cook

We are a small care home caring for 15 people living with dementia. We need a cook who can serve basic delicious meals, manage different dietary requirements, and who can cope with random help in the kitchen from the people who live here !
We live and eat as a family. Meals are prepared from fresh every day, often with our own vegetables and eggs, served in shared dishes, not "plated" and our aim for the whole mealtime experience is one of encouragement and joy. Lunch is fairly traditional, tea more of a festive snack type of experience with nutritious finger foods to encourage and temp those whose appetites aren't good. The usual hours are 9am to 5 or 6pm on a weekly rota to cover alternate weekends.

People get up when they want so there is no set in stone routine. The staff helping with breakfast between 7am and 11 am will come into the kitchen to cook whatever is wanted, poached or scrambled eggs, fried bread, bacon sandwiches and so on. They will usually clear up after themselves.
Lunch needs to be ready from 12.45 but again, this isn’t set in stone. Staff will let you know how the morning is going.
Tea is prepared and kept in the kitchen for whatever time the staff want it served. They may also need snacks or soft diet alternatives at different times in the day. There should be food available at any time that anyone is hungry.
You will be able to eat as and when you want.

To provide good nutritious food that everyone who lives and works here can enjoy.
To have your basic food and hygiene training in date before starting and allergy training too.
To be able to prepare special diets when required, to work with the staff to understand the importance of these and to work together to share ideas. To make sure the staff team working with you understand the diets you have prepared.
To keep the kitchen clean and tidy and to respect all the rules of health and safety whilst working.
To keep all the kitchen records up to date at the end of every shift. To report anything that isn’t safe or you feel isn’t right.
To share ideas with the senior cook and make menus together.

Forget everything you think you know about Care Homes, Coombe House is different. It looks like your own home, comfortable and familiar. Open the door and you’ll hear singing, laughter. You’ll see vegetables being prepared for lunch, cakes being baked.

On a warm day, you’ll find us in the garden, with our dogs (we are registered with the Cinnamon Trust), or feeding our chickens, picking apples in the orchard.We have no set routine anyone must follow, every day is different. Our people can make choices – when to get up and when to go to bed, what to wear, where to sit, what to do to pass the time of day, where to eat meals, what to eat, which visitors they do or don’t want to see, which daily paper they might like to read. The doors of our home aren’t locked and our beautiful gardens are there to enjoy.

We were thrilled to receive an Outstanding from CQC in 2018.