Chef

Kitchen Leadership - Lead the operations of the kitchen, guiding

the catering team to ensure smooth, efficient daily service.

High-Quality Food Production - Prepare, cook, and present

nutritious, appealing meals tailored to the dietary requirements of patients,

as well as comforting options for visitors and staff.

Standards & Compliance - Maintain excellent food safety,

hygiene, and health and safety standards across all food prep and storage

areas.

Customer Excellence - Ensure an outstanding dining experience for

everyone, demonstrating empathy and responsiveness to patient and family

feedback.

Team Collaboration - Support the wider catering team, fostering a

positive, flexible, and cohesive working environment.

Proven experience working as a Chef, ideally within a healthcare,

care home, or high-standard hospitality environment.

Strong knowledge of food hygiene regulations (Level 3 Food

Hygiene Certificate or the commitment to attain. NVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery.

Ability to adapt menus to meet specific nutritional or medical

dietary needs.

Excellent communication, leadership, and customer service skills.

A compassionate, flexible approach to work, with a commitment to

supporting the values of a local charity.

Job title

Chef

Reports to

Sustainable Estates

Based at

To contribute to the delivery of high-quality catering services

that support care of patients, visitors, colleagues and volunteers through the

provision of a safe, nutritious and responsive catering service. Working as

part of a flexible team, the postholder will help maintain excellent food

safety, customer service and operational standards whilst supporting the wider

values of St Elizabeth Hospice.

The Chef leads the day-to-day operation of the kitchen during

allocated shifts, ensuring high quality food production, excellent patient

experiences, and safe, efficient catering operations whilst supporting the

entire catering team.

Safeguarding responsibilities

To demonstrate a commitment to keeping adults and young people

safe

To report any disclosure made to you to the appropriate person

To report any safeguarding concerns in the workplace to the

appropriate person

To maintain an awareness of the hospices policies in relation

to safeguarding

Lead the preparation and service of high-quality meals across

the Hospice

Coordinate kitchen operations to deliver a safe and efficient

service

Ensure compliance with food safety, HACCP and allergen

Deliver responsive catering that meets individual dietary needs

Support and develop Catering Assistants and Volunteers during

shifts

Promote high standards of quality, presentation and patient

experiences

Support stock management and minimise food waste

Contribute to continuous improvement and service development

The Catering Team operates across early, mid and late shifts,

seven days a week, to meet the needs of patients, visitors and colleagues. All

members of the team are expected to work flexibly across shift patterns and

support colleagues across functions where required.

Responsibilities for all staff

Act as a positive

ambassador for St Elizabeth Hospice

Where the

postholder is a member of a professional body, comply to the professional

standards set by that body. Ensure registration is current and practice

continuous professional development.

of the special nature of the hospice and its work, the postholder may on

occasion be asked to undertake other duties to help maintain our high standards

of care and engagement.

This job description is not necessarily exhaustive and may be

subject to review by the line manager in conjunction with the postholder.

Elizabeth Hospice is an independent charity & hospice, which improves life

for people in the East Suffolk, Great Yarmouth & Waveney areas living with a

progressive or life-limiting illness.

Last year the charity supported over

4,000 patients & their families. The

hospices work is centred on the individual's needs and they provide specialist

support wherever it is needed; whether that is in the home, another setting in

the community, in hospital or in the hospice itself. Support is provided to

patients & their families via the Inpatient Unit, the Community Care Unit including outpatients clinics, home visits

from the community nursing, medical or therapy team, the OneCall 24/7 telephone

helpline & bereavement support.

Elizabeth Hospice is committed to safeguarding & protecting the adults & young people that we work with & has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse,

neglect & discrimination of any person. As such, all posts are subject to a

rigorous safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal

records & vetting checks. We have a range of robust safeguarding policies in

place which promote safeguarding across the hospice & staff are expected to

undertake regular, mandatory safeguarding training to equip them with the

knowledge & skills to identify & respond to potential risks.

Specific Skills

Essential: - Excellent food preparation and organisational skills; - Ability to prioritise workload during busy service periods

Desirable: - Menu development and recipe costing; - Stock management and waste reduction

Experience

Essential: - Experience of working in a commercial or healthcare catering environment; - Experience of preparing meals to a consistently high standard

Desirable: - Experience of working with special diets and allergens; - Experience of supervising and supporting colleagues during shifts

Personal Qualities

Qualifications

Essential: - Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate (or commitment to attain); - NVQ Level 2 Professional Cookery

Desirable: - First Aid at Work; - Manual Handling training