Job overview

The Catering team are looking for a dynamic New Head Chef to lead the team to excellence .

We  are expanding our team to meet the needs of our Patients ,staff and Visitors in our  on site fresh cook production kitchen.

We are looking for someone with a passion for food ,knowledge of the latest trends in food  and a drive to push the team forward as we look to deliver on the day  ordering and cooking The candidate will need to be  Organised, have flexibility due to operational issues and be prepared to excite and educate the team.

Main duties of the job

Kitchen Operations & Food Service Management

• Lead the kitchen team in preparing and cooking high-quality meals for patients, staff, and visitors.
• Oversee special dietary requirements, ensuring allergen compliance and minimal risk of cross-contamination.
• Monitor food hygiene standards, portion control, and presentation, ensuring consistency in quality.
• Ensure all food service processes adhere to NHS Trust guidelines, HACCP protocols, and legal food safety regulations.
• Supervise meal service in patient dining areas and staff restaurants, ensuring timely and professional delivery.
• Act as a point of escalation for operational issues within the catering team.

 Stock Control & Resource Management

• Maintain accurate stock levels, ensuring FIFO (First-In, First-Out) principles are applied.
• Oversee ordering, receiving, and storing ingredients, ensuring compliance with food safety standards.
• Manage budget control measures, minimizing food wastage and maintaining cost efficiency.
• Ensure all food items are stored at the correct temperatures, and labelling procedures are followed.
• Support the automation of catering processes, including software integration for improved efficiency.

Full duties on attached Job Description.

Working for our organisation

Our Organisation

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) provides a full range of general acute, outpatient and diagnostic services at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, the Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford, and St Margaret’s Hospital in Epping.

We employ 3,500 staff and serve a local population of around 350,000 people living in west Essex and east Hertfordshire, centred on the M11 corridor and the towns of Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford and Epping. Our extended catchment area incorporates a population of up to 500,000 and includes the areas of Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire.

Our Values

The Princess Alexandra Promise to our patients as identified by our 3 values which will contribute to improving our patient experiences:

Patient at heart – Always holding the patient and their wellbeing at the centre of our thoughts and efforts

Everyday excellence – Sharing and celebrating our successes, being honest when we get it wrong, giving us the ability to learn from both

Creative collaboration – Knowing strength comes from diversity, we combine our experiences, skills and talents, working together to find new and better ways to care

The Trust believes in investing in all our staff and rewarding high standards of care whilst building for excellence and in return we expect our staff to uphold the Trust values to the highest level.