Chef

PGL; Ashford; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A renowned adventure camp company in Ashford is seeking a Chef to join their friendly catering team. In this role, you'll prepare and serve nutritious meals without the pressure of menu creation. Responsibilities include food preparation, cooking, stock management, and mentoring junior staff. The position offers a work-life balance with limited late-night shifts. Ideal candidates will have experience in high-volume kitchens and a Level 3 Food Safety certification. Enjoy perks like paid volunteering days, additional holidays, and employee discounts.

Benefits

20 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays

Paid volunteering days

Access to Wellbeing Hub

Employee Assistance Program

Discounts at 800+ retailers

Qualifications

• Experience in high-volume catering environments.
• Ability to manage time and workloads effectively.
• Knowledge of allergen and dietary requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide nutritious meals for guests.
• Handle food preparation and cooking.
• Order stock and manage kitchen organization.
• Coach junior team members.

Skills

Food hygiene knowledge

Time management

Organizational skills

Team collaboration

Education

Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety in Catering

Job description

You’ve just discovered a Chef position like no other …

PGL is a world where children achieve the ‘impossible’.

Our residential adventure camps create extraordinary breakthroughs through active and life-affirming experiences in the great outdoors.

But that’s not all… we’re part of something bigger. We’re powered by PGL Beyond, a group of inspiring companies with a common purpose to deliver enriching and transformative experiences to the next generation. Will you join us?

Make a difference as a Chef

Having fun is hungry work! Our catering team is proud to serve tasty & nutritious meals, combining reassuring favourites and new cuisines, to keep the adventure going.

As a Chef at PGL you’ll be part of a friendly & supportive catering team, reporting into the Head Chef. You'll provide first class nutritious meals for our many hungry guests without the pressure of menu creation or sourcing ingredients from scratch. You’ll be responsible for food preparation, cooking, stock ordering & organisation, cost control & coaching of junior team members. You will work a minimum number of late nights, with a Friday or Saturday evening off most weeks (especially outside of our peak season) and limited working over Christmas - this could be the perfect role to develop your career in catering without sacrificing your social life or that all important family time!

Are you a PGL person?

• Enjoy the buzz of working in a busy kitchen as part of a fun and friendly team.
• An experienced caterer, ideally gained in a high-volume environment.
• Excellent knowledge of food hygiene & handling allergen and dietary requirements.
• Strong organisational skills, managing your own time and workload effectively - working well under pressure.
• Ideally you will hold a Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety in Catering.

Above all, it’s our core values of FUN, SAFETY, QUALITY, INCLUSIVITY, TEAMWORK and RESPECT that unite us.

A place to thrive

No matter your background, ethnicity, sexuality/gender identity, SEND, neurodivergence or anything else… PGL is a place to be yourself, have fun, use your valuable skills for good and celebrate what makes you brilliantly unique.

Fair pay and benefits for all

• On top of your 20 days annual leave (+ 8 bank holidays), you’ll also enjoy your birthday off, have paid volunteering days to help worthwhile causes and the option to purchase additional holiday.
• A career with ongoing growth, aided development, mentoring, multiple pathways and opportunities to work across different UK or French locations.
• 24/7 access to our Wellbeing Hub alongside our Employee Assistance Program.
• Sector leading family friendly policies and a contributory pension.
• Access to our financial wellbeing platform where you can borrow or save directly from your salary.
• Free/discounted PGL breaks for your family & discounts at 800+ retailers.
• We hire the best talent and value a diverse, inclusive team; so, we are dedicated to ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone and are happy to provide helpful adjustments to make it easier to complete. Simply email or call us with detail around the adjustments you need. However, our top priority is the safety of the guests on our centres. Therefore, all centre based employees and some specific Head Office employees must undergo an Enhanced criminal record check (known as DBS or PVG), which we pay for. You will need to provide a 5-year address history and ID (such as passport/birth certificate). Convictions related to violence, drugs, or safeguarding may affect your application. Not all convictions will disqualify you, as we assess each case individually.