Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Job description

Role: Chef (contractor/freelancer) 

Reporting to: Kitchen & Logistics Coordinator 

Hours: Able to commit to a minimum of 21 hours per week, with 35 hours per week available 

Rate of pay: £13.85 p/h 

Location: Primarily at SHP 165 Homeless Hostel, 165 Kings Cross Road, London, WC1X 9BN 

We may occasionally offer shifts in other locations in Central and North London (Camden, Islington, Barnet, Westminster). 

Contract: Initial fixed term contract for 3 months with possibility to extend.

Closing date for applications: Friday 23rd May

Target start date: Immediate start available 

 

About FEAST With Us  

FEAST’s mission is to improve the nutrition, wellbeing, and health of people at risk of food insecurity. We work across several London boroughs, partnering with community groups and organisations to deliver impactful food security programmes. We work with charity and community partners to provide services and programmes in homeless hostels, mental health day centres, community centres and faith centres in Camden, Islington, Barnet, Westminster and Redbridge.   

FEAST tackles food insecurity by providing nutritious meals and nurturing community connections. Our primary service includes community meals, known as "FEASTs," using donated surplus food, FEAST chefs and a team of volunteers. These are more than just meal services; they are welcoming, inclusive, social spaces that bring people together and reduce social isolation. We also prepare and deliver nutritious meals to hostels and community centres for individuals experiencing food insecurity to collect.   

Our Healthy Eating on a Budget Programme further empowers individuals by helping build nutritional knowledge, developing practical cooking and budgeting skills. These programmes build confidence and empower people to make healthier choices to achieve nutritional independence.   

FEAST is committed to broader systemic change through ongoing research and strategic local food partnerships. We work closely with networks in Camden and Redbridge to ensure residents have access to nutritious, affordable and sustainable food.   

Our aims:  

• Prevent malnutrition in vulnerable people by enhancing access to nutrition. 
• Promote sustainable eating habits and prevent food waste. 
• Enable community cohesion and togetherness. 

Our Values:  

• Collaborative: We work together as one team with our stakeholders openly and respectfully – bringing diverse skills and experiences to design and deliver our services and achieve our vision and mission   
• Inclusive: We value equity, fairness and dignity, and create a positive and inclusive environment for our team, volunteers and service users   
• Empowering: We provide inspiration, opportunities and support to enable our team, volunteers and service users to develop capabilities, confidence and independence   
• Innovative: We are curious and creative - proactively seeking new ideas to improve ourselves, the organisation and our services to make a bigger and longer lasting positive impact for our stakeholders   
• Empathetic: We are sensitive and understanding – we actively listen and learn from our team, volunteers and service users to better appreciate and adapt to their situations, challenges and perspectives 

Contractor/Freelancer Scope:  

The Chef (contractor) will be responsible for providing lunch, dinner and dessert to a client base of 8-15 residents of a men's homeless shelter in Camden, as well as packing and labelling additional meals for up 16 people to be collected and delivered to a nearby venue.  

On occasion, we may ask for you to work from other FEAST partner venues, as required.  

In order to reduce food waste, you will be cooking using surplus food, where possible, and working with surplus food charities to coordinate deliveries. You will be enthusiastic about working in a sustainable model, where you will be able to think outside the box to create recipes utilising surplus food. This role requires full management of the kitchen including, but not limited to, keeping a thorough inventory, waste management, maintaining high cleaning and food safety standards, supporting cooking volunteers, and working collaboratively with FEAST and venue staff. 

Preparation and delivery of meals is typically supported by one or two (potentially more in other venues) kitchen and befriending volunteers, consisting of both individuals and corporate teams. It is therefore essential that the candidate is outgoing and personable, as well as decisive and confident in their communications and people management. FEAST is powered by 100s of amazing volunteers, so it is important that they have a positive experience in the kitchen, and a lot of this enjoyment comes from interacting with our chefs. There is a wide variety of abilities and skills in our volunteers so our chefs must be patient and keen to guide people where necessary. Training and guidance will be provided. 

Contractors/freelancers are expected to meet our high service standards and act as ambassadors for FEAST when delivering these services.  

