Catering Assistant

NHS; Slough; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 23,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Slough is seeking enthusiastic Catering Assistants to join their catering team. In this hands-on role, you will ensure a high-quality catering service for patients, staff, and visitors. Responsibilities include food preparation, serving in dining areas, and assisting with cash handling. Applicants should have a GCSE or equivalent and a Level 2 Food Safety Certificate is preferred. Full training will be provided, along with various working hours including weekends.

Qualifications

• Basic catering experience required.
• Must complete Maths and English assessment.
• Desirable: Previous catering experience or Food Safety Certificate.

Responsibilities

• Prepare food service areas and equipment.
• Serve food and drinks in dining outlets.
• Deliver and collect meal trolleys to/from wards.
• Assist in food preparation like peeling vegetables.
• Operate cash registers and maintain cash security.

Skills

Team player

Customer service

Food hygiene knowledge

Education

GCSE or Equivalent

Level 2 Food Safety Certificate

Job description

We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated Catering Assistants to join our busy and rewarding Catering team. In this role, you will help deliver a professional, high-quality catering service to patients, staff, and visitors across the hospital.

As a Catering Assistant, you will play an important part in ensuring a positive experience for everyone you serve. Your day-to-day tasks may include serving in patient and staff dining areas, assisting with food preparation, delivering meals to wards, operating tills, and supporting the smooth running of the department.

This is a hands-on role in a fast-paced environment, ideal for someone who enjoys working as part of a team but is also confident taking responsibility for individual tasks. You must be committed to maintaining high standards of customer service, cleanliness, and food hygiene in line with Trust policies.

Previous catering experience and a Food Safety Certificate are desirable but not essential, as full training will be provided. As part of the recruitment process, candidates will be required to complete a Maths and English assessment to progress to interview.

Please ensure you have the right to work in the UK before applying as we cannot provide sponsorship for this role.

Main duties of the job

• You will be working 5 days out of 7 days. including weekends, between 6:45 am to 8:00 pm
• The role requires that the job holder follow the duties laid out by the Caf Supervisor in the day-to-day operational management of the caf.
• You'll be expected to treat visitors and staff in a welcoming, friendly and efficient manner. Whilst maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene, you will be working as part of a motivated team in the Courtyard restaurant.
• The job holder will assist the Supervisor to expand and/or make recommendations for improving standards and enhancing the service to all customers. This would be through quality initiatives and by looking at ways of maximising good customer care and income generation.
• You'll need to be aware of menu content whilst understanding the importance of portion control, food presentation and customer care. In addition, you must ensure that the privacy and dignity of visitors, staff and patients are respected at all times.

About us

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to being an inclusive and disability confident employer and has been awarded the Gold for the Armed Forces Employment Recognition Scheme. We provide first class development opportunities for all staff and have a wide range of professional, management and leadership, and clinical skills training available.

Here at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, we know how important it is to have a healthy work life balance; this benefits not only individuals but the patients we care for too.

We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service and its users.

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Job responsibilities

Undertake all duties relating to food service including:

• Prepare food service areas and equipment e.g. placing equipment ready for use (woks, fryers etc.)
• Serve food and drinks in patient/staff dining outlets and on the patient meal assembly belt
• Ensure a full supply of crockery and cutlery to the restaurant during service hours
• Deliver and collect meal trolleys to/from wards and departments
• Deliver catering supplies to wards and departments including call orders
• Menu collation, picking of all ward food according to menu choice and record information

Undertake preparation of all foodstuffs:

• Assist in food preparation e.g. peeling vegetables, prepping salad items, traying up and labelling items
• Assessment of good portion control, manage food waste and appropriate record keeping
• Decant chilled food
• Regeneration of food and garnishing
• Adhere strictly to standard recipes and production methods, check food and beverages served, for quantity, quality and appearance and maintain correct standards of hygiene and temperature control as per HACCP

Operate cash registers in retail areas, demonstrating due diligence at all times:

• Undertake cashier duties including receipt and accounting of cash and vouchers, operation of cash register to give correct change, ensuring cash security, maintaining records relating to cash handling, balance cash takings with till receipts and account for differences
• Comply with all organisational and departmental procedures relating to cash handling and security
• Replace or refund patients or retail customers to ensure immediate customer satisfaction, escalating to supervisor or manager as required

Person Specification

QUALIFICATIONS

• GCSE or Equivalent
• Level 2 Food Safety Certificate
• Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene or Good knowledge of Food safety and Kitchen hygiene
• Team player
• Previous catering experience would be desirable

Experience

• Basic catering experience
• Experience in healthcare
• Infection prevention and control

Skills

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.