Cook

**Chef/Cook**

**Reports to**: The Care Home Manager

**Job Overview**: (Note - In addition to these functions, employees are required to carry out such duties as may reasonably be required)
- Prepare menus and agree them with the service users and the manager, including any service user preferences, special diets and specific foods as needed
- Prepare and serve all meals in a timely manner

**Location**:

- The service’s premises, but you may be required to work from other locations at the discretion of the company and with appropriate notice.

**Working Hours**:

- Full-time - 5 days over a 7-day period, as agreed with manager.
- Part-time - 2-3 days over a 7-day period, as agreed with the manager

**Responsibilities and Duties of the Job**

**Role-specific Duties**:
The Chef’s/Cook’s responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

- Create duty rotas for catering staff, ensuring there are enough skilled staff on duty
- Under the supervision of the manager, order enough supplies for the catering operation from specified suppliers using company procedures, and maintain strict control over costs
- Operate an efficient stock control system
- Ensure supplied equipment is used with care, in accordance with suppliers’ instructions and training
- Ensure all equipment is in good working order and report any faults immediately. If any machine is felt to be dangerous, withdraw it from service immediately
- Be responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of those individuals the service supports

**Working with Others**:

- Lead, motivate and direct staff
- Under the supervision of the manager, carry out annual staff appraisals for catering staff

**Other Duties**:
Other duties and responsibilities to be undertaken may include any (or all) of the items in the following list:

- Assist in the recruitment of catering staff
- Conduct staff supervision and personal development plans for catering staff
- Induct new starters in accordance with company policy

**Personal and Professional Development**:

- Seek opportunities for personal and professional growth
- Take responsibility for own professional development through performance and development reviews and undertake any relevant training

**Person Specification**

**Specific Requirement for Qualifications**

**Essential**
- Vocational qualification/HNC/City & Guilds qualification in cookery

**Desirable**
- Qualifications in texture modified food
- Qualifications in serving moulded food

**Specific Requirement for Skills**

**Proficient Writing Skills**

**Essential**
- Ensure accurate, legible records are kept
- Ensure compliance with statutory and company requirements on food hygiene, storage and temperature control

**Budgetary Skills**

**Essential**
- Ensure all catering ingredients and equipment are purchased within budgetary constraints
- Manage waste effectively

**Communication Skills**

**Essential**
- Regularly seek feedback from people and plan changes according to feedback
- Attend regular meetings to stay informed of expectations and views

**Knowledge**

**Desirable**
- Knowledge of texture modified diets

**Specific Requirement for Skills**

**Disposition/Personal Attributes**

**Essential**
- Have a positive attitude and be professional and approachable to service users, staff, visitors and other professionals
- To be flexible and adaptable to cover rota shifts and provide cover to meet the needs of the business

**Specific Requirement for Previous Experience**

**Essential**
- Experience of working with service users who have additional support needs
- Budgetary experience
- Previous experience of working in a similar environment

**Desirable**
- Experience with texture modified diets
- Previous experience of working in a supervisory role

**Specific Requirement for Immunisations/Vaccinations**

**Essential**
- Covid-19 vaccinations/ provide evidence of a medical exemption

**Desirable**
- Flu vaccinations

**Values-based Personal Qualities**

**Working Together**
- Involve service users, families, external agencies and colleagues
- Speak up when things go wrong

**Respect and Dignity**
- Understand person-centred care and can demonstrate treating people as individuals and respecting choices
- Promoting independence and encouraging appropriate risk taking

**Everybody Counts**
- Ensuring no one is discriminated against or excluded
- Understand human rights and impact on care delivery
- Facilitating people to ‘speak up’ about concerns and acting upon them

**Commitment to Quality of Care**
- Striving for quality in everything we do recognising and understanding what quality in care means for people using the services
- Being accepting about criticism and focusing on improvement
- Being open to new opportunities for learning and identifying the limits of skills and knowledge

**Compassion**
- Treating people with kindness
- Understanding the importance of empathy in all areas of employment
- Understanding the value