This role requires full management of the kitchen including, but not limited to, keeping a thorough inventory, ordering food, waste management, maintaining high cleaning and food safety standards, supporting cooking volunteers, and working collaboratively with FEAST staff. 

Main Responsibilities:  

• Independent preparation and production of nutritionally balanced three-course meals for up to 30 people per session, including takeaway meals, catering to allergies and dietary requirements. 
• Planning and organising meals using own initiative and within budget, creating varied and interesting menus, as well as culturally appropriate food. 
• Stock and inventory management, contributing to best practice in keeping the kitchen up to standard. 
• Food labelling and dating. 
• Ensuring that the kitchen area and equipment are cleaned to the highest standard in line with FEAST cleaning procedures, and in working order at all times, raising repairs or faults in a timely manner.   
• Oversee and manage volunteer teams of up to 8 people (delegate tasks and ensure compliance to FEAST policies). 
• Ensure and maintain health and safety and food safety standards, in line with FEAST policies and EHO guidance.  
• Adhering to necessary Food Safety and Hygiene paperwork. 
• Daily completion of kitchen hygiene, cleaning, food temperatures, fridge/freezer temperatures, meal and safety logs to a high standard.   
• Communicating effectively with community venue partner staff and FEAST staff to ensure smooth running of the service and attending regular briefings and meetings. 
• Using internal FEAST emails, messaging, databases and other systems for monitoring and communication.  
• Getting feedback from services users about the quality of the food (where appropriate or possible). 
• Completing required benchmarking and food donation forms (as agreed, unless covered by Kitchen & Logistics Coordinator). 
• Following FEAST guidelines for photography of the food for social media. 
• Promote sustainable practices in kitchen. 
• Share feedback with staff and work collaboratively to adapt programming suitably. 
• Follow safeguarding processes in a timely and prompt manner. 
• Participate in FEAST training pertaining to policies and protocols as required. 
• Be a positive brand ambassador for FEAST and ensure that volunteers and service users have a positive experience.  
• Participate in training on healthy eating and incorporate into future recipes. 

Person Specification: 

Essential  

• Experience planning, preparing and cooking healthy, balanced meals in a professional catering kitchen or busy community kitchen (e.g. community centres, schools, colleges, day centres, or residential centres). 
• Demonstrable experience catering for significant numbers (up to 30) within clearly defined service schedules and mealtimes.  
• Experience coordinating and managing food orders and deliveries in the kitchen, as well as stock rotation to minimise food waste  
• Able to think on feet to design menus that are healthy and varied from surplus or donated food. 
• Valid Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate (or willing to undergo training once joined). 
• Experience maintaining a 4+ rating kitchen and an understanding of the importance of Environmental Health checks 
• Experience keeping clear and accurate kitchen records such as HACCP documentation, temperatures, stock levels, meals and cleaning schedules. 
• Good communicator, strong interpersonal skills and friendly demeanour. Able to communicate and liaise with a diverse staff team and volunteers, working as a team player to ensure a smooth-running order of the kitchen. 
• Excellent organisational and time management skills. 
• A demonstrable passion and excitement for food, and engaging others in food  
• Committed to supporting FEAST’s vision, values and ethos. 
• A working knowledge of and commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as it applies to a supportive service and in the workplace 
• Willingness to work flexibly in response to changing organisational requirements 

Desirable  

• Experience of working with people experiencing food insecurity and/or vulnerable adults 
• Knowledge of nutrition and designing healthy meals. 
• Demonstrable interest in food insecurity, health, community engagement and sustainability. 
• 1+ years of professional kitchen experience 
• Trained in adult safeguarding and valid DBS check (or willing to undergo checks and training once joined) 

Agreement of FEAST Policies: 

The Contractor/freelancer agrees to adhere to the following FEAST policies in the production of cooking sessions: 

• Health & Safety 
• Expenses 
• GDPR 
• Food Allergy Action Plan 
• Food Safety & Hygiene 
• Safeguarding 
• Code of Conduct & Ethics 
• Complaints 

Please review all policies prior to signing this agreement. Policies are available at: www.feastwithus.org.uk/policies. 

Application information

If you would like to be considered for this position, please send your CV and accompanying cover letter to careers@feastwithus.org.uk

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs