Head Chef - Care Home

NHS; Wells; On-site; GBP 35,000; Full time

Job description

Job summary

This job opportunity at Barchester Healthcare offers a Head Chef role in a care home setting. The successful candidate will have the chance to deliver high-quality, restaurant-standard cuisine while maintaining a better work-life balance compared to traditional chef roles. The role involves leading and developing a kitchen team, creating nutritious and appetizing menus, and ensuring a warm and welcoming dining experience for residents.

Main duties of the job

As the Head Chef at Barchester Healthcare, you will be responsible for leading, motivating, and inspiring a team of chefs. This includes menu development, tailoring the offerings to ensure person-centered hospitality, and working with fresh, seasonal produce to deliver high-quality and wholesome dishes. You will also be involved in baking fresh cakes, scones, and breads, as well as assisting the front-of-house team with setting up the dining areas. Additionally, you will be responsible for managing the kitchen's budget, regular audits, and stock control, all while creating a warm, efficient, and fun environment. The role also includes ongoing recruitment and retention of the kitchen team, as well as performance management.

About us

Barchester Healthcare is a leading provider of care homes in the UK, with a focus on delivering high-quality care and services to residents. The company is committed to supporting its employees, offering a range of benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive in their roles.

Date posted

05 April 2025

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£35,000 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time

Reference number

1275053364

Job locations

Barchester Healthcare, Wells, BA5 1WE

Job description

Job responsibilities

Are you a passionate and qualified Chef looking for a better work life balance? If you are keen to be part of a company that is driven by quality and high standards, Barchester is the place to be!

Your Benefits and Rewards

• Working days and alternate weekends only, across 4/5 days a week
• Rewarding Excellence' bonus where you will be financially rewarded up to £500* for a Good or Outstanding CQC inspection
• Unlimited access to our Refer a Friend' scheme, earning up to £500* per referral
• Access to a wide range of retail and leisure discounts with big brands, supermarkets and travel companies
• Free access to medical specialists, who are on hand for a second opinion if you need it
• Confidential and free access to counselling and legal services
• Tax Code Review Service to check you're on the right code and paying the right level of tax
• Option to join our monthly staff lottery alongside your colleagues nationwide

Your Experience and Qualifications

• A personable and warm approach with a genuine interest in the wellbeing of residents
• Hold City & Guilds/NVQ/SVQ or equivalent
• Experience in leading, motivating and inspiring a team
• Experience of working with fresh seasonal food with a good understanding of nutrition
• The ability to create a warm and welcoming environment within our homes
• Confidence engaging with residents to create appetising and nutritious menus
• Experience working with a front of house team to ensure the restaurants are set up to a high standard
• Good understanding of HACCP and COSHH
• Knowledge around modified diets using the IDDSI framework (If new to care, we will train and develop chefs on these techniques)

Your Role and Responsibilities

• Lead, motivate and inspire a team, develop and upskill where required
• Menu development, tailoring around residents to ensure we deliver person-centred hospitality
• Work with fresh produce to deliver high quality and wholesome dishes cooked of the highest standards
• Bake fresh cakes, scones and breads from scratch
• Assist the front of house team with setting up of the dining areas
• Work within budget, complete regular audits and stock control
• Create a warm, efficient and fun environment
• Ongoing recruitment and retention
• Managing the performance of the kitchen team and front of house

As a Head Chef at Barchester, you will have the chance to deliver hotel/restaurant standards without the split shifts and long hours. Our chefs have full autonomy in creating nutritious, flavoursome and well balanced menus, whilst also taking ownership of their kitchen and ongoing team development.

We are exceptionally proud of our Barchester Chef Academy, where chefs have the opportunity to learn new techniques and further develop their skills, whilst also sharing their knowledge to support the growth of others across the business. This fantastic academy experience is held throughout the year and is offered to all of our chefs.

Our internal Learning and Development team also offer industry recognised apprenticeships and further qualifications to chefs and hospitality team members who are looking to build upon and/or develop their skills.

Interested? If you are a motivated and dedicated chef who is ready to be part of something special, apply today!

*Terms & conditions apply

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• To be successful in this role, you will need to hold a City & Guilds/NVQ/SVQ or equivalent qualification, along with experience in leading, motivating, and inspiring a team. You should also have experience working with fresh, seasonal food and a good understanding of nutrition, as well as the ability to create a warm and welcoming environment within the care home. Confidence in engaging with residents to create appetizing and nutritious menus, as well as a good understanding of HACCP and COSHH, are also essential.

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Barchester Healthcare

Address

Barchester Healthcare, Wells, BA5 1WE

Employer's website

https://www.barchester.com/