Apprentice Chef
Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust · South West · BH17 0RB
About the role
🔥 Aspiring Chef Alert! 🔥 Ready to kickstart your culinary journey and earn while you learn? 🧑🍳 Dorset HealthCare is on the hunt for FOUR passionate and motivated Apprentice Chefs to join our dynamic Catering Teams! This is your chance to dive into the world of NHS healthcare catering, gain epic hands-on experience, and work towards a legit professional chef qualification. 🌟
Where You'll Be:
We've got four spots waiting for you at:
📍 St Ann's Hospital
📍 Alderney Hospital
📍 Bridport Hospital
📍 Blandford Hospital
The apprenticeship kicks off in January 2027 and is a collab with Coastland College. You'll be hitting up college in Weymouth one day a week, plus all the awesome practical training at your base hospital. You'll need to be able to get yourself to work and college independently. 🚗💨
Heads Up: Unfortunately, we can't offer visa sponsorship for this role. Make sure you've got the right to work in the UK! ✅🇬🇧
What You'll Be Doing:
Team up with experienced chefs and managers to whip up nutritious, top-quality meals for patients, staff, and visitors. 🍲 You'll master culinary skills in a professional healthcare kitchen and learn how catering is key to patient care and wellbeing. Your apprenticeship will cover:
- Whipping up a huge variety of delicious meals 🍽️
- Preparing food for special dietary needs 🥦🥕
- Nailing food safety, hygiene, and health & safety standards 💯
- Getting savvy with stock control, ordering, and cutting down food waste ♻️
- Helping with menu planning and making services even better ✨
- Being a legend in a busy, supportive catering team 🤝
- Leveling up your organisation, communication, and customer service skills 🗣️
- Taking on more responsibility and mentoring junior team members as you grow! 💪
What We're Looking For:
We need someone who:
- Loves food, cooking, and catering! 😋
- Is stoked to learn new skills and build a chef career. 🚀
- Enjoys being part of a team. 🙌
- Is all about giving patients, staff, and visitors an excellent experience. 👍
- Is eager to learn and stick to high food safety and hygiene standards. 🧼
Ready to Apply?
Check out the attached job description and person specification for all the juicy details on duties and responsibilities. When you apply, make your supporting statement shine by showing us how your experience and skills match what we're looking for. ✨
Important Note on Applications: We know AI can be helpful, but over-reliance on it can make your application less unique. Use it to *enhance* your application, not to create your whole supporting statement. Your statement needs to be in your own words and reflect your genuine experiences. We'll be checking for authenticity! 💯
Dorset HealthCare is committed to building a skilled, diverse, and caring workforce. We offer support for people looking to get into work, including help with applications and interview skills. If you or someone you know could benefit from this, hit up dhc.wideningparticipation@nhs.net. ✉️
Key responsibilities
- Preparing and cooking a wide range of high-quality meals
- Preparing food to meet specialist dietary and nutritional requirements
- Following excellent food safety, hygiene and health & safety standards
- Learning about stock control, ordering and reducing food waste
- Supporting menu planning and service improvements