Chef jobs in United Kingdom

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Client: London Early Years Foundation LEYF

Location: London, United Kingdom

Job Category: Other

EU work permit required: Yes

Job Reference: d77819e8751b

Job Views: 7

Posted: 18.07.2025

Expiry Date: 01.09.2025

Nursery Chef - Full Time - Hillingdon, HA4 - £31,806.96 + amazing benefits

Work in a friendly kitchen and enjoy working with children every day

"When I arrive at the nursery in the morning, the children's faces light up." - Conchobar, Senior Chef

We're the London Early Years Foundation, or LEYF Nurseries; a family of 40 nurseries. Our people love working for us because we focus on the child and their family, and give them the best start in life.

We give you strong in-house training at our Chef Academy. You'll work sociable hours in a friendly environment, and you'll love interacting with the children in your nursery.

What's in it for you?

"It's not just a kitchen job; you get to engage with the children a lot." - Bruno, Chef

• An extra £1,000 uplift in your salary (for 40-hour week qualified chefs) when you complete our inhouse Early Years Chef Academy
• Generous pension at 7% from us (1% from you)
• 70% discount on childcare fees
• Up to 35 days off a year, including 8 bank holidays, 3 days off between Christmas and New Year, and your birthday (pro-rated for part-time hours)
• Lots of training, promotions and nurturing work environment
• Sector-leading parental leave
• Many other benefits that take care of you, including access to the Headspace app, shopping discounts, annual conference and money for team celebrations

A bit about the role

"It's a different working environment - a lot friendlier and calmer." - Conor, Senior Chef

You'll help prepare nutritious meals for children and feel real job satisfaction from promoting healthy eating habits for life. Children love the cooking and food-related activities run by our Chefs.

You'll enjoy working with the wider nursery team but also get ownership of the kitchen and suppliers, ensuring a healthy environment and keeping children with allergies safe. You'll be part of the LEYF chef community contributing across our settings, sharing ideas and recipes.

You will need:

• The right to work in the UK
• A positive attitude and excitement to work with children
• Food Hygiene Level 2 or equivalent, or be willing to do the course in the first week of work (paid for by LEYF)

About the nursery

Join the team at South Ruislip Nursery and Pre-School! Located on Queens Walk, South Ruislip, HA4 0LR, our cosy nursery supports up to 32 children from 0 to 5 years old. We’re a tight-knit team of passionate people who genuinely care about all children and their families, and as part of London Early Years Foundation we have a supportive and caring network of other colleagues.
What’s it really like here? To summarise what one parent recently shared, “Absolutely love this nursery! All the teachers are so kind and understanding. Thank you for being so wonderful to my 2-year-old! He enjoys being there.”

Apply now

Contact us today, our friendly recruiters are waiting to hear from you.