Early Years Kitchen Assistant

Bright Horizons Family Solutions, LLC.; Burgess Hill; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 21,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Childcare discount

Enhanced parental leave

Additional leave option

Pension

Wellbeing benefits

Professional development

Employee appreciation

Job summary

Bright Horizons Tudor House in Burgess Hill is seeking an Early Years Kitchen Assistant. You will support meal preparation for children, maintain a clean and safe kitchen, and step in to run the kitchen when the Chef is away.

The role focuses on nutritious, age-appropriate meals and strict dietary management. The position is part-time (25 hours/week) with benefits including childcare discounts, enhanced parental leave, pension, and access to wellbeing resources.

Qualifications

• Experience in cooking for a nursery or similar setting.
• Knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating for children.
• Ability to manage dietary requirements and allergies.
• Must have Food Safety Level 2 or higher (to be achieved day 1).
• Knowledge of COSHH and safe kitchen practices.
• Excellent communication with colleagues, children and parents.
• Ability to work under pressure in a busy kitchen.

Responsibilities

• Support the Chef in preparing and cooking age-appropriate meals for all children with minimal waste.
• In the absence of the Chef, run the kitchen and ensure dietary needs are clearly communicated to teams.

Skills

Cooking experience

Nutrition passion

Dietary requirements

Food Safety L2

COSHH

Communication

Pressure handling

Education

Food Safety Level 2

Job description

Nursery – Bright Horizons Tudor House, Burgess Hill, Day Nursery and Preschool

Salary – Starting from £12.75 per hour (dependent on qualification/s and experience)

Location – Burgess Hill

Are you looking to work for an organisation whose culture is driven by our HEART principles – Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Teamwork? Where you can be yourself, feel supported, and help to make a difference to the next generation? Somewhere you can say: "I did that." We’re looking for an Early Years Kitchen Assistant to join our Bright Horizons Tudor House, Burgess Hill, Day Nursery and Preschool, situated within 10 minutes’ walk from Burgess Hill town centre and a 15 minute walk to Burgess Hill station. This nursery offers a warm and welcoming working environment where teamwork and mutual respect is a priority. Its longstanding team have a commitment to continuous development and are very keen to welcome new team members and to support you on your career at Bright Horizons.

*this is a part time position - 25 hours a week*

Benefits

• Childcare discount of 40% for first child
• Enhanced parental leave 20 days annual leave, plus bank holidays and paid Christmas closure.
• Ability to also purchase additional leave*
• Pension
• Financial and wellbeing benefits including 24/7 virtual GP appointments, early access to wages, and more
• Professional development programme access for every stage of your career, including access to a careers coach
• *Subject to T&Cs

The Role As an Early Years Kitchen Assistant, you will support the Chef in the preparation and cooking of age-appropriate food for all the children in the nursery, with minimum wastage, and in keeping the kitchen a clean and safe environment. In the absence of the Chef, you will take responsibility for the running of the kitchen, and ensuring all dietary requirements are catered for and clearly communicated to teams.

What we’re looking for

• Previous experience within a cooking role, in a domestic or commercial property
• Passion for nutrition, and inspiring others in healthy eating
• Ability to demonstrate a sound knowledge of managing different dietary requirements, particularly food allergies
• Food Safety CIEH L2 or above (or equivalent) – this must be passed on day 1 in post
• Sound knowledge of COSHH
• Great communication skills, with colleagues, children, and parents
• Ability to work under pressure

Bright Horizons is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

Bright Horizons is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all ages and backgrounds to apply.

We will consider reasonable adjustments required by applicants.

Proud to be a Great Place to Work for 20 years.

At Bright Horizons, our culture is built on our commitment to Keeping Everyone Safe and providing world‑class care and education, delivered by a world‑class workforce.

We believe our people’s potential is endless and with this in mind, we aspire to create an environment where our colleagues can thrive and accomplish the things they thought impossible.

Bright Horizons has been recognised as a Great Place to Work by our employees and the Great Place to Work Institute for the last 13 years.

These are quite literally at the HEART of our organisation’s ethos and culture as it helps us to provide a working environment that supports professionalism, growth and diversity.

We are passionate about our people’s ongoing learning and development.

Our learning and leading with HEART framework supports each Bright Horizons colleague on the first steps of their leadership journey, whether that includes our 'World‑Class Welcome' induction or our extensive ongoing training programme.

Either way we want you to feel valued and invested in!

Celebrating in the accomplishments of our people is an essential part of our culture. We believe in the power of 'thank you' and throughout the year, in ways big and small, formal and informal, we show our appreciation for employees at all levels. We have many ways to acknowledge and celebrate our people, including our very popular 'employee appreciation month'. This is a chance for everyone to share their gratitude to one another, across the whole company. Whether it is a 'thank you' placed on our website, a chocolate pizza, team lunch or an ice cream van visit, it is our way of showing each other we care and appreciate everything we do.

By creating this account you acknowledge that Bright Horizons will collect, store and process any of your personal data provided in respect of your application and employment in accordance with our Employee Privacy Notice. https://www.brighthorizons.co.uk/statutory-information/privacy-notice-employees.