Nursery Cook

HOURS- 9.30am-1.30pm or 10.00am-2.00pm

**Responsible to**: Nursery Manager and Deputy Manager

You will be willing to complete training and refresh knowledge and will hold a level 3 Food Safety qualification. An enhanced DBS is required and to register with the update service

**Key Responsibilities**: To organise, cook and prepare a healthy, balanced diet for children aged 0 to 5 years in accordance with the nursery menus.

Take into consideration daily those children who have special dietary requirements and prepare a suitable alternative.

Prepare a suitably balanced rotating menu taking into account dietary and cultural requirements of the children.

Ensure high standards of hygiene, health and safety is maintained in the kitchen at all times.

**Areas of Responsibility**:To be responsible for the day-to-day running of the kitchen, ensuring compliance with registration and legislative requirements at all times.

Responsible for the planning and preparation of food and to provide meals in accordance with our nursery menus and food policies.

Ensure that all individual dietary requirements are catered for in line with parental guidance.

Maintain necessary kitchen procedures and records in accordance with Kiddy Academy and Environmental Health policies and processes.

Liaise with nursery Manager on the ordering of necessary kitchen equipment.

To undertake any other reasonable catering duties as requested by the Nursery Manager.

Ensure the kitchen and equipment is kept suitably clean at all times including walls, floors and cupboards and follow our cleaning rota: Floor to be washed daily and clean using wet floor sign:
On a daily basis that all crockery, cutlery and cooking utensils are washed in accordance with food safety guidelines.

Ensure that all foods are ready at the specified time and correctly served.

To help in the organising and upkeep of the canteen area

To ensure your apron is washed and dried ready for use each day: To help with washing towels, bedding and other items, dry and put away.

To implement and maintain the company’s equal opportunities policy ensuring that children, parents and the staff team are valued and practice is positive and non-discriminatory.

**Individual Accountability**; To ensure you have a clean uniform, including head wear, daily and wear suitable footwear for working in a busy kitchen space.

To give daily feedback to the Nursery Manager about the kitchen including any situation that may be detrimental to the company.

Ensure the effective and regular removal of waste materials to the designated waste area.

The ability to use food preparation equipment and ensure the economic use of materials, equipment and energy.

The ability to work as part of a team and use your own initiative.

The ability to manage your own time and prioritise tasks.

Have a friendly, flexible approach.

To have total responsibility of the kitchen, cleaning all of the equipment and appliances, take temperatures of the food, fridge and freezer and record these in the kitchen file.

To establish good professional relationships with colleagues.

Work with the Nursery Manager to implement and ensure that set budgets are not exceeded. Responsible for control, storage and rotation of kitchen stock.

Order food in line with Kiddy Academy policies.

The ability to order correct amounts of food and control kitchen stock.

To prepare a weekly shopping list and put the shopping away. awareness.

To contribute to the team effort of the nursery and to attend staff meetings and social events as and when required.

Commitment to undertaking appropriate training and continued professional development.

To undertake future and refresher training as appropriate.

Be professional, polite and positive in all verbal and non-verbal interactions with staff, parents and children at all times.

Ensure that hygiene and cleanliness within the kitchen is of the highest standard in accordance with Environmental Health requirements and legislation.

Pay due attention to the cooks dress code: Hair to be tied back if touching your collar, no nail varnish, no false nails, no rings with the exception of the wedding band, trousers and apron

Maintain an awareness of food allergies keeping an up to date log of all children in the nursery, working with the staff team during new admissions.

Update your knowledge and awareness of Health and Safety issues including COSHH regularly.

To be responsible for the hygiene and complete all Risk Assessment within the kitchen area.

Prevent cross contamination of food within the kitchen area.

Temperatures of high-risk food must be recorded at time of delivery and cooking.

All food must be stored and served at the temperatures required by Environmental Health Food Safety.

**Conditions of Employment**: This Job Description is not intended to be a complete inventory of all the activities the jobholder would be expected to undertake. The post holder is required to comply with all th