Job summary
- Main area
- Catering
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 2
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week ((any five days out of seven))
- Job ref
- 193-7355244COR
- Employer
- Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Berkshire Hospital
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £24,465 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 10/08/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Chef - Patient and Retail Catering Food Production
NHS AfC: Band 2
Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated ‘Good’ with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’. This is a great opportunity to join our clinical or non-clinical teams to create a positive and motivating environment within our trust. Come and join our team in this exciting time of change as we pride ourselves, our staff and our services on excellence.
At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”
We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions
We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate
We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live
We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice
Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.
Job overview
Band 2 Cook / Chef
A fantastic opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and driven individual to join the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust Hospital, Reading, Berkshire. The successful candidate will be working in the Catering Department as a chef, on a full-time basis.
This is an exciting opportunity to join Royal Berkshire NHS Trust one of the UK’s largest general hospital foundation trusts- serving a population excess of 500,000. The main provider of acute and specialist care services for West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire. One of UK’s exemplary hospitals and rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission.
We deliver approximately 1,600 patient meals and 700 staff/visitor meals in the Restaurant/Deli & Training Center every day. We also deliver Internal functions in excess of 40,000 covers per annum.
The ideal candidate will have similar experience working in a high volume production kitchen, following standardised departmental recipes.
Main duties of the job
- Preparing and cooking patients and restaurant food as per recipe.
- Cooking and preparing elements of high quality and diet specific dishes.
- Keeping up with industry trends and help create new recipes.
- Maintaining a clean and safe kitchen and ensuring sanitation practices in the kitchen.
- Assisting other chefs.
- Helping with deliveries and restocking.
- Assisting with stock rotation.
- Cleaning stations.
- Contributing to maintaining kitchen and food safety standards.
Working for our organisation
The CQC recently rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Good.
Our values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Resourceful, Excellent.
Our Vision: Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Communicate information relating to food service requirements to staff, patients and other members of the public both verbally and by telephone.
- Organise day-to-day work tasks or activities in conjunction with assistant head chef.
- Provide information on food service, matters including recipes and wastage information.
- Responsible for the correct operation of kitchen equipment
- Adherence to standard recipes and production planning whilst ensuring the most economical use of provisions.
- Supervise the serving of food and the maintaining of good portion control and presentation of the food served.
Please refer to the attached Job Description & Person Specification for further details.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential criteria
- NVQ 2 in Cookery or City and Guilds equivalent
- Basic Food Hygiene
Desirable criteria
- Higher level food safety qualificatino
Experience
Essential criteria
- Has proven ability to cook with fresh ingredients from start to end product
- Has experience of working in a Team environment
Desirable criteria
- Relevant experience of working in the catering undertaking a chef / cook role
- Relevant experience of working in a similar type of establishment (NHS)
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Has knowledge and experience of delivering specialist diets
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Wayne Robinson
- Job title
- Trust Head Chef
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01183227094
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