Chef

National Trust; Shrewsbury; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 31,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Substantial pension up to 10%

Free entry to National Trust places

Season ticket loan

EV car lease scheme

Perks at work discounts

Holiday allowance up to 32 days

Flexible working

Employee assistance programme

Free parking at most Trust places

Job summary

The National Trust is seeking a Chef to join Attingham Park, Shrewsbury. You will lead a busy kitchen, working within our National Trust Cookbook framework to prepare delicious, from-scratch meals using seasonal ingredients for visitors.

You’ll support the Kitchen Manager and supervise a team of 4 Cooks, Kitchen Team Members and volunteers when not on site. This permanent role offers 37.5 hours per week, typically Friday to Tuesday, with weekend and bank holiday work as required.

Qualifications

• Experience as a professional chef or cook.
• Confident following recipes and batch-cooking.
• Awareness of health and safety compliance.
• Good communication and team collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead the kitchen in line with the National Trust Cookbook and seasonal ingredients.
• Supervise a team of 4 Cooks, Kitchen Team Members and volunteers.
• Maintain high standards of food hygiene and safety.

Skills

Professional chef experience

Food safety awareness

Teamwork

Following recipes

Job description

Summary 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're looking for a Chef to join us.

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:

You'll work 37.5 hours per week. You'll usually work Friday to Tuesday, with two days off during the week. Weekend and bank holiday working will be required, and shift patterns may vary to help cover holidays and business needs. You'll normally work 8am - 4pm, with occasional 9am - 5pm shifts when covering the Kitchen Manager's days off.

Salary:

£28,000 per annum

Duration:

Permanent

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.

What It's Like To Work Here

You’ll support the Kitchen Manager and provide day-to-day supervision for a team of 4 Cooks, Kitchen Team Members and volunteers when they're not on site.

What You'll Be Doing

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 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.

Who We're Looking For

• 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 package

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

National Trust place

Attingham Park, Atcham, Shrewsbury, SY4 4TP

Documents

Chef - B.pdf

Requirements

Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK

Closing Date: 1st November 2026

Equal Opportunities Statement

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.

Safeguarding Statement

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.