Kitchen Porter

Church of England; London; On-site; GBP 31,000; Full time

Job summary

An iconic establishment is seeking a dedicated Kitchen Porter to join its vibrant team at Lambeth Palace. This role is essential in maintaining a clean and organized kitchen environment, supporting chefs, and performing basic food preparation tasks. The position offers the opportunity to work in a historically significant setting, contributing to the hospitality traditions of the Church of England. Ideal candidates will have experience in busy kitchens, a strong sense of responsibility, and the ability to work well under pressure. Join a diverse community and play a vital role in delivering exceptional service.

Qualifications

• Experience in busy kitchen environments and small teams.
• Knowledge of food safety and preparation practices.

Responsibilities

• Maintain cleanliness and organization in the kitchen.
• Assist chefs with food preparation and service.
• Record daily fridge/freezer temperatures.

Skills

Kitchen Cleaning

Basic Food Preparation

Health & Safety Practices

Team Working Skills

Manual Handling Techniques

Job description

Salary: GBP30430 - GBP30430 per annum + £30,430 per annum

Summary

We're looking for a Kitchen Porter here at Lambeth Palace.

About the Department/Role

Lambeth Palace is a unique building of significant historical and global provenance. It is, first and foremost, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury and their family, as well as home to a wider, diverse and thriving, residential community. It is also an office and the epicentre of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ministry to the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion. It is a Grade I listed building comprising of various listed buildings dating from the 12th to the 20th centuries, set within 10 acres of beautiful landscaped gardens. Extensive refurbishment works are currently underway to the Blore Building, bringing state of the art facilities to the event spaces. A re-launch of the event spaces is being planned for 2025, upon completion of the works.

By its nature and location, Lambeth Palace is seen as an iconic statement of the values and the nature of the Church of England, the Anglican Communion and the ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury. As such, the way it is managed is essential to the witness and ministry exercised or exemplified within its boundaries.

In collaboration with the wider events team, this fast-paced position plays a key role in the setting of the tone and ethos of the practical operational extension of the Archbishop’s ministry. The pattern set by the traditions of hospitality set out in the Rule of St Benedict and the ancient traditions of Christian hospitality, which call for all visitors to be treated as if they were Christ Himself, set the benchmark for this post.

What you'll be doing

To keep the kitchen clean and tidy. kitchen tasks will be required such as, maintaining a clean and organised kitchen environment, supporting chefs, and preforming basic food preparation tasks, including dishwashing, cleaning and waste management. The post holder will also assist in equipment and food supply stocktakes and help ensure that the kitchen operations are supported as required. There will be occasional need to support front-of-house catering setup to cover for sickness or unexpected absence of regular catering staff. The post holder will need to be hard-working and happy to work late evenings as needed to cover events. The site has gone through a major refurbishment which consists of a brand new state of the art kitchen facilities.

• To record opening and closing checks.
• To keep the kitchen clean and tidy at all times, to undertake general kitchen porter duties (washing up & kitchen cleaning & Waste management).
• To receive, check and put away daily deliveries, to record daily fridge/freezer temperatures, by using food alert system, reporting any discrepancies to the Head Chef.
• To clean and closedown the kitchen at the end of shifts.
• To complete daily Kitchen cleaning schedules at the end of shifts.
• To assist the kitchen team with basic food preparation & service.
• To assist with basic front of house catering duties occasionally as requested by the Operations manager.
• Delivery of catering to required locations when necessary.

Stocktake:

• Help to complete regular equipment stocktakes for the kitchen and catering supplies, as well as ensuring adequate food supplies are maintained in collaboration with the kitchen team.

All staff working at Lambeth Palace share responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture with regard to children and vulnerable adults, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities.

Please note that this is a 12 month fixed term contract.

About You

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

Knowledge/Experience:

• Experience working in a busy kitchen with small teams.
• Knowledge of Health & Safety practices in regard to food preparation and kitchen equipment.
• Experience with basic food preparation and delivery controls.
• Awareness of manual handling techniques.
• Awareness of Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and chemical safety.
• Awareness and an understand of food allergens.

Skills & Abilities:

• Strong sense of responsibility that the work issued is of a consistently high standard, with fast response times.
• A self-starter, able to use initiative and good judgement.
• Ability to work calmly under pressure.
• Flexibility with the ability to adapt plans quickly in response to change.
• Strong team working skills.
• Hard-working and willing to complete time-consuming cleaning tasks regularly.
• Basic food preparation and kitchen equipment handling skills.