Cafe Cook

Brooklands Museum Trust; Weybridge; On-site; GBP 29,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days’ annual leave

Bank Holidays off

Free onsite parking

Free museum access

Retail discounts

Online wellbeing support

Mental Health First Aiders

Continuous learning & development

Job summary

Brooklands Museum Trust invites applications for a Café Cook to prepare, cook and present the daily café menu and event offerings. You will manage a busy kitchen, ensure safety, stock, and cost control, and help uphold the museum’s 5-star hygiene rating.

The role is a six-month fixed-term contract of 40 hours per week, with a salary around £30,000 per annum. Hours are five days out of seven, with Bank Holiday work and time off in lieu.

Qualifications

• Food Hygiene Level 2 qualification as a minimum.
• Experience in cafés, pubs, hotels, contract catering or events.
• Ability to stay organised under pressure and maintain quality during busy services.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, cook and present an agreed daily menu for the café and events.
• Run a clean, safe and well-organised kitchen; complete opening/closing checklists.
• Assist with stock, ordering, cost-effective menu planning and reducing waste.
• Maintain 5-star food hygiene rating and ensure food safety and allergen compliance.

Skills

Fast-paced kitchen

Food prep

Menu planning

Food hygiene Level 2

Portion control

Stock management

Teamwork

Job description

Great food at the heart of an extraordinary place.

Hospitality & Catering

Full time

Fixed Term Contract - Full Time

Salary: c.£30,000 per annum

Contract: Six-month fixed term – full-time, 40 hours per week

Reports to: Clubhouse Chef

Hours are worked five days out of seven as rostered and will include Bank Holiday working as required. Time off in lieu is given for additional hours worked and Bank Holiday working.

There aren’t many café kitchens quite like this one.

Brooklands Museum occupies 32 acres of one of Britain’s most extraordinary historic sites - the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, the birthplace of British motorsport and a site that played a defining role in British aviation.

Today it is a thriving visitor attraction welcoming more than 180,000 people a year, and our café is where a great many of them stop, sit down and talk about what they’ve just seen.

And we are looking for a Café Cook to make sure what we put in front of them is worth remembering.

The opportunity

As Café Cook, you will prepare, cook and present an agreed daily menu for our café and event operations, keeping quality and consistency high however busy the day becomes.

You will run a clean, safe and well-organised kitchen, completing opening and closing checklists, managing labelling and stock rotation, and making sure handovers are accurate and done in good time.

You will also play a real part in the commercial side of the operation - supporting cost-effective menu planning and portion control, helping with stock and ordering, and keeping food waste to a minimum.

And you will help us maintain our 5-star food hygiene rating, working to all food safety and allergen regulations and keeping compliance records up to date.

What you will bring

We are looking for a reliable, organised cook who enjoys a busy service and takes pride in getting the details right. Your background might be in cafés, pubs, hotels, contract catering or events - what matters is that you can keep quality consistent when volumes are high.

You will bring experience of:

• working in a fast-paced kitchen environment
• food preparation, menu planning and kitchen operations
• food hygiene, health and safety and allergen regulations, with a Food Safety Level 2 qualification as a minimum
• prioritising and staying organised under pressure
• portion control, stock management and reducing food waste
• working well as part of a small team, and independently when needed

You’ll have a strong work ethic, good attention to detail and a flexible, proactive approach to changing business needs. Experience of high-volume or event catering, a Food Safety Level 3 qualification, a First Aid qualification, or catering experience in a museum or visitor attraction, would all be an advantage.

Why Brooklands?

Because the setting makes the job. You’ll be working among historic buildings, aircraft, racing cars and Concorde, in a place where no two days bring quite the same crowd through the doors.

Our café is often as much a part of a visitor’s day as the collections themselves, so the food you produce has a direct and visible impact on how people remember Brooklands.

And you'll be joining Brooklands at an exciting time. Following the centenary of Britain's first Grand Prix in the summer of 2026, we are building on increased awareness of the Museum and continuing to develop our visitor experiences, events and programmes.

As an independent charity, every meal we serve helps us care for an internationally important heritage site and share its stories with new audiences.

What we offer

Benefits include:

• 25 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays and Christmas Eve
• flexible Bank Holiday policy
• flexible working to support work-life balance
• free onsite parking
• free access to Brooklands Museum
• retail discounts through our Reward Website
• online wellbeing support, including 24/7 telephone support and counselling
• trained Mental Health First Aiders
• opportunities for continuous learning and professional development.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly value the different perspectives, experiences and ideas that people can bring to Brooklands.

Brooklands Museum Trust Limited is an independent charity.

Come and help us make an extraordinary place taste as good as it looks.