Nursery Cook

Action for Children; Exeter; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

A children's charity is looking for a Nursery Cook in Exeter to manage kitchen operations and prepare nutritious meals for young children. The ideal candidate should have a passion for cooking, experience in a catering environment, and organizational skills. This full-time position offers competitive salary and excellent benefits including 33 days of leave and childcare discounts. The role requires a basic food hygiene certificate and provides opportunities for further professional development.

Benefits

33 Days leave per year

24/7 Confidential Helpline for emotional wellbeing

Enhanced well-being sessions

Staff discounts with retailers

Childcare Discount of 60%

Paid maternity, adoption, and paternity leave

Pension with up to 7% employer contribution

Qualifications

• Basic food hygiene certificate, level 3 preferred but can be obtained during the role.
• Passionate about cooking and updating menu ideas with new recipes.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Experience in a similar catering role.

Responsibilities

• Plan healthy and varied meals considering children's dietary needs.
• Ensure compliance with food hygiene and health & safety requirements.
• Manage stock levels and food storage in line with guidelines.
• Keep waste to a minimum and control costs.
• Manage the food budget and invoicing.
• Follow food hygiene legislation and participate in necessary training.

Skills

Culinary Experience

Food Handling

Restaurant Experience

Food Preparation Experience

Kitchen Experience

Hotel Experience

Cake Decorating

Cooking

Baking

Sanitation

Knife Skills

Education

Basic food hygiene certificate - Level 3 preferred

Job description

Description

Nursery Cook

Location : Exeter

Salary : 26100 per annum

Contract / Hours : Permanent / Full Time 40 hours per week

Closing date : Midnight on the 5th of January 2026

Interviews : to be held on the 19th of January 2026

Benefits

• Time off to recharge – 33 Days leave per year.
• 24/7 Confidential Helpline speak to trained counsellors any time 365 days a year for emotional wellbeing or mental health support.
• Enhanced Well‑being: 8 sessions In‑Person, Phone or Online Counselling or CBT.
• Treat yourself: Staff discounts portal and blue light card with 15000 retailers.
• Salary Finance access to financial advice and the ability to manage savings or loans directly from your salary.
• Childcare Discount: a whopping 60% off childcare within our nurseries and out of school clubs.
• Up to 3 Days Dependency Leave to care for dependents in an emergency.
• Paid maternity, adoption and paternity leave.
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training / development opportunities.
• Secure your future: Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover.

We're thrilled that you're considering a career with Spring. Spare us five minutes and we will tell you what you need to know.

Why Spring Nurseries

Imagine a place where laughter echoes, imaginations run wild and every day is a new adventure. That’s Spring Nursery! We're not just a nursery; we are a family dedicated to creating a joyful and nurturing environment where children are part of Action for Children’s mission to provide outstanding early education that's accessible to all.

At Spring we are committed to supporting your career growth! Check out our Spring Career Progression Map attached to this advert which highlights the options for progression into a specialist role.

A bit about the role

We're looking for a Nursery Cook to join the team at Spring Cedars. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with experience in a larger or commercial kitchen who’s ready to take on a rewarding role preparing nutritious and tasty meals for young children every day.

As our cook you'll take full ownership of the kitchen, working from our set menus to plan, prepare and serve balanced child‑friendly meals. You’ll manage stock levels, place food orders and always maintain excellent hygiene and safety standards. You’ll take pride in keeping the kitchen spotless, well‑organised, and running smoothly.

This is a Monday to Friday 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM role where you’ll be responsible for providing breakfast, healthy snacks, lunch and tea for the children.

What you'll be doing

• Planning healthy meals with staff that are nutritious, varied and tasty, considering the children’s dietary and cultural requirements.
• Taking full responsibility for compliance with all relevant food hygiene and Health & Safety requirements.
• Ensuring that all stock is ordered and replenished as needed, that food is correctly stored in line with guidance and that stock is rotated and all equipment is kept clean and in good repair.
• Keeping waste to a minimum, ensuring our impact on the environment is as minimal as it can be and costs are kept low.
• Managing the food budget and taking responsibility for the expenditure and invoicing.
• Always following latest legislation in relation to food and food hygiene and taking part in all necessary and required training as needed.

What we need from you

• A basic food hygiene certificate – Level 3 preferred but can be obtained in the role.
• A passion for cooking and following the spring menu and inputting new ideas and recipes into menu updates.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Experience in a similar role working in a catering environment.

Contact: If you need support with your application please contact our Recruitment Team at quoting reference 12353.

Diversity Equality and Inclusion

At Spring we’re dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic and disabled candidates as they are under‑represented within the organisation. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups.

Male staff are often under‑represented within this sector and we would like to encourage more male applicants for our roles.

We are committed to safer recruitment practices to protect our service users; therefore all applicants are expected to have an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding best‑practice.

Application Process

Please note we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

There are 5 sections for you to complete – Personal Details, CV, Supporting Statement & Information, Equality & Diversity Submission, and Declaration – please refer to the JD and Person Specification when applying. We also want to know what unique qualities you can bring to help us reach our vision for children and families.

Key Skills

• Culinary Experience
• Food Handling
• Restaurant Experience
• Food Preparation Experience
• Kitchen Experience
• Hotel Experience
• Taleo
• Cake Decorating
• Cooking
• Baking
• Sanitation
• Knife Skills