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⚡ Source: ReedRef: 56845663

Head Chef - Care Home

Barchester Healthcare·East Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire·Posted 3 weeks ago
💰 £20/hour
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Job description

Original text imported from Reed

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

8765

SpeedCV AI

Key skills

AI-extracted from the job advert

Must-have skills
City & Guilds qualificationNVQ culinary qualificationKitchen team leadershipFresh seasonal food preparationHACCP complianceCOSHH regulationsNutritional understanding
Nice-to-have
IDDSI framework knowledgeCare home catering experienceModified diet preparationCQC inspection experience
Soft skills
LeadershipTeam motivationCommunicationAutonomyProblem solvingAttention to detailAdaptabilityEmpathy
SpeedCV AI

Application advice

5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.

1

⭐ Highlight your City & Guilds/NVQ qualification prominently as this is specifically mentioned as essential

2

📊 Quantify your kitchen leadership experience: 'Led team of 8 kitchen staff, reducing food waste by 25%'

3

🍽️ Emphasise care home or healthcare catering experience if you have it, mentioning IDDSI framework knowledge

4

🎯 Showcase menu development skills with focus on nutrition and resident-centred approach

5

🤝 Demonstrate experience working with front of house teams and creating welcoming dining environments

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Suggested CV bullets

3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.

How to tailor your CV

Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:

  • Led kitchen team of 6 staff in 80-bed care facility, achieving 95% resident satisfaction scores through personalised menu development
  • Implemented HACCP compliance procedures reducing food safety incidents by 40% while managing £180k annual food budget
  • Developed modified diet menus using IDDSI framework for 25 residents with dysphagia, improving nutritional intake by 30%

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Letter preview — tailored to Barchester Healthcare

Dear Hiring Manager,

Barchester Healthcare's commitment to delivering hotel-standard dining in care homes aligns perfectly with my culinary philosophy, which is why I am applying for the Head Chef position in East Cambridgeshire. My City & Guilds qualification and experience in nutritional menu development make me well-suited to create person-centred hospitality for your residents.

My background in leading kitchen teams and working with fresh seasonal produce has prepared me to take full ownership of menu development while ensuring HACCP compliance and maintaining the high standards Barchester is known for. I am particularly drawn to the opportunity to work with the IDDSI framework and develop my skills through the Barchester Chef Academy.

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SpeedCV AI

Interview questions

10 questions generated from this advert.

Technical

  • How would you implement HACCP principles in a care home kitchen?
  • Explain your experience with IDDSI framework and modified diet preparation
  • How do you ensure nutritional requirements are met for elderly residents?
  • Describe your approach to menu planning for residents with dietary restrictions
  • What food safety auditing procedures would you implement?

Behavioural

  • Tell me about a time you had to motivate an underperforming kitchen team member
  • Describe how you would handle a complaint from a resident about their meal
  • Give an example of when you had to work within a tight budget while maintaining quality
  • How do you balance efficiency with creating a welcoming environment for residents?
  • Tell me about a time you had to adapt a menu for someone with specific dietary needs
SpeedCV AINEW

STAR answer examples

Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.

1Question

Tell me about a time you had to motivate an underperforming kitchen team member

Situation: I had a sous chef who was consistently late and producing inconsistent food quality, affecting team morale. Task: I needed to address this without losing a trained team member during our busy period. Action: I scheduled a private meeting to understand the underlying issues, discovered they were struggling with childcare arrangements. I worked with them to adjust their shift pattern and provided additional training on our standards. I also paired them with our most experienced chef for mentoring. Result: Within 4 weeks, their punctuality improved to 98% and food quality scores increased from 72% to 89%. The team dynamic improved significantly and we avoided recruitment costs of £2,800.
2Question

Give an example of when you had to work within a tight budget while maintaining quality

Situation: Our care home faced a 15% budget reduction due to funding changes, requiring us to cut food costs from £4.20 to £3.60 per resident per day. Task: I needed to maintain nutritional standards and resident satisfaction while reducing costs. Action: I analysed our spending patterns and identified that 30% went on premium proteins. I developed new recipes using seasonal vegetables and alternative proteins like lentils and eggs, negotiated better rates with local suppliers, and reduced food waste through better portion control and leftover management. Result: We achieved the £3.60 target within 8 weeks while maintaining 94% resident satisfaction scores and actually improving our nutritional profile with increased vegetable intake.

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