Cook

Cook

Join our Food & Beverage Team and play an important role in delivering high-quality food across our organisation.

We are looking for three Cooks to join our team, working 35 hours per week over 5 days.

As a Cook, you’ll play an important role in creating delicious food in Café Graze, Keepers Kitchen, catering outlets and special events. You’ll be responsible for the preparation and cooking of food, helping us deliver a consistently high-quality experience for our guests and teams across our organisation.

We are looking for someone who has experience preparing food in a commercial catering environment, holds a Food Hygiene level 2 (or equivalent) or above, as well as an understanding of food production methods and health and safety best practices.

If you would like to join our unique and vibrant organisation to become a part of the Marwell Family, please view the full candidate brief below and send a completed application form to jobs@marwell.org.uk.

Salary £25,079.60 per annum

Closing date: 18th September 2026

Interview date: 23rd or 24th September 2026

Disclaimer: we reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised date if we receive applications that meet the selection criteria. Once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications, so please apply early to avoid disappointment.

Cook

Role Profile

Job Title: Cook
Salary: £25,079.60 per annum
Benefits: Pension at 5%, 33 days annual leave inc. Bank Holidays (Pro-Rata)
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Marwell Wildlife
Reports to: Food & Beverage Manager

Key Internal Contacts

• Food & Beverage Team

Events Team

• Park Operations Team

Health & Safety

Key External Contacts

Product and service contractors/suppliers

• Zoo guests to ensure maximum value and service during visits

Role Purpose and Role Dimensions:

Support and learn the provision of our food and beverage offer to our guests, ensuring consistent standards, preparation and presentation, as well as continuing improvement with our offer.

Financial Dimensions

Supporting the achievement of forecast and budgeted income targets and controlling costs and expenditure against budgeted targets and programmes

• To minimise wastage, adhering to our environmental policy

The Role

Preparation and cooking of food for daily sales within our main restaurant, keeper’s kitchen, catering outlets and events.

• To always maintain and manage the required high operational and personal standard of hygiene and presentation in compliance with the Food Safety Act

Be passionate about food and take pride in its presentation with an eye for detail and an exceptional drive for quality.

Ensure that assured safe catering principals regarding food safety and health and safety are always followed and documented encompassing both Marwell Wildlife’s own policies and legal requirements of the Food Safety Act

To ensure stock control including ordering, accepting deliveries, stock rotation and ensuring Marwell Wildlife’s standards and recipe specifications are met and always maintained.

• To ensure food preparation areas are always clean and tidy.

• To ensure all equipment is safe and clean before and after use.

• To ensure that Marwell Wildlife’s environmental policies are followed.

To maintain a professional appearance while at work adhering to correct uniform and grooming guidelines

• To be aware of the aims and objectives of Marwell Wildlife.

• To deliver exceptional guest service.

Identify with and contribute to Marwell Wildlife Brand Values, mission, and charitable objectives.

• Adhere to health and safety policy and procedures, identify hazards, and undertake appropriate risk assessments as required

The Candidate

Qualifications & Experience

Essential

• Food hygiene level 2 (or equivalent) or above

• Flexibility and an enthusiastic approach to work and new challenges with a can-do attitude

• Experience of working in a short order, fast paced, commercial catering environment.

An understanding of food production methods, food safety, COSHH, risk assessments, health, and safety best practices with the ability to maintain policies and procedures

• Full clean driving licence valid for the UK

Attributes

Excellent verbal communication and active listening skills to express views clearly and succinctly with the enthusiasm to lead, motivate and collaborate with both the kitchen and the front of house team to provide a seamless service delivery to our guests.

The ability to follow instruction with an emphasis on being a team player with an aptitude for getting the most out of the people you work with

Great customer service skills with a focus on exceeding guest's expectations and needs as the first requirement.

Be able to use resources effectively and efficiently and multitask to accomplish goals in a timely manner

Competency in numeracy and written skills.