Cook

National Trust; Madeley; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 10%

Free National Trust entry (you, guest,

Rental deposit loan

Season ticket loan

EV car lease

Perks at work discounts

Holiday allowance up to 32 days

Flexible working

Employee assistance programme

Free parking

Job summary

National Trust is seeking a Cook in a rural setting to prepare and present fresh, seasonal dishes for visitors across our venues. You will specialise in one of our unique food experiences and help maintain a clean, compliant kitchen.

The role includes deliveries, stock management, and direct engagement with guests to share our food story. You will follow established recipes, learn allergens and food safety training, and have opportunities for further professional development within a supportive

Qualifications

• Love good food and maintain a friendly, positive attitude.
• Confident following recipes and batch-cooking; willing to learn.
• Aware of health and safety compliance.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and present delicious food from scratch using fresh, seasonal ingredients.
• Serve food to visitors and contribute to their day out.
• Become a specialist in one of our outlet experiences (bakery, chip shop, seasonal dishes).
• Assist with deliveries, stock rotation, and maintaining a clean kitchen.
• Ensure food safety and health and safety compliance; support smooth service.
• Interact with visitors to share enthusiasm for food.

Skills

Food preparation

Health and safety

Batch cooking

Customer service

Recipe following

Tools

Kitchen equipment

Job description

Summary

Do you have a passion for food? The National Trust is renowned for its food and hospitality. We run 185 cafes all over England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we'd love you to be a part of it.

We're looking for a Cook 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, mostly day shifts with the occasional planned evening events

Salary

£25,837.50

Duration

Permanent. There are two contracts available

For this role, you'll need to complete our online assessment instead of using a C.V. or online application form. This will help us understand more about your strengths and give you more information on the role.

What it's like to work here

To find out more about what it's like to work in a food and beverage team for the National Trust, click here to watch our video.

What you'll be doing

As a Cook, your focus will be in the kitchen, helping to prepare and present delicious food from scratch using fresh, seasonal ingredients. Your food will be served directly to visitors and play an important part in their day out.

Unlike many cook roles, these positions are outlet-specific, giving you the opportunity to become a specialist in one of the unique food experiences we offer across the site. Depending on your placement, you could be:

• Baking fresh bread in our Victorian bakery while engaging with visitors and bringing traditional baking methods to life.
• Working in our Victorian chip shop, specialising in fish and chips cooked in traditional beef dripping.
• Supporting our cafés by producing seasonal dishes, homemade cakes, sweet treats and the National Trust's popular Scone of the Month.

These are far from typical cook positions and offer a rare opportunity to work in environments that combine food, heritage, storytelling and visitor engagement.

Using the framework of our National Trust Cookbook, you'll prepare, measure and mix ingredients to consistently high standards. You'll help with deliveries, stock rotation and maintaining a clean and organised kitchen environment, ensuring compliance with food safety and health and safety legislation while supporting a smooth and efficient service.

You'll also have the chance to interact with visitors, sharing your enthusiasm for food and helping to bring our historic and unique food offers to life.

We'll give you an induction that fits the job, training in allergens and food safety, plus any mentoring needed to help you succeed in your role. You can also take advantage of further professional training and development opportunities if you wish.

Who we're looking for

We'd love to hear from you if you're:

• someone who loves good food and has a friendly and positive attitude
• confident about following recipes and batch-cooking, and willing to learn
• aware of health and safety compliance

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

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.