Job Description

Hours: 37.5

Salary: £12.80 to £12.80 Hour

of the role

The role of the Cook is to prepare and serve healthy balances meals to residents in our homes. You will oversee weekly budgets and shopping lists. On occasion you will work alongside other staff or residents in the kitchen making sure everyone’s safety is paramount.

Key duties

• Creating appropriate, exciting and well-balanced menus for residents
• Preparing and serving meals for the home
• Ensuring all special dietary needs are followed
• Familiarising yourself with residents’ allergens
• Preparing food to a high standard
• Maintaining relevant records and controlling stock rotation
• Ensuring the kitchen is always clean and hygienic
• Completing weekly food shops whilst managing the budget and adhering to all safety standards
• Setting a professional example with all working methods, procedures, personal presentation, timekeeping and hygiene
• Maintaining health and safety at work practices at all times

Personal attributes:

• Organised and willing to learn
• Committed and enthusiastic approach
• The ability to maintain the required quality and service standards set
• A can-do attitude
• Satisfactory written and verbal communication skills

What are the benefits?*

• Holiday entitlement - starting from 28 days inclusive of Bank Holidays
• Sick pay entitlement
• Employee Assistance Programme - comprehensive health and wellbeing support for staff
• Refer a friend scheme - enjoy a payment of £500 when you recruit a friend to Choice Care
• Choiceversary - staff receive vouchers of £75 after 5 years, £100 after 10 years and £150 after 15 years to celebrate their commitment to Choice Care
• Christmas bonus - vouchers for all staff members
• Life insurance
• Annual staff awards - this year each winner received £400 and we had over 30 winners in total
• Complex in-house training - this includes our Advanced Management Development Programme for managers in the making and our Foundation Management Development Programme for rising stars
• A paid day off on your birthday
• Free monthly prize draw - all frontline care colleagues are automatically entered into a monthly prize draw. Three winners, selected at random, receive £500 each, tax-free
• Blue Light Card eligibility
• Reclaim prescription costs for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and access free feminine hygiene products whilst on shift
• Stream – a financial wellbeing app that enables you to: track your earnings; save with high-street beating interest rates; choose to access your earnings ahead of pay day with flexible pay; receive discounts with hundreds of retailers; learn with financial coaching and education, and much more

*minimum service periods applicable to some benefits

Who are we?

Choice Care is one of the UK’s leading residential care providers for people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health conditions. With over 30 years’ experience, we’re at the forefront of national best practice, with among the highest CQC ratings of any comparable organisation.

Our homes are more than just a place to live, they’re like a second family for everyone we support. Each home is a close knit community, with its own unique personality, and all the ups and downs of typical family life, built on trust and the promise of unconditional care. Our colleagues build close bonds with the people they care for, helping to create enduring, positive relationships that build confidence and self-esteem.

In every Choice Care home there’s a strong emphasis on living life to the full and having fun, with purposeful daily activities based on individual preferences and capabilities. Alongside this there are regular social events, projects, outings and holiday breaks which everyone can get involved in and express themselves through.

Where will you work?

Appletrees is a large, detached country house supporting up to eight men and women with moderate to severe learning disabilities and associated complex needs. The property is set in beautiful open countryside in the village of Upper Bucklebury, six miles from Newbury town centre. Appletrees has a lively and active environment with a real can do spirit. Within the grounds, Treetops is a separate, purpose-built day services centre, where the home’s Day Activities Coordinator helps deliver individual and group activity programmes, including educational support, arts and crafts, and sensory activities. In addition, the home has two vehicles for local travel. There are regular meals out, monthly club nights and there's music every week.

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