Nursery Chef - Ilkeston

Childcare East Midlands LLP.; Ilkeston; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 26,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

30% off childcare at Cherubs Nurseries

Long-service awards for 5+ years

Annual “Me Day” after 1 year’s service

Electric Car Scheme (for thoseEligible

Free healthy lunch

Job summary

Cherubs Ilkeston, a brand new 72-place nursery, is seeking a dedicated Nursery Chef to prepare healthy meals and support cooking activities for children. You will work in a busy kitchen, maintaining high hygiene standards and helping implement Cherubs menus.

The role offers a family-run culture with strong development opportunities and a commitment to staff wellbeing, including a range of rewards and benefits within a supportive team environment.

Qualifications

• Experience preparing meals for nursery-age children.
• Maintain high hygiene and safety standards in kitchen.
• Support nutrition-focused menu planning and healthy meal prep.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and cook healthy meals and snacks from Cherubs menus.
• Lead cooking activities with children when appropriate (baking, etc.).
• Ensure proper stock rotation and food temperatures before service.
• Maintain kitchen cleanliness and organization and comply with health and safety legislation.
• Attend training, possibly outside normal hours; participate in Environmental Health inspections.

Skills

Cooking

Nutrition awareness

Hygiene standards

Education

Food Hygiene Certificate

Job description

Hours: 7am-1pm (in the probationperiod it will be 07:30am-1:30pm)

Love cooking and making a difference? Your food could be the highlight of their day. As our Nursery Chef, you’ll be serving up nutritious meals and warm smiles - fueling little bodies and minds for a day full of learning and play.

About Us

Established in 1993, Cherubs Nurseries is a family-run business on a mission to give all children the personalities, skills and experiences they need to take on the world, without limitations. Central to our approach (inspired by Montessori, Hygge, Reggio and Forest School) is our Community Life work which aims to make the communities we serve better places to live, work and grow up in. From annual fundraising events to community clean ups and a robust Sustainability Action Plan.

We know it takes a village to raise a child and we want our nurseries to be reflective of our communities. We champion diversity in the early years sector and are driven to bring more men into early years, supporting MITEY to achieve a mixed-gender early years workforce.

Why work at Cherubs Nurseries?

• Family-run business, but with all the benefits you would expect from a bigger group!
• Committed to taking people where they want to go - from personalised professional development pathways to continuous internal training.
• Experienced and long-standing teams - plenty of support whilst you get to grips with Cherubs Nurseries.
• Opportunity to progress and transfer internally - whether that’s within your current nursery or to another team or nursery within the group.
• Exceptional early years environments – we heavily invest in our nurseries to ensure they align with our approach and curriculum and are the best places to work for our team.
• Proactive and forward-thinking culture - we’re committed to making Cherubs Nurseries a great place to work.

About our Nursery

Cherubs Ilkeston is a brand new, modern 72-place nursery. It has a rapidly developing team (due to only opening in September 2024) so there are plenty of opportunities for career progression. The nursery is well-placed with good bus and road links and local amenities within walking distance such as supermarkets and food outlets.

Cherubs Nurseries Rewards and Benefits

• 30% off childcare at Cherubs Nurseries
• Long-service awards for 5+ years service
• Annual “Me Day” after 1 year’s service
• Electric Car Scheme (for those eligible)
• Free healthy lunch, made by our Nursery Chef

What you’ll be doing

• Prepare and cook healthy and nutritious meals and snacks, from approved Cherubs Nurseries’ menus
• Take an active role championing cooking and baking across all areas of the nursery, this could
• include baking with children and preparing additional food for nursery events including Parent’s Evening and Summer Fair
• Maintain a high standard of hygiene, cleanliness and organisation in the kitchen
• Ensure good stock rotation in cupboards, fridges and freezers.
• Ensure correct temperature of all food, especially high-risk food before service
• Be aware of health and safety legislation which is relevant to the nursery kitchen.
• Attend both in-house and external training, as required. Some of this may be outside of working hours, for example on a weekend.
• Take the lead in Environmental Health Inspections where you will aspire to achieve a ‘5’ grading.

Passionate about giving children the best start in life? So are we. If you’re nurturing, dedicated, and ready to help little minds grow, we’d love to welcome you to our team.

Disclaimer: Cherubs Nurseries is committed to upholding a safe and compliant workforce and business. All roles require: the right to work in the United Kingdom, the completion of a “Keeping Children Safe” Form, a DBS and at least 2 satisfactory employment references. Some roles may also require a 5-year employment history.Cherubs Nurseries is an equal opportunities employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and will make reasonable adjustments to support candidates and employees with disabilities and learning difficulties.

You will need to wait until your enhanced DBS has been returned and we have received 2 satisfactory references before you can start.

Please note that this role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.