About this role
Post title: School Chef
Location: St John’s Church School
Grade: Grade 7
Hours: 7.15am - 2.30pm, with a 15 min break (35 hrs / wk)
Term time only + 2 weeks during the summer holiday
Responsible to: Head of School
Start date As soon as possible
Are you passionate about food, children’s wellbeing and leading a small team to deliver a high-quality service?
St John’s Church School is seeking a skilled and enthusiastic School Chef to lead our kitchen team, bringing creativity, strong culinary standards and a passion for nutritious food for children.
This is a hands-on leadership role, combining food preparation, team management and compliance, with the opportunity to make a real difference to children’s daily experience in school.
We are looking for someone who will:
Lead and support our kitchen team with warmth, professionalism and high standards
Plan, prepare and deliver healthy, appealing and compliant meals in line with School Food Standards, bringing creativity and quality to school food.
Maintain excellent food hygiene, allergen management and safety practices
Manage ordering, stock control and budgets efficiently
Create a positive dining experience for pupils and staff
Work collaboratively with catering colleagues across our federation to share menus, recipes, ideas and best practice and to help secure value through joint work with suppliers
Contribute to the caring, values-led ethos of our school community
The successful candidate will be a qualified and experienced chef (ideally with school or large-scale catering experience), with strong knowledge of food safety, allergen management, menu planning and the ability to lead a small team effectively.
At St John’s, we believe lunchtime is an important part of the school day and we are proud of the role our kitchen plays in supporting children to flourish. As part of our wider federation, this role also offers the opportunity to work alongside other school chefs and cooks in a supportive professional network, developing menus together, sharing expertise and shaping our catering provision collectively.
We can offer:
A welcoming and supportive team
Well-equipped kitchen facilities
Opportunities for training and development
Collaborative working with catering colleagues across our federation
The chance to contribute to a school community rooted in care, service and high expectations
An opportunity to help shape a fresh, child-centred approach to school food
St John's Church School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
All appointments are subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure and two satisfactory references.