Cook
Garvald West Linton Ltd
Garvald West Linton
Full-time
Job Description Cook Salary £16,380 per annum A little bit about us…. Garvald West Linton provides residential care, creative work opportunities and Day Services for adults with learning disabilities. The residents and staff together make up a community of approximately 130 people. There are five residential houses. On average, there are seven residents in each house with one House Manager, one Deputy House Manager, a group of care staff including night duty staff and a Cook, spread across five residential care homes and our Workshops. Our Ethos The aim of Garvald West Linton is to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the individuals we support. Main Purpose of Role Providing a balanced and healthy diet for residents is extremely important at Garvald West Linton; lunch is the main meal of the day, and communal eating is encouraged. Each House has its own Cook, who plays an integral part in the daily running of the household. Key Priorities • To provide a biodynamic/organic healthy balanced and varied lunch menu from Monday to Friday for around 15 people, to be eaten at 1.00 pm. • To support residents’ in accompanied cooking to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence. Job Description Cook Tasks • Alongside residents and House Manager, plans menus around existing Garvald lunch ‘traditions’ e.g. meat twice per week on Wednesday and Sunday, fish on Friday etc. • Works closely with Garvald’s gardeners to make best use of produce from the bio-dynamic garden and collaborates on creative projects for growing and cultivating. • Develops, fosters and supports, wherever possible, the use of high-quality produce of bio-dynamic or organic origin. Ensures all produce is cooked using appropriate cooking methods. • Maintains good stock rotation practices and in liaison with the House Manager, orders and purchases provisions as necessary for the running of the kitchen within a stated annual budget. This includes, as a minimum, a monthly meat order to Garvald Home Farm and regular orders from organic providers such as Green City and Organic World. • Ensures all produce is used economically with minimum wastage and recycling is conducted appropriately. • Supports residents in activities in the kitchen including supervised safe handling of all equipment and ensures all kitchen workers maintain a high standard of hygiene. • Responsible for health and safety issues in the kitchen and adheres to all health and safety policies including the reporting and recording of accidents and incidents. • Respects and adheres to the recommendations given by the Environmental Health department of the Local Authority, following any announced or unannounced inspection and to keep all Environmental Health records up to date. • Adheres to Garvald West Linton’s Food Risk Assessment and Good Hygiene Practice guidelines for cooks and keeps this document up to date e.g. fridge and freezer temperatures, food temperatures and meal ingredients • Awareness of residents’ physical and emotional needs and respond to them appropriately, conducting themselves in accordance with the Codes of Practice • Provides updates and reports on residents for presentation at their review. • Attends planning meetings in the house as required. • Assists with the preparation and cooking of food for festivals throughout the year including residents’ birthdays • Assists (on rotation) with day service users’ Lunch Club. Person Specification Cook Qualifications • No specific qualifications are essential for the role of Cook however a basic food hygiene certificate is highly desirable. If not currently held, the role holder will be expected to gain this certificate at the earliest possible date. Knowledge and Experience • Previous experience of preparing and cooking meals for large groups, and within a specific budget • Knowledge of preparing a range of meals e.g. vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free etc. • Previous experience of preparing interesting and varied meals using whole food ingredients • Some understanding of bio-dynamic food production would be useful Skills, Abilities and Personal Attributes • Friendly and caring approach with ability to relate to residents with a wide variety of complex challenges and needs • Commitment to embracing and understanding the principles of social therapy (based on the Rudolph Steiner principles) and their application in a residential setting. • Tact and sensitivity with a respectful approach to residents • Patience, resilience and reliability with the ability to remain calm under pressure • Team working skills and the ability to use own initiative • Ability to work to health and safety guidelines and follow necessary processes and procedures This position involves working with vulnerable adults and is therefore exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Therefore, disclosure of criminal convictions is requested from all applicants, and if successful in your application, this will be followed by application for registration to the Protection of Vulnerable Adults Group. All applicants can be assured that the information will be dealt with confidentially and will not be used to discriminate against them unfairly.