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Café Chef – Heritage Centre
Salary: National Minimum Wage (negotiable depending on experience)
Hours: Minimum 35 per week, typically 8:30am–5:00pm including weekends (with occasional evening/event work)
Location: Heritage Centre, Winlaton Mill, Gateshead
About the Employer
This café is a vibrant, welcoming space where they serve delicious food and drinks to their loyal customers. They pride themselves on being a close-knit team of friendly and kind individuals who make every customer feel special. The café has become a local favourite, and they are proud to see so many return customers who value their high-quality service. All the profits from this café go towards supporting a fantastic charity which helps improve communities and the environment.
They are looking for a creative, passionate, and enthusiastic chef to join their kitchen team at the Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre. As part of the team, you will be responsible for delivering freshly made-to-order dishes while ensuring the highest standards of food hygiene, presentation, and customer care.
They are looking for someone with a real passion for preparing and cooking fresh, seasonal food using locally sourced ingredients, someone keen to experiment and innovate with menus, has excellent knife skills, can work well under pressure, and has hands on experience with a range of kitchen equipment. Strong communication skills, a proactive attitude, and the ability to lead and work as part of a team are essential.
With regular daytime hours usually 8:30am–5:00pm (kitchen operating 9:00am–3:00pm), this role offers a rare work-life balance in catering, with no late-night shifts and only occasional evening catering for events.
What you’ll do:
- Support the Lead Chef to plan and develop fresh, seasonal menus (breakfasts, lunches, cakes, children’s meals and event specials)
- Prepare and cook food to order, ensuring quality, consistency, and speed of service
- Maintain high standards of hygiene, food safety, and allergen management
- Cater for occasional evening events and contribute to seasonal offers
- Work closely with the Lead Chef and centre team to deliver a great experience for all visitors
What this Employer Offers:
- Excellent work-life balance – typically 8:30am–5:00pm shifts, with the kitchen operational 9:00am–3:00pm
- No regular evening work – only occasional event catering with advance notice
- Staff discounts in the café and shop
- Supportive, friendly team environment within a beautiful riverside heritage setting
- Opportunity to be creative and shape the kitchen offer
- A role that contributes to sustainability, local heritage and community engagement
About you:
You’ll be an organised, creative, and hands-on chef or cook, confident in managing a kitchen and leading by example. You’ll take pride in producing quality well-presented food and enjoy the buzz of working in a busy café environment.
This employer looks forward to welcoming you to their team!
Closing Date: September 26, 2025
The right is reserved to close this advert at any time.
Interested?
To find out more information, please click the apply button. You will be taken to a simple CHM Recruit form and then redirected to complete your application for this position.
Make yourself at home
This organisation wants you to be yourself and value everything that makes you unique. They recognise and celebrate your difference and together make for a great place to work. As a Disability Confident employer they offer a guaranteed interview to applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role.
They ensure that they provide a safe environment for adults, children and young people to take part in any activity or service that they organise. They are committed to creating a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk.?Their safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and comprehensive process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all the people they appoint are suitable to work with their children, young people and adults.
This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship - the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.
No agencies please.
