Assistant Head Cook

apartmentWest Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust placeBury St Edmunds calendar_month17/01/2026

Job overview

We are looking for candidates who are well organised, excellent communicators and are adaptable to both working in a high pressure environment and pace of a busy kitchen.

Candidates must have good attention to detail, able to work alone and be able to manage there time effectively.

Main duties of the job

Your main responsibilities would include.

To be jointly responsible for the supervision and efficient organisation of the food production team.
To line manage the Kitchen Portering Team
To plan Rosters and staff accordance with safe staffing levels and workloads.
To ensure that hygiene, food safety, food quality standards and safe working practices are adhered to within designated sections.
Maintain records of attendance, input overtime on the Trusts Health Roster System.
To work as part of a team providing a safe, high quality catering service for the Trust.
To prepare and serve high quality nutritious food in accordance with the departments standard recipes, using fresh ingredients.
To be able to maintain prolonged concentration when preparing and cooking serval different dishes in a busy and pressured environment while supervising others.
To have a good understanding and apply this during the working practices with specific regard to HACCP and COSSH and follow the departments Food hygiene practices.
To have knowledge and apply this during the working practices with specific regard to of IDDSI and follow this patient safety guidance.
To offer guidance to ward staff in the absence of dietetic support (out of hours) with specific regard to allergen, consistency and dietary requirements for patient within the Trust.

Working for our organisation

#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.

With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the full job description and person specification attached for more details on the job role.

Person specification

Education & Qualification

Essential criteria

NVQ Level 3 Food hygiene certificate or RIPHH qualification.
City and Guilds 706/1 & 706/2 or NVQ level 3
NVQ Level 3 Supervision
Allergen training
Knowledge of IDDSI
A good general education

Desirable criteria

Dietary/nutrition training

Experience & Knowledge

Essential criteria

Good understanding of HACCP
COSSH and Health and Safety legislation

Desirable criteria

Previous catering experience specifically in large scale service

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria

Good customer care and communication skills
Basic skills in literacy & numeracy
Able to work either alone or as part of a team
Good attention to detail
Able to work under pressure

Personal qualities

Essential criteria

Able to work in a demanding environment.
Adaptable to change
Able to work in a Hospital ward environment.
Flexible approach to working hours/duties

Desirable criteria

Interest in cooking/catering
Self-motivated

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