CAREERS AT CHESTER ZOO
Food & Beverage Assistant
Job reference:001564
Salary:£12.21 per hour
Closing date:30/01/2026
Department:Food & Beverage
Location:Chester
Employment type:Permanent
Hours Per Week:Various
Job Description
Food & Beverage Assistant
We have multiple exciting permanent opportunities to join our Food & Beverage team.
Food & Beverage at the zoo includes a variety of restaurants, serving everything from fast food to traditional family favourites, a Gastro-pub, as well as coffee shops, kiosks our staff canteen and a 450-seat street kitchen serving Indonesian inspired food.
The Role
We have a number of roles available, where duties will include: taking and preparing food and drinks orders, using your barista skills to create hand crafted beverages, cash handing, cleaning of dining areas and supporting our Chef team in the kitchen from time to time. The Food & Beverage team ensure that all duties are performed effectively and efficiently, while maintaining a positive attitude and making visitors a priority every day. You will also support with keeping our coffee shop clean and well stocked and will support in other Food & Beverage outlets when required.
The Package
There are a range of contracts available from 12-20 hours. You will be required to work flexibly doing a variety of shifts on a rota basis including weekends and bank holidays. Hours of work will generally be during our core zoo opening hours, although some evening work with be required for special events such as ‘Into the night’ and ‘The Lanterns’.
• Permanent contract
• £12,698.40 per annum pro rata based on 20 hours per week, with potential for more hours in peak periods
• 33 days annual leave
• Holiday buy/sell scheme
• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family
• Cycle to work scheme
• Healthcare plan and employee assistance programme
• Discounted gym membership
• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks
• Pension scheme with generous employer contributions up to 9%
Our Requirements
• Excellent customer service skills
• Flexible with a “can do” attitude
• Experience of working within a high-volume, busy environment
• Experience of cash handling and using EPOS systems
Desirable Requirements
• Barista training, with experience of working in a coffee shop or venue serving hand crafted drinks
What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?
As the UK’s biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there’s always lots going on here. We’re an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of over 600 permanent and 500 temporary team members, and we know how important it is to invest in our colleagues to help boost their career development. We have ambitious goals, and we want you to be with us for the long term on our exciting journey.
We reserve the right to close our vacancies earlier than the listed date if we have received a high level of applications. We recommend that if you do wish to be considered that you submit your application as promptly as possible as shortlisting and interviews may be taking place whilst the advert is live.