Job Advert: Lead Caterer
Salary: £27,000–£30,000 per annum + discretionary bonus
Location: Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre, Shadwell, Norfolk
Contract: Permanent, 37 hours per week (annualised hours)
Are you an experienced caterer with a passion for fresh, healthy, and delicious food? Do you enjoy leading a team and creating menus that make people feel nourished and inspired? If so, we'd love to hear from you.
Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre provides residential activity programmes for schools, families, and groups. Our catering service is a vital part of that experience, and we're looking for a Lead Caterer to take charge — ensuring everything we serve reflects our ethos of health, wellbeing, and excellence.
This is a fantastic opportunity to step into a leadership role where your creativity, organisation, and passion for food will have a real impact. You'll also benefit from working in our brand-new kitchen and dining facility, designed to provide a modern, enjoyable working environment.
What you'll be doing
* Leading and inspiring the catering team to deliver high-quality meals.
* Creating balanced, appealing menus that reflect our values.
* Ensuring food hygiene, health & safety, and kitchen cleanliness are maintained to the highest standards.
* Managing staff rotas and workloads fairly and effectively.
* Ordering supplies and managing budgets efficiently.
* Supporting staff recruitment, training, and development.
* Building positive relationships with young people, families, and colleagues across the centre.
* Taking overall responsibility for food safety, kitchen hygiene, stock control, rotas, and of course, preparing and serving high-quality meals to our visitors.
About you
We're looking for someone who is:
* Experienced in commercial catering (minimum two years).
* Qualified in Level 3 Food Hygiene (or working towards it).
* Confident in leading a team, with strong organisational and problem-solving skills.
* Passionate about producing healthy, nutritious, and tasty food.
* Flexible and resilient, comfortable working evenings (until 7.30pm) and occasional weekends.
* A strong communicator who thrives in a busy, team-focused environment.
A First Aid qualification, leadership or management training, and strong knowledge of catering health & safety would be an advantage.
If you have a passion for home-cooked food and enjoy working with children and young people, this could be the perfect role for you.
Job Types: Part-time, Permanent
Pay: £27,000.00-£30,000.00 per year
Expected hours: 30 per week
Benefits:
* Company events
* Company pension
* Discounted or free food
* Free parking
* On-site parking
* Private dental insurance
* Private medical insurance
* Sick pay
Ability to commute/relocate:
* Thetford IP24 2RX: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
* Catering: 2 years (required)
Work authorisation:
* United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person