Garvald West Linton Ltd

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.