Being part of a busy kitchen team is a demanding and satisfying job. Working in a care service means preparing healthy, delicious food for residents. It can also mean a chance to be a chef without split shifts or late nights!
Chef and catering roles
Working in a care home or day service doesn’t just mean being a carer. You can pursue a career in food preparation, as part of the kitchen team making meals for residents.
Care homes in Surrey have high standards for their catering. They offer good home cooking or even restaurant quality food. Their kitchen assistants and chefs create delicious, balanced meals to keep residents healthy.
Do I need qualifications or kitchen experience?
While qualifications and experience are welcome, they aren’t essential. You can start out as a kitchen porter or assistant and learn on the job. Many care providers will also pay for you to train up. You can take qualifications like: NVQ in Catering and Hospitality or Senior Chef NVQ Level 2 or 3.
What other benefits are there?
A chef’s life can be a tough one. Long hours, split shifts and working evenings and weekends can take a toll. Being a chef regularly comes up on the ‘most stressful careers’ list!
That said, being a chef in a care setting is very different. You can work set hours and get back your work/life balance!
Alongside that the pay is competitive. Pus, you have the satisfaction of knowing every meal you cook really makes a difference.
Cosmin, Head ChefIf you have the ambition you can grow to the top
WATCH: Cosmin’s experience
Cosmin has a passion for food. It all started with baking. That led him to work as a kitchen assistant in a nursing home for older people. Determined and passionate, he did training and worked his way up to Head Chef. Now Cosmin is responsible for catering for people with dementia and special diets. His role involves understanding the importance of diet and nutrition, balancing creativity and budgets.
In this video, Cosmin talks about going from kitchen assistant to head chef, and the training and rewards he has gained along the way.
