Sous Chef

City of London Academies Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A public education trust in Greater London is seeking a dedicated Sous Chef to join their kitchen team. The role involves leading a team to prepare nutritious and tasty meals for students while maintaining exceptional standards of hygiene and quality. Candidates should be experienced chefs who thrive in fast-paced environments and are committed to supporting a culture of healthy eating and sustainability within the school. If you are passionate about food and education, this could be an exciting opportunity to make a positive impact.

Qualifications

• Experienced and passionate chef aligned with nutritional values.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Dedicated to supporting healthy eating and sustainability.

Responsibilities

• Motivate and lead a kitchen team to serve nutritious meals.
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
• Participate in developing a food and cookery curriculum.

Skills

Fluent spoken English

High standards of food quality

Knowledge of cooking methods

Team leadership

Food safety and hygiene

Job description

Job Summary

Do you believe that every child has the right to the highest possible standard of food in school? In return you will receive opportunities for professional development, will work alongside Chefs In Schools to develop your menu and good practice and become part of a team of dedicated and caring staff and get to work with the best children and families in Southwark.

Key Responsibilities

• Motivate and lead a team to serve fresh, interesting and nutritious school meals within budget and which meet Government and the Schools standards at all times.
• Assist in developing a food and cookery curriculum for the school, working on highly aspirational food related projects for the school.
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene in the kitchen area.
• Day to day supervision of the kitchen team.
• Meal Planning and Meal Provision – Prepare fresh fish, fresh meat and bake fresh breads.
• Prepare meals in accordance with an agreed seasonal menu cycle and change.
• Work in accordance with the school food standards, allowing for any allergen issues.
• Ensure full adherence to recipes, food presentation standards and portion control.
• Have a working knowledge of multiple cooking methods and an understanding of correct cooking procedures such as blanching, searing, grilling and steaming.
• Undertake weekly menu planning ensuring that there is variety in the chosen meals and portion control.
• Prepare meals to meet specific dietary and cultural requirements.
• Maintain a weekly and monthly cleaning regime for all the kitchen equipment.
• Work as part of a team and contribute to the work of the unit.
• Take part in the school's performance management system.
• Attend governing body meetings on a regular basis.
• Support for Students and Staff.

Additional Responsibilities

• Participate and contribute to wider school activities relating to the catering service, nutritional values and education and food technology.

Safety and Hygiene

• Ensure freezer and fridge temperatures logs are maintained on a daily basis.
• Be responsible for monitoring of food hygiene and health & safety controls within the kitchen area.
• Stock Control – Check supplier delivery notes against orders and report discrepancies.
• Undertake stock taking monthly maintaining food stock levels and checking of dates.
• Order groceries and other supplies according to the menu.
• Check and monitor stock in the unit kitchenette and report excess food items.
• Ensure that merchandising procedures and aids are applied to sustain interest in the range of food and beverages being offered and when appropriate, effort is made to increase sales.
• Develop and maintain good working relationships with Academy staff and customers through regular personal contact, taking part in meetings and training organised in the unit.
• Ensure that the Academy's food policies are communicated to, understood and adhered to by all subordinate staff.
• Respond to customer feedback and take swift, meaningful actions.

Job Details

You will be an experienced and passionate Chef fully aligned with our approach to delivering nutritious, tasty meals for our students. You will thrive in a fast paced environment and take pride in maintaining high standards of food quality and hygiene. You will also be dedicated to supporting our school's commitment to healthy eating and sustainability.

We are seeking to appoint a Sous Chef to join our kitchen team as we continue our exciting journey to develop our school food offer.

Core Values

• Aspirational
• Adventurous
• Compassionate
• Enlightened

Essential Requirements

This role is covered under part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 and therefore the ability to speak fluent spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.

Trust Culture

• Believe strongly in the transformational nature of education operating schools in areas of significant disadvantage.
• Understand that strong outcomes lead to improved life chances for our students, so we are unapologetically results driven.
• Adopt a 'warm/strict' approach, combining high expectations with care and support meaning that we never compromise on standards or expectations.
• Ensure that no student's background becomes a reason for low expectations.
• Provide an environment where students can learn without disruption.
• Maintain exemplary standards of behaviour, with systems, rituals and norms that instil strong habits.
• Take great pride in fostering an exceptionally positive learning environment and we work meticulously to maintain our strong ethos and culture.