Chef - Patient and Retail Catering Food Production

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; Reading; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health service provider in Reading is seeking a chef to join its Catering Department. The successful candidate will be responsible for preparing high-quality meals for patients and staff, adhering to food safety standards. Ideal candidates should have NVQ 2 in Cookery or equivalent and experience in a high-volume kitchen. This full-time position offers 27 days annual leave plus benefits including an NHS pension and flexible working opportunities.

Benefits

Flexible working opportunities

NHS pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to work scheme

Qualifications

• Proven ability to cook with fresh ingredients from start to finish.
• Relevant experience of working in catering as a chef.
• Experience in a high-volume production kitchen.

Responsibilities

• Preparing and cooking patients and restaurant food as per recipe.
• Maintaining a clean and safe kitchen.
• Supervising the serving of food.

Skills

Cooking with fresh ingredients

Teamwork

Food safety knowledge

Education

NVQ 2 in Cookery or equivalent

Basic Food Hygiene qualification

Higher level food safety qualification

Job description

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is "Working together to provide outstanding care for our community." Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated 'Good' with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust's overall rating has also improved to 'good'. We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions. We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate. We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live. We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice. At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI‑generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success. Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don't you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non‑clinical.

Key Responsibilities

• Preparing and cooking patients and restaurant food as per recipe.
• Cooking and preparing elements of high quality and diet specific dishes.
• Keeping up with industry trends and helping create new recipes.
• Maintaining a clean and safe kitchen and ensuring sanitation practices in the kitchen.
• Assisting other chefs.
• Helping with deliveries and restocking.
• Assisting with stock rotation.
• Cleaning stations.
• Contributing to maintaining kitchen and food safety standards.
• Communicate information relating to food service requirements to staff, patients and other members of the public both verbally and by telephone.
• Organise day‑to‑day work tasks or activities in conjunction with assistant head chef.
• Provide information on food service, matters including recipes and wastage information.
• Responsible for the correct operation of kitchen equipment.
• Adherence to standard recipes and production planning whilst ensuring the most economical use of provisions.
• Supervise the serving of food and the maintaining of good portion control and presentation of the food served.

Qualifications and Experience

• NVQ 2 in Cookery or City and Guilds equivalent.
• Basic Food Hygiene qualification.
• Higher level food safety qualification.
• Proven ability to cook with fresh ingredients from start to finish.
• Experience of working in a team environment.
• Relevant experience of working in catering undertaking a chef/cook role.
• Relevant experience of working in a similar type of establishment (NHS) and knowledge of delivering specialist diets.
• Experience in a high‑volume production kitchen, following standardised departmental recipes.

We are an approved sponsoring organisation. Applications will be considered from applicants requiring sponsorship alongside all other applications. Please be aware, not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible role and requirements on the government website.

A fantastic opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and driven individual to join the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust Hospital, Reading, Berkshire. The successful candidate will be working in the Catering Department as a chef, on a full‑time basis. This is an exciting opportunity to join Royal Berkshire NHS Trust, one of the UK's largest general hospital foundation trusts – serving a population exceeding 500,000. The main provider of acute and specialist care services for West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire. One of UK's exemplary hospitals and rated 'Good' by the Care Quality Commission. We deliver approximately 1,600 patient meals and 700 staff/visitor meals in the Restaurant/Deli & Training Center every day. We also deliver internal functions in excess of 40,000 covers per annum.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Appointment to any position is conditional on the satisfactory completion of the core NHS Employment Checks Standards. Information disclosed in your application will be checked and any offer of appointment may be withdrawn if you knowingly withhold information or provide false or misleading information. All new appointments to the Trust, with the exception of executive positions, are subject to a 6 month probationary period. The Trust may close any vacancy prior to the advertised closing date due to the high level of responses we receive for some of our vacancies.

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is committed to improving the health of its staff, patients and the wider community by providing a smoke free environment. A smoke free policy is in operation and smoking is not permitted on any of the Trust's sites.

Staff Benefits

• Flexible working opportunities and a strong emphasis on your work, life balance.
• Annual leave – 27 days for new starters, plus bank holidays. Increasing to 29 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years NHS service. Pro rata for part time staff.
• NHS pension scheme.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Money Advice Service.
• Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave for eligible staff.
• On‑site nursery (based at RBH).
• Full educational library services.
• Cycle to work scheme, lockable storage for cycles.
• Bus to work scheme.
• Excellent rail and bus links.
• A huge range of Health Service Discounts at hundreds of big brands from holidays to gadgets and restaurants to retail.