. Strong communication skills, a proactive attitude, and the ability to lead and work as part of a team are essential.

With regular daytime hours usually 8:30am–5:00pm (kitchen operating 9:00am–3:00pm), this role offers a rare work-life balance in catering, with no late-night shifts and only occasional evening catering for events.

What You’ll Do

• Support the Lead Chef to plan and develop fresh, seasonal menus (breakfasts, lunches, cakes, children’s meals and event specials)
• Prepare and cook food to order, ensuring quality, consistency, and speed of service
• Maintain high standards of hygiene, food safety, and allergen management
• Cater for occasional evening events and contribute to seasonal offers
• Work closely with the Lead Chef and centre team to deliver a great experience for all visitors

What We Offer

• Excellent work-life balance – typically 8:30am–5:00pm shifts, with the kitchen operational 9:00am–3:00pm
• No regular evening work – only occasional event catering with advance notice
• Staff discounts in the café and shop
• Supportive, friendly team environment within a beautiful riverside heritage setting
• Opportunity to be creative and shape the kitchen offer
• A role that contributes to sustainability, local heritage and community engagement

About You

You’ll be an organised, creative, and hands-on chef or cook, confident in managing a kitchen and leading by example. You’ll take pride in producing quality well presented food and enjoy the buzz of working in a busy café environment.

How to Apply

If you’re passionate about food, motivated to lead, and want to make a real difference in a welcoming community setting, we’d love to hear from you.

All you need to do is send us your CV with a brief cover letter. Email: [e-mail]

For an informal discussion about this role please contact Anya Tait on 01207 524898.

Additional Information

Make yourself at home. We value everything that makes you unique. We are a Disability Confident employer offering a guaranteed interview to applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role.

We are committed to safeguarding and the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk. Our safer recruitment practices ensure a consistent process for appointing suitable candidates. Privacy Notice – Recruitment. This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship – the successful applicant will need a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK to be offered employment. We reserve the right to close this advert at any time.