Working in Catering

Work in these types of occupation can be found across two of our departments. These are Social Services and the Catering Group based in the Environment Department. The Environment Department Catering Group includes Schools and Civic Catering and operates as the in-house contractor providing meals in schools and civic buildings across the County and competes against other providers. As a Hospitality Assured business they pride themselves on their professionalism and with adequate training resources you can be sure to learn all aspects of the service including food preparation, safety, menu planning, cost controls and customer care.

Cook
The majority of Social Services establishments, whether daycare or residential, have a complement of catering staff to provide meals to the service users and therefore can involve working with any client group. This may mean providing the day’s meals for a relatively small number of service users in a residential establishment or providing 150 (or more) lunches in Day Centre for Adults with Learning Disabilities. The duties undertaken by the Cook vary depending on the size of the unit and the level of responsibility. They therefore range from basic meal preparation to menu planning, supervision of other catering staff and monitoring of the establishment’s catering budget, and the level of pay reflects this. As more experience is gained it is possible to take on more responsibility and duties. No formal qualifications are required but a Certificate of Food Hygiene and the appropriate City and Guilds would be an advantage.

Catering Supervisor
Entry criteria is based on a combination of experience and qualifications. As a supervisor you will be responsible for a number of staff, purchasing, control the preparation and service of ingredients with a particular importance attached to budgetary control. The units managed vary across the County Council in respect of size and services offered. Opportunities exist for progression to area management responsibilities. Essentially a customer - focused business the aim is to attract and maintain customers by using a variety of tools.

These include value for money food, promotional and theme day events as well as improvements brought about by comments received from customers.

Assistant Cook
Entry can be achieved based on experience within the catering industry. Ideally you will have a food hygiene qualification, however, training opportunities in food production do exist. Assisting the supervisor you will be responsible for preparing food for service often in a short time scale, but always to the clearly defined standards. Most of these positions are on a part-time basis.

General Catering Assistant
By far the largest number of people employed in the public sector of the catering industry are employed as General Catering Assistants. No formal qualifications are required, however, an aptitude for customer care and the ability to work in a team is essential. Duties vary from the preparation and service of food to taking cash and cleaning up after the service. Ideally you will be in possession of a Certificate in Basic Food Hygiene, however, training is provided. Hours of work vary and are usually on a part-time basis. As an Investor in People, opportunities exist for further personal development if required. Managers are always pleased to see individuals who take advantage of progressing their job role from these positions, however, many people are happy doing what they do, it's up to you!

For more information on the above three occupations only please contact our Environment Department Personnel, on (0115) 977 4466.