Nursery Cook

The Chapel Nursery; Dartford; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A local nursery in Dartford is seeking a passionate Nursery Cook to prepare and serve nutritious meals for young children. This role, 25 hours a week from Monday to Friday, emphasizes maintaining food hygiene and catering to dietary needs. Ideal candidates will have prior cooking experience in care settings and hold a Food Hygiene Certificate. Additional benefits include a competitive salary, childcare discounts, and a supportive work environment focused on staff development.

Benefits

Competitive salary up to £38,000

Childcare discounts

Private medical insurance

Employee mentoring program

Health & wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a similar cooking role, ideally within a nursery, school, or care setting.
• Organised, reliable, and able to manage kitchen operations independently.
• Passion for healthy food and a genuine care for children's wellbeing.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and cook healthy, balanced meals and snacks for children aged 3 months – 5 years.
• Cater to a range of dietary requirements, allergies, and cultural needs.
• Maintain our 5-star food hygiene rating through excellent cleanliness.

Skills

Cooking skills

Knowledge of food safety

Organisational skills

Ability to manage kitchen operations

Catering to dietary requirements

Education

Food Hygiene Certificate (Level 2 or 3 preferred)

Job description

DO YOU HAVE A BACKGROUND IN COOKING / CATERING? ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BETTER HOURS, AWAY FROM EVENINGS / WEEKENDS? This role is 25 HOURS a week, Monday to Friday, all year through. 9.30am to 1.30pm Dartford.

Job Summary: We are looking for a passionate and reliable Nursery Cook to join our friendly team. In this role, you will be responsible for planning, preparing, and serving nutritious meals for young children, while maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and food safety. You’ll play a vital part in supporting children’s health and wellbeing through healthy eating, and you’ll help create a warm, safe, and inclusive environment for all.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Prepare and cook healthy, balanced meals and snacks for children aged 3 months – 5 years.
• Cater to a range of dietary requirements, allergies, and cultural needs.
• Ensure all meals are prepared in compliance with statutory food safety and hygiene regulations.
• Maintain our 5-star food hygiene rating through excellent cleanliness, safe food practices, and kitchen management, including keeping on top of records such as opening and closing checks, fridge temperature recording, probe calibration, etc.
• Order food supplies weekly, ensuring stock is fresh, appropriately stored, and within budget.
• Perform a weekly deep clean of the kitchen in addition to daily cleaning routines.
• Clean the kitchen and all equipment thoroughly after each mealtime.
• Keep accurate food safety records and up-to-date allergen information.

About You

• Previous experience in a similar cooking role, ideally within a nursery, school, or care setting.
• Food Hygiene Certificate (Level 2 or 3 preferred).
• Knowledge of food safety and allergen management.
• Organised, reliable, and able to manage kitchen operations independently.
• Passion for healthy food and a genuine care for children's wellbeing.

What We Offer

Benefits

• Competitive salary of up to £38,000 per year.
• Generous perks, including: Additional leave, Childcare discounts, Private medical insurance, Employee mentoring program, Health & wellbeing initiatives, Free parking and on-site facilities, Company events and celebrations.
• A supportive environment focused on staff development and well‑being.

Additional Benefits

• Employer contribution to Pensions.
• Access to exclusive discounts with major retailers for staff through My WorkLife Solutions / Edenred.
• Staff Health Insurance Cash Plan.
• The nursery is closed between the dates of Christmas and New Year, which is part of the statutory holiday entitlement; these dates will be advised to you in advance.
• Birthday Leave in addition to your statutory holidays.
• Childcare discount of up to 30% for staff children to attend our nurseries.
• Employee of the Month incentives and bonus.
• Employee Monthly Attendance and Reliability bonus.
• Company events and celebrations.
• An in‑depth, supportive Induction programme to support you joining our nurseries.
• Regular opportunities for training and developing your CPD to keep your skills and knowledge up to date and help prepare for greater responsibilities within the company if career progression is something that interests you.

An enhanced DBS check and two satisfactory professional references are required before any employment can be confirmed.

Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. Therefore, it is essential in making your application that you disclose any information requested in respect of applicable convictions and cautions (including, as applicable any reprimands or final warnings). This post may be exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, in which case applicants are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for other purposes are ‘spent’ under the provision of the Act unless the conviction or caution is “protected” as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). All guidance and criteria on the filtering of these cautions and convictions can be found in the DBS filtering collection, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dbs-filtering-guidance . The fact that a pending charge, conviction, caution, reprimand, or final warning has been recorded against you will not necessarily debar you from consideration for this role but any failure to disclose any such information will result in dismissal or disciplinary action.