Nursery Cook / Chef

Storal Learning Ltd; Leicester; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading nursery group in Leicester seeks an experienced Cook to join their team. You will manage the kitchen and prepare meals for 80 children, ensuring high quality and adherence to hygiene standards. The ideal candidate will have NVQ qualifications in Catering, excellent culinary skills, and experience in a busy kitchen. This role offers competitive pay and a range of benefits including enhanced holidays and health support programs.

Benefits

Enhanced holidays

Paid sick pay

Childcare discounts

Wellness programs

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a busy kitchen environment is essential.
• Demonstrable experience as a Cook ideally in a School or Nursery setting.
• All applicants must undertake or possess an enhanced DBS check.

Responsibilities

• Manage the kitchen and oversee all operations.
• Cook and prepare meals from scratch with fresh local food.
• Monitor stock levels and manage wastage effectively.

Skills

Culinary skills

Teamwork

Attention to detail

Customer service

Education

NVQ level 1 or 2 in Catering or equivalent

Job description

Location - Children 1st Leicester, Tarragon Road, Leicester LE2 7ET

Hours - 8am till 5pm 40 hours per week

Salary - £12.75ph - Salary to be discussed based on experience and qualification

Hello, I’m Angela, the Nursery Manager at Leicester.

I am proud to lead a passionate and dedicated team who feel privileged to be part of our children’s early years. We provide a nurturing and inclusive environment where every child can thrive.

Our well‑resourced, open‑plan setting encourages children to engage in enriching activities that promote independence, communication, and early numeracy skills. Beyond the classroom, our outdoor play area extends learning opportunities, inspiring discovery, creativity, and a lifelong love of nature.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Nursery team at an award winning Nursery group, contributing to the high quality caring environment we pride ourselves on providing for the children in our Nurseries. We are recruiting for an experienced and talented cook to join our Nursery team. You will be responsible for planning the menus and cooking for 80 children’s meals at our Leicester Nursery School, working alongside a Kitchen Assistant.

Key Responsibilities

• Managing the kitchen
• Cooking and preparing all meals from scratch with fresh local food
• Managing all areas of the kitchen, including ordering
• Monitoring stock and wastage
• Ensure all meals that leave the kitchen are presented to a high standard
• Complying to hygiene regulations at all times

The Candidate

• The successful candidate must have previous experience within a busy kitchen environment
• Demonstrable experience as a skilled Cook ideally in a School or Nursery setting
• Minimum NVQ level 1 or 2 in Catering or equivalent
• Excellent culinary skills
• Attention to detail
• Strong teamwork skills are essential
• Conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times with excellent customer service skills
• Working on your own initiative
• All applicants must undertake or possess an enhanced DBS check as it is mandatory.

Benefits at a glance

For you -We get the basics right enhanced holidays, paid sick pay, extra wellness day off (yearly) and accessing your pay before payday with PayCaptain

Family matters - Balance starts at home Childcare Discount + Funding, compassionate leave & enhanced maternity (and more)

Health & wellness - Nourishing body & mind Partnerships with Vitality & Peppy; fertility & menopause support, gym discount, free movie tickets and more

Development - Investing in your future Micro-learning, financial stability tools & Storal Support Fund

Our community - Growing together Termly inset days, team app & Storal Awards gathering.

We pay for your DBS upfront along with reimbursing your annual update service charge

We partner with world-leading third parties such as Pay Captain, Vitality, and Peppy.

And much much more