The Bowes Museum
Chef
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Job Title: Chef
Responsible to: Head Chef
Salary: £24,960.00
Hours: 32 hours per week (4 days)
Contract: Permanent
Benefits:
- We are very happy to discuss flexible working and ways for our team to manage their home and working lives.
- 25 days holidays in addition to Bank Holidays.
- 5% employers pension contribution.
- Discount in the museum’s café and our shop.
- Free staff parking.
- Employee Assistance Programme – providing a 24/7 free helpline.
- Training and development opportunities.
- Free entry for your immediate family to the museum.
- Some mutual free entry arrangements with other partnership attractions.
- Cycle to work scheme
The Role
Food and hospitality play an important part in how visitors experience the museum and its historic setting. The Catering Team supports the museum’s wider mission by offering thoughtfully prepared food and drink that complements the character, values, and sense of welcome of the site.
As a Chef, you will be a key member of the Catering Team, contributing to a food offer that is carefully considered, well crafted, and rooted in local quality. Your work will support the museum’s ambition to provide an outstanding visitor experience, ensuring that food service reflects the same consistent care, attention, and respect for standards that visitors encounter throughout the museum and grounds.
You will be responsible for producing and presenting high quality food from a locally curated menu, maintaining excellent standards of food safety, cleanliness, and allergen control. Working closely with the Head Chef and colleagues across catering and the wider museum, you will help ensure a calm, well-organised, and professional kitchen environment that consistently supports the visitor experience. Your work will place the visitor at the heart of everything we do, while supporting the delivery of key performance targets and contributing positively to the museum’s overall culture and reputation.
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This role is based within the museum kitchens on the ground and second floors. Weekend and Bank Holiday working forms part of a shared rota, with occasional evening work to support events and private hires. Typical working hours are 8.00 am – 4.00 pm, offering a largely daytime and sociable working pattern.
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The Person
We are looking for an enthusiastic all-rounder chef with a genuine passion for food and creating memorable dining experiences. You will be attentive to detail, organised in your approach, and motivated by providing a consistently high standard of work rather than fast-paced service alone.
You will enjoy working as part of a close knit team, bringing a calm, reliable, and collaborative presence to the kitchen. Although this is not a customer-facing role, your work will have a direct impact on how visitors remember their time at the museum, and it is therefore essential that you uphold and demonstrate the museum’s values and behaviours in everything you do.
Inclusion and Diversity
We believe that diversity and equality within our workforce, programmes and approaches is crucial to our mission of being inclusive and relevant to our communities. We want everyone to feel welcome. We, therefore, particularly welcome applications from candidates under-represented at The Bowes Museum and within the heritage sector, including Global Majority candidates and/or candidates with disabilities.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Deliver consistently high standards of food hygiene, quality, and care, ensuring visitor experience is prioritised.
- Produce high quality food in both café and event/function settings as part of the kitchen team.
- Support the Head Chef with menu development and dish creation, taking into account agreed profit margins, dietary requirements, and environmental considerations.
- Take responsibility for the effective running of the kitchen in the absence of the Head Chef.
- Place daily and weekly orders with agreed suppliers to ensure appropriate stock levels.
- Adhere at all times to food hygiene, allergen management, and health and safety regulations.
- Follow recipes, allergen and portion controls, and presentation guidelines to ensure consistency and compliance.
- Set up and maintain workstations, restock during service, and prepare food in a fresh, made-to-order environment.
- Ensure all allergy and food intolerance requests are followed precisely and report any incidents of contamination immediately.
- Assist with stock control, inventory management, and record keeping as required.
- Carry out thorough cleaning and close-down of kitchen and workstations after daily service or events.
- Provide cover for colleagues during periods of leave when required.
- Actively support the museum’s environmental sustainability policies and initiatives.
- Ensure catering areas are safe, clean, and ready for service through accurate completion of daily and weekly checks.
- Carry out basic maintenance tasks when requested, such as replacing oven light bulbs or equipment batteries.
- Participate in any training necessary to perform duties safely and competently.
- Demonstrate and advocate the museum’s values and behaviours at all times.
- Take ownership of personal and professional development, working with your line manager to identify development needs.
- Proactively contribute to a positive, flexible, and inclusive working environment for staff and volunteers.
- Undertake any other reasonable duties commensurate with the role as directed by line management.
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