Nursery Chef

Family First Nursery Group; Fordingbridge; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Referral programme

Employee Childcare Discounts

Annual Leave 24+ days

Health and Wellbeing Programme

Development opportunities

Excellent Transport Links

Wellbeing and future security

Job summary

Family First Nursery Group is looking for a dedicated Nursery Chef in the United Kingdom to cook for children aged 3 months to 5 years, keeping meals nutritious, budget-conscious and allergen-aware.

The role requires strong English communication, kitchen hygiene discipline, and the ability to adapt to daily numbers provided by staff. Benefits include referrals, childcare discounts, generous annual leave, wellbeing support, learning opportunities, reliable transport access and career development.

Qualifications

• Sound knowledge of managing dietary requirements around food allergies.
• Sound Knowledge of COSHH.
• Able to work to a catering budget while maintaining consistent food standards.
• Experience and qualification in cooking for domestic or commercial settings.
• Fluent in written and spoken English (GCSE level or equivalent).

Responsibilities

• Keep the kitchen clean and safe, follow hygiene checks and schedules.
• Ensure high cleanliness levels in nursery and kitchen.
• Cook age-appropriate meals daily with minimal wastage.
• Communicate dietary requirements clearly to teams.
• Adhere to dietary and personal care routines using Red/Amber/Green plate procedures.
• Collaborate with nursery staff and parents to promote healthy eating.
• Plan food orders to meet budgetary needs.

Skills

Dietary requirements

COSHH

Catering budget

Cooking for children

English proficiency

Job description

Nursery Chef

Salary - £28,652 per annum

Monday to Friday - 38 hours per week

At Fordingbridge Day Nursery, we believe in creating a nurturing, emotionally secure environment where children feel valued, supported, and free to grow at their own pace. Our nursery is grade 2 listed building which features four beautifully designed rooms tailored to children aged 3 months to 5 years, each with direct access to spacious outdoor areas that encourage exploration and play in nature.

Why Join Us?

• Referral programme: Refer a friend and earn up to £750
• Employee Childcare Discounts: 75% off nursery fees for our team member’s
• Annual Leave: Starting at 24 days, plus a paid day off for your birthday and bank holidays
• Health and Wellbeing Programme: Confidential employee assistance helpline available
• Development: Tailored learning and development opportunities to support your career growth
• Excellent Transport Links
• Your wellbeing and your future matter to us

As Nursery Chef, you will:

• Keep the kitchen a clean and safe environment, adhering to internal and external requirements; complete the Kitchen Hygiene Checklist each month, and ensure that the Cleaning Schedule is complete and adhered to, being regularly updated and displayed prominently in the kitchen.
• Ensure the highest levels of cleanliness and hygiene in the nursery and kitchen
• The nursery staff will tell you each day of the numbers to cater for; prepare and cook enough age-appropriate food (cooked as near to the point of service as possible) for all the children on a daily basis, with minimum wastage
• Take responsibility to make sure all dietary requirements are catered for and clearly communicated to the teams.
• Ensure that dietary requirements and personal care routines are adhered to always, including the robust measures around the Red, Amber and Green plate procedures.
• Work in co-operation and partnership with the Nursery team and parents to encourage a healthy and nutritious diet
• Ensure that budgetary requirements are met through careful planning of all food orders
• *Duties and responsibilities in this job description are not exhaustive or restrictive, changes and other duties relevant to this post may be added.

As Nursery Chef, you will need:

• Able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of managing different dietary requirements around food allergies - essential
• Sound Knowledge of COSHH - essential
• Able to work to a catering budget, in a manner that avoids fluctuating standards of food service - essential
• Experience and qualified to the appropriate level in any role which involves cooking in domestic or commercial property - essential
• Fluent in written and spoken English at GCSE grade C (or equivalent) - essential
• Experienced and passionate about any role that involves cooking for young children - desirable

We are committed to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. A Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate will be required for all posts. This post will be subject to enhanced checks as part of our Safeguarding Duty.

Fordingbridge Day Nursery is part of the Family First Group where we take great care to treat everyone as a person, with equal rights and responsibilities to any other individual, whether they are an adult or a child.

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children and families according to their individual needs.

Discrimination on the grounds of gender, age, race, religion or belief, marriage or civil partnership, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, ethnic or national origin, or political belief has no place within the Family First Group