Chef

St Elizabeth Hospice; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days annual leave

Pension scheme (NHS pension transferb

Life Cover

Free Car Parking

Cycle to Work & Car Leasing Scheme

Health Service Discounts

Occupational Sick Pay

Blue Light Card

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich is seeking a passionate Chef to lead the day-to-day operations of our kitchen during allocated shifts. You will ensure high-quality, nutritious, and safe food production that supports patient wellbeing and visitor experiences.

Join a collaborative team and uphold food safety, service excellence, and compassionate care. Experience in healthcare or high-standard hospitality is preferred; Level 3 Food Hygiene and NVQ Level 2 Cookery are desirable qualifications.

Qualifications

• Proven experience working as a Chef, ideally within a healthcare, care home, or high-standard hospitality environment.
• Strong knowledge of food hygiene regulations (Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate or the commitment to attain. NVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery.
• Ability to adapt menus to meet specific nutritional or medical dietary needs.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and customer service skills.
• A compassionate, flexible approach to work, with a commitment to supporting the values of a local charity.

Responsibilities

• Kitchen Leadership - Lead the operations of the kitchen, guiding the catering team to ensure smooth, efficient daily service.
• High-Quality Food Production - Prepare, cook, and present nutritious, appealing meals tailored to the dietary requirements of patients, as well as comforting options for visitors and staff.
• Standards & Compliance - Maintain excellent food safety, hygiene, and health and safety standards across all food prep and storage areas.
• Customer Excellence - Ensure an outstanding dining experience for everyone, demonstrating empathy and responsiveness to patient and family feedback.
• Team Collaboration - Support the wider catering team, fostering a positive, flexible, and cohesive working environment.

Skills

Kitchen Leadership

High-Quality Food Production

Standards & Compliance

Customer Excellence

Team Collaboration

Education

Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate

NVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery

Job description

We are seeking a passionate and dedicated Chef to lead the day-to-day operations of our kitchen during allocated shifts. In this role, you will do much more than cook; you will ensure the delivery of high-quality, nutritious, and safe food production that directly impacts patient wellbeing and customer experience. Working as part of a collaborative and flexible team, you will champion excellent food safety, customer service, and operational standards while embodying the core values of the hospice.

• Kitchen Leadership - Lead the operations of the kitchen, guiding the catering team to ensure smooth, efficient daily service.
• High-Quality Food Production - Prepare, cook, and present nutritious, appealing meals tailored to the dietary requirements of patients, as well as comforting options for visitors and staff.
• Standards & Compliance - Maintain excellent food safety, hygiene, and health and safety standards across all food prep and storage areas.
• Customer Excellence - Ensure an outstanding dining experience for everyone, demonstrating empathy and responsiveness to patient and family feedback.
• Team Collaboration - Support the wider catering team, fostering a positive, flexible, and cohesive working environment.

• Proven experience working as a Chef, ideally within a healthcare, care home, or high-standard hospitality environment.
• Strong knowledge of food hygiene regulations (Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate or the commitment to attain. NVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery.
• Ability to adapt menus to meet specific nutritional or medical dietary needs.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and customer service skills.
• A compassionate, flexible approach to work, with a commitment to supporting the values of a local charity.

St Elizabeth Hospice is an independent charity & hospice, which improves life for people in the East Suffolk, Great Yarmouth & Waveney areas living with a progressive or life-limiting illness.

Last year the charity supported over 4,000 patients & their families. The hospices work is centred on the individual's needs and they provide specialist support wherever it is needed; whether that is in the home, another setting in the community, in hospital or in the hospice itself. Support is provided to patients & their families via the Inpatient Unit, the Community Care Unit including outpatients clinics, home visits from the community nursing, medical or therapy team, the OneCall 24/7 telephone helpline & bereavement support.

St Elizabeth Hospice is committed to safeguarding & protecting the adults & young people that we work with & has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, neglect & discrimination of any person. As such, all posts are subject to a rigorous safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records & vetting checks. We have a range of robust safeguarding policies in place which promote safeguarding across the hospice & staff are expected to undertake regular, mandatory safeguarding training to equip them with the knowledge & skills to identify & respond to potential risks.

Various shifts available covering 7:00am to 7:00pm including weekends

In addition to being part of a wonderful local charity, the hospice offers a generous benefit package, including:

• 27 days annual leave entitlement
• Pension scheme (NHS pension transferable)
• Life Cover
• Free Car Parking
• Cycle to Work & Car Leasing Scheme
• Health Service Discounts
• Occupational Sick Pay
• Blue Light Card
• Employee Assistance Programme