Catering Assistant

Do you want to be part of the busy catering team at Victoria Hospital, Blackpool?

We are currently recruiting a catering assistant to work in the main kitchen on a rota basis covering early and evening shifts 5 days over 7, including bank holidays and weekends. The post holder will work as part of a dedicated Catering Team assisting in all areas of the Catering Department including basic food preparation, patients meal service, cleaning associated equipment and area, delivery and collection of patient meal trolleys. This role is located in the main kitchen but can also cross cover in the Restaurant and Patients Meals to ensure we meet the needs of the services.

Main duties of the job

Blackpool Victoria Hospital is recruiting a permanent Catering Assistant to work as part of our dedicated Catering Team.

The post holder will provide catering cover within the Catering Department, providing a catering service to staff, patients and members of the public. The successful applicant will work mainly in the kitchen on varied shifts 5 days over 7 a week covering early mornings, evenings and weekends including bank holidays. Main duties include: basic food prep, general cleaning of equipment and areas, deep cleaning, pan room duties, patient meals service duties.

The Catering Department at Blackpool Victoria Hospital is a 5-star establishment on the food hygiene rating and will always ensure that safety and quality are paramount to our staff, patients, and visitors. With this in mind, the successful candidates must demonstrate a willingness to be flexible and work as part of a team; must be physically fit to perform the duties and have experience in the catering industry. Good communication skills, customer care skills, and an eye for detail are essential.

Uniform and training will be provided; however, the applicant will be required to have a catering background and a level 2 certificate in Food Safety and Hygiene.

Job responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Communicate effectively, professionally and in a timely manner with all hospital staff, the public, and colleagues across the Trust and attend meetings as required.
• Serving meals directly to customers as required in the Restaurant and service points, giving due attention to presentation and customer care.
• Take telephone calls that may include requests, complaints, and enquiries and ensure they are dealt with or passed on to an appropriate person in a timely manner.
• Provide a customer-focused service to staff, visitors, and patients via The Restaurant and the patient meals service with responsibility for cash handling and card payments at authorised pay points, giving due care and attention to:
• Compliance with the Catering Department Services and Hygiene & Quality Standards and food safety regulations.
• Attractive presentation of all food items served.
• Correct and consistent portion control.
• Meeting required tempo of work & service deadlines.

See attached Job Description for further details

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

• Basic reading and writing skills which are required to read and understand policies and procedures and Catering instructions and procedures.
• Will satisfactorily complete Food Hygiene training and achieve qualification within the first 12 weeks of employment.
• Holding recent Qualification in Food Hygiene at Level 2.

Experience and Knowledge

• 2 satisfactory references.
• Previous employment that indicates capability to undertake training in duties of post.
• Experienced in the catering industry in a similar position with full working knowledge of hygiene & food safety.
• Evident good personal hygiene, clean and tidy appearance.

Skills and Ability

• Ability to carry out catering tasks with special attention to food hygiene, food presentation, and speed of work.
• Physically able enough to fulfil tasks of the post (refer to Job Description).
• Previous experience of working in a large group / busy environment.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.