Chef
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
The National Trust seeks an experienced chef for Scotney Castle’s in-house kitchen. You will craft dishes from seasonal ingredients, working 37.5 hours across five days with weekends off periodically, in a supportive team environment near Tunbridge Wells.
Join a role focused on quality, safety and consistent service, under the National Trust’s mission to care for special places for ever, for everyone. A local, day-time schedule ensures work-life balance and community engagement.
Qualifications
- Professional chef or cook experience.
- Willingness to learn NT cookbook and batch-cooking methods.
- Strong focus on food hygiene and safety compliance.
- Able to work as part of a collaborative kitchen team.
Responsibilities
- Prepare dishes from scratch using fresh, seasonal ingredients.
- Serve food to visitors in a busy kitchen environment.
- Follow the National Trust Cookbook and maintain high hygiene standards.
- Support and mentor colleagues as needed to maintain service quality.
- Contribute to a positive kitchen culture and flexible work practices.
Skills
Job description
Are you looking to step up your career in food and beverage? The National Trust is renowned for its food and hospitality. We run 185 cafes, tea-rooms, and restaurants all over England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we'd love you to join us.
We’re looking for a Chef to join us. Because we are in a rural area, please think about how
you’d be able to get here for work, before applying for the job.
Benefits: We want to help you look after the things that matter to you, such as saving for your future, getting a discount on your weekly shop, or encouraging you to find a work-life balance. Please read our package, below, to see what benefits we offer you.
Hours:37.5 hours per week. No evenings or split shifts Working 5 days out of 7 with flexible hours and at least 1 weekend off per month, working alongside 2 other chefs. Usually working between 9am and 5pm.
Salary:£27,612 per annum
Duration:Permanent
Interview date:Wednesday 30th September and Friday 2nd October but can be flexible to accommodate candidates’ availability
Scotney Castle is one of the National Trust's most loved places, with its romantic moated castle, beautiful gardens and stunning estate attracting visitors throughout the year.
As part of our food and beverage team, you'll play an important role in helping people make the most of their day, serving freshly prepared food in a unique setting that connects people with nature, beauty and history.
Working here means being part of a supportive team that cares about creating memorable experiences for everyone who visits. You'll work closely with colleagues and volunteers, sharing ideas, developing your skills and taking pride in delivering high quality food made with care. At the National Trust, we're passionate about looking after special places for ever, for everyone. Whether you're preparing dishes for a busy lunchtime service or helping develop seasonal menus, you'll know that your work contributes to something bigger, helping us generate the income that supports the conservation of Scotney Castle and the wider work of the Trust. Life at the National Trust is built on collaboration, belonging and a shared sense of purpose, giving you the opportunity to grow while making a meaningful difference every day.
Are you looking to step up your career in food and beverage? The National Trust is renowned for its food and hospitality. We run 185 cafes, tea-rooms, and restaurants all over England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we'd love you to join us.
We’re looking for a Chef to join us. Because we are in a rural area, please think about how you’d be able to get here for work, before applying for the job.
Benefits: We want to help you look after the things that matter to you, such as saving for your future, getting a discount on your weekly shop, or encouraging you to find a work-life balance. Please read our package, below, to see what benefits we offer you.
Hours:37.5 hours per week. No evenings or split shifts Working 5 days out of 7 with flexible hours and at least 1 weekend off per month, working alongside 2 other chefs. Usually working between 9am and 5pm.
Salary:£27,612 per annum
Duration:Permanent
Interview date:Wednesday 30th September and Friday 2nd October but can be flexible to accommodate candidates’ availability
Potential start date:TBC
Scotney Castle is one of the National Trust's most loved places, with its romantic moated castle, beautiful gardens and stunning estate attracting visitors throughout the year.
As part of our food and beverage team, you'll play an important role in helping people make the most of their day, serving freshly prepared food in a unique setting that connects people with nature, beauty and history.
Working here means being part of a supportive team that cares about creating memorable experiences for everyone who visits. You'll work closely with colleagues and volunteers, sharing ideas, developing your skills and taking pride in delivering high quality food made with care. At the National Trust, we're passionate about looking after special places for ever, for everyone. Whether you're preparing dishes for a busy lunchtime service or helping develop seasonal menus, you'll know that your work contributes to something bigger, helping us generate the income that supports the conservation of Scotney Castle and the wider work of the Trust. Life at the National Trust is built on collaboration, belonging and a shared sense of purpose, giving you the opportunity to grow while making a meaningful difference every day.
Your main focus is the kitchen, a busy and creative hub. You’ll be working within the framework of our ‘National Trust Cookbook’ to prepare delicious food from scratch using fresh, seasonal ingredients. Your food will be served directly to visitors. You’ll help to build a great place to work, which includes showing empathy and giving support to team members when needed. The aim is to foster a positive spirit where everyone is focussed on giving the best possible service to visitors. By maintaining high standards of food hygiene and COSHH procedures, you’ll minimise risks to visitors, staff and contractors. We’ll give you an induction that fits the job, and training in allergens and food safety, plus any mentoring needed to help you in your role. You can sign up for further professional training and development if you wish. You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. You don't need to have all of the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what’s possible in this role..
- Experienced as a professional chef or cook, with a passion for food and a friendly and positive attitude.
- Confident about following recipes and batch-cooking, and willing to learn.
- Aware of health and safety compliance.
- Happy working within a team, and good at communicating with people.
The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.
- Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
- Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
- Rental deposit loan scheme
- Season ticket loan
- EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
- Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
- Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.
- Flexible working whenever possible
- Employee assistance programme
- Free parking at most Trust places
Scotney Castle, Lamberhurst, Tunbridge Wells, TN3 8JN
Chef - Career Level B.pdf
Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK
Closing Date: 27 September 2026
The National Trust celebrates diversity and is committed to creating a fair and equal society, free from discrimination. You can read more about our commitment to inclusion and diversity here .
The National Trust is committed to a safe recruitment processes to help the organisation attract and appoint the right staff/volunteer for the role and responsibilities as set out in the vacancy advert. We will not accept applicants who are not suitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk. If you have any questions around your suitability for this vacancy, please contact the people service centre.
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