Restaurant: Kitchen - Chef

Squire's Garden Centres; Woking; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 21,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Discount

Holiday (including bank holidays)

Bonus

Pension

Attendance

Made A Difference Scheme (MAD)

Learning & Development

Birthday benefits

Cycle2work scheme

Child's first day at school

RHS Membership or Tree/Shrub

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Retirement

Free Parking

Job summary

Squires Garden Centres in Woking is seeking a Kitchen Chef to support the Catering Team at Littlewick Road. You will work with the Catering Manager, prepare salads and hot foods, and ensure recipes are followed with proper waste control.

The rota includes regular shifts on Mondays, Fridays, and rotating Tuesdays/Thursdays with weekends. The role emphasizes customer service, food safety, and team collaboration within a family-owned garden centre group known for horticulture, catering, and retail

Qualifications

• Love and enthusiasm for food preparation and cooking.
• Can do attitude and looking for a career in catering.

Responsibilities

• Handling customer queries courteously and efficiently.
• Maintain a harmonious and cooperative relationship with customers and staff at all times.
• Carry out duties as requested by management.
• Work within kitchen to prepare salads, vegetables and sandwiches.
• Cook and bake hot food, sweets and pastries when required.

Skills

Love and enthusiasm for food prep

Can do attitude

Job description

Restaurant: Kitchen - Chef

Location:Littlewick Road, Woking, GU21 4XR

Job Reference:#12530

Your primary responsibility will be to provide a professional support to the Catering Team.

Working closely with the Catering Manager to help the department to succeed.

Hiring rate - £13.35

Rota: Every Monday and Friday 08:00-17:00, alternate Tuesday and Thursday 08:00-17:00 with alternate weekends, Saturday and Sunday 08:00-17:00

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Handling customer queries courteously and efficiently
• Maintain a harmonious and cooperative relationship with customers and staff alike at all time
• Carry out all reasonable duties as requested by management as and when required.
• Working within the kitchen team to prepare salads, vegetables and sandwiches
• Cooking and baking hot food, sweets, pastries etc. when required
• Producing all food recipes to specification and recording any wastage/shrinkage in accordance with company guidelines
• Ensuring that all food is stored to the company’s standards.
• Strictly adhering to all relevant food safety and hygiene regulations at all times.
• Undertaking any general cleaning requirements of the kitchen and restaurant
• Working as part of the kitchen and catering team and undertaking any other reasonable duties as and when required
• Handling customer queries courteously and efficiently

To be successful in this role, we are looking for people:

• Love and enthusiasm for food preparation and cooking
• Can do attitude and looking for a career in catering

Squires is a family-owned group of 17 garden centres based in Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, and Berkshire. Since 1936 the purpose of our business has been the happiness of those who work in it.

We are committed to growing our business and to promoting the highest standards in horticulture, catering, and retail.

We want our staff to enjoy working with us in a friendly, energetic customer focused environment.

Rewards & Benefits:

We want our employees to be known for their friendliness, helpfulness, and good customer service, with their whole ethos being nothing is too much trouble for our customers. In turn we will provide an extensive benefit package, please see below.

• Employee Discount– 50% in Restaurants and 20% in Garden Centre on joining, increasing to 25% after 2 years' service and 30% after 5 years' service.
• Holiday (including bank holidays)– 5.6 weeks on joining increasing to 6.2 week after 2 years' service and 6.6 weeks after 5 years' service.
• Bonus– We reward our employees with a non-contractual bonus at Christmas, based on the profit of the company in any financial year (first year is dependent on start date)
• Pension– We are all aware of how important it is to save for our retirement. We offer a Defined Contribution Pension Plan to new employees. If you pay into the plan and meet the government criteria, the company will too, and these contributions will be invested.
• Attendance– After one years service, if you have worked for a full financial year and have 100% attendance, one day holiday (pro-rata) will be added to your holiday grant as a 'Thank you'.
• Made A Difference Scheme (M.A.D)– A reward scheme for team members who make a difference to our business through outstanding customer service, over and above normal duties or initiatives that have grown / inspired the business. There is a monthly winner. All winners select a gift to receive.
• Learning & Development– You can look forward to a wealth of learning opportunities with us that will enhance and develop you with the skills and confidence you need.
• Birthday –After 6 months service if your birthday falls on your contracted day to work, you can leave work early (holiday policy rules apply). If you have 2 years service on your birthday, you will receive a £25 Squires gift voucher (pro rata for less than 40 hours).
• Cycle2work scheme –After 1 years service, a government initiative which offers a 25% to 39% saving on new cycling equipment. This cost is deducted out of your pay over 12 or 19 months.
• Child's first day at school –After 1 year's service come in late and go home early on your child's first day of school life, so that you can be there to take them and pick them up from school on their first day.
• RHS Membership or a Tree / Shrub –After 1 years service Squires employees can choose either one tree or shrub to plant each year up to the value of £50 retail on the anniversary of your engagement or £50 towards RHS annual membership.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) –After 2 years service employees are eligible to join an EAP, that gives them access to a range of wellbeing resources, etc.
• Retirement–After 15 years service if you are retiring and have over 15 years service, your contracted hours will be reduced by a fifth but your pay will remain the same for your final 3 months.
• Free Parking– Available to all employees in the designated parking areas on our site.