Flexi Kitchen Assistant - Essex

nfamilyclub; Buckhurst Hill; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 23,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Flexible hours

Daily lunch and drinks

Referral bonuses

Social events

Employee discounts

Nursery benefits

Welcome bonus

Permanent hire option

Job summary

N Family Club in Buckhurst Hill/Upminster is seeking a Flexi Kitchen Assistant to support our Chef in the nursery kitchen. You will help cook fresh, nutritious meals for children and assist with daily lunch and smoothies, while ensuring food hygiene and dietary needs are met.

This casual 0-hour contract offers flexible hours, competitive pay, and opportunities to grow with our UK early years education group.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a commercial or nursery kitchen.
• Knowledge of food allergens and child nutrition.
• Food Hygiene level 2 (preferred or willing to complete during onboarding).
• Passion for food and nutrition.

Responsibilities

• Assist with cooking fresh and inspiring food for children.
• Pot-wash and clean equipment, maintaining hygiene standards.
• Follow nutritionist-designed recipes and menus to ensure vitamins and nutrients.
• Cater to dietary needs and prevent cross-contamination.
• Prepare daily lunch and smoothies for the nursery team.
• Complete kitchen paperwork: Due Diligence Diary and Cleaning Schedule.
• Manage weekly food orders and stock rotation.
• Cover kitchen in the chef's absence.
• Build relationships with nursery team, children and parents.

Skills

Kitchen experience

Allergens knowledge

Child nutrition knowledge

Food Hygiene level 2

Education

Food Hygiene level 2 (preferred)

Job description

We’re more than just a nursery group. We’re the UK’s most innovative early-years education provider.

At N Family Club, we dreamed of reimagining early years education. Becoming a place that fosters creativity, embraces a curriculum-led approach, and prepares children for the modern world. We’re proudly making our dream a reality – and we want you to be a part of it!

The Flexi Kitchen Assistant at N Family Club will assist our Chef with running our state-of-the-art nursery commercial kitchen. The N Kitchen is right at the heart of our Nursery, serving up fresh and nutritious food for our nursery children during the week. We want to create an uplifting, one-of-a-kind experience for all of our customers – both big and small – and are looking for a friendly, forward-thinking kitchen assistant who can support our chef to create and deliver a menu that keeps everybody happy and healthy.

A creative individual will support the Chef to introduce children to a wide range of culinary styles, celebrating London’s diversity and meet the special dietary requirements of all of our team, parents and children. This will allow you to make your mark and help N realise our vision of being the highest quality and most loved, early years education group in the UK. To be successful in this role, you will; Go Beyond, Be Outstandingly Outstanding and Play as a Team.

Our nurseries are located in Buckhurst Hill and Upminster. You'll choose your preferred base nursery, with opportunities to support other N Family Club nurseries across the Essex when needed.

Key responsibilities and tasks:

• Assist with cooking fresh and inspiring food for our children, with some flexibility to meet the needs of the nursery;
• Pot-wash for the nursery, ensuring all crockery and cooking equipment are cleaned and sterilised appropriately;
• Follow our nutritionist-designed recipes and menu to ensure that each child receives the best possible level of vitamins and nutrients;
• Support the chef to cater for the differing dietary needs of different age groups, following food preparation and choking guidelines;
• Support the chef in catering to the allergies and dietary requirements of our children, ensuring you adhere to all policies and procedures to ensure there is no risk of cross-contamination and that each individual child’s nutritional needs are met;
• Support with the preparation of a daily lunch and smoothie for our nursery team, catering to different dietary needs;
• Support the chef in the timely completion of all kitchen paperwork and compliance related tasks, including a daily Due Diligence Diary and our kitchen Cleaning Schedule;
• Responsible for the ordering of food supplies from our accredited supplier, managing weekly ordering and efficient stock rotation;
• Responsible for always adhering to the company's H&S policy: “Statement of Intent"
• Learn how to maintain and upkeep the kitchen to a 5 star Food Hygiene rating standard, adhering to all Environment Health industry regulations and requirements;
• You will be required to cover and lead the kitchen in the chef's absence.
• Build and maintain excellent relationships with our nursery team, children and parents.

Experience:

• Previous experience working within a commercial kitchen environment and/or a nursery kitchen
• Good knowledge of food allergens and child nutrition
• Ideally, Food Hygiene level 2 qualified (or a willingness to complete during onboarding)
• Passion for food and nutrition

Personal attributes:

• Genuine interest in cooking with long-term culinary career goals
• Brimming with enthusiasm and keen to learn!
• Conscious practices within food and cooking including recycling and creating as little food waste as possible
• Ability to work quickly and effectively during busy service times
• Positive outlook (someone who always sees the glass as half full)
• Bags of drive and motivation with a ‘make it happen’ attitude
• A love for customer service (you want to make people happy)
• High energy brought to every task you take on, and a solutions driven approach to problems

The N Advantage package

• Competitive pay – £15.36ph (including 12.07% holiday entitlement)
• Flexible hours that suit your lifestyle – This role is offered on a Casual Working Agreement (0-hour contract), giving you the flexibility to choose shifts that work for you.
• Daily Perks –Complimentary lunch and drinks every day.
• Referral Bonuses –Earn up to £1,000 for every friend you refer who joins N Family Club.
• Socials & wellbeing – Annual parties like our Festive Winter Party and Summer BBQ, team events, and our Wellbeing Week.
• Amazing discounts – save on groceries, shopping, fitness and more
• Nursery Benefits - exemption from our nursery joining & acceptance fees
• Flexibility to join permanently – If you choose to join us permanently, you may receive a welcome bonus of up to £1,000!

Why N Family Club?

At N Family Club, we’re reimagining early years education – and we want you to be a part of it. We’re a certified Great Place to Work and one of the UK’s most innovative early years groups. With top salaries, unmatched benefits, and real career progression, we put our people first.