Job Purpose
To plan, prepare and cook nutritious and balanced food to meet the needs of the children. Ensuring that all legal, safety and individual requirements are met,
Key Responsibilities
1.To provide fresh, nutritious and well presented meals, suitable for children and babies, under the age of five, according to the current menus
2.To maintain a high standard of hygiene at all times and to follow infection / cross contamination control procedures
3.To constantly be aware of Special Dietary Needs ‑ referring to food allergies, food intolerances, cultural needs, vegetarian requirements and any other, according to the Special Dietary Needs form in the kitchen
4.To be aware of and carry out duties in connection with Health and Safety at work (e.g. Risk Assessments, COSHH, RIDDOR etc) and to update and manage the Safer Food, Better Business file daily
5.To be familiar with procedures carried out in case of an accident/fire
6.To follow standard food hygiene procedures (e.g. food temperature checks and monitoring; recording this daily).
Tasks
1.To prepare a healthy morning snack for each of the nursery rooms, as required.
2.To prepare a nutritious cooked lunch in line with the current menu, ensuring all children’s needs are met and to include suitable puréed food for babies.
3.To prepare afternoon tea in line with the current menu.
4.To ensure a small supply of suitable frozen meals are always available in the freezer, for emergency use.
5.To ensure all areas of the kitchen are hygienically maintained at all times, in accordance with Health & Safety Regulations.
6.To ensure that equipment and materials (including the dishwasher, microwave, oven, fridges and freezers) are cleaned and everything is cleared away leaving the kitchen is neat and tidy at the end of the day in line with the daily and weekly cleaning checklist.
7.To ensure that equipment is maintained in good order and that any faulty or potentially dangerous equipment is immediately removed and reported to the Nursery Management Team.
8.To ensure stocks in the dry store are rotated daily and stock is monitored and maintained through the weekly shopping order.
9.To defrost fridges and freezers on a regular basis to maintain efficiency.
10.To promote healthy eating to children and staff through interacting over meal times and taking an interest in the development of a vegetable patch/ herb garden.
11.To always have a ready supply of recipes for staff to use with the children and to ensure an availability of equipment for the children to experience cooking with.
Team Contribution
1.To work as an effective part of the nursery team, ensuring staff maintain good morale, a high reputation both in and outside of the nursery and ensure all nursery standards are met.
2.To support the Nursery Manager, as required.
Benefits