Cafe Cook
Salary £ 12.60 ph
Queenswood Country Park
Vacancy listed 29/09/2025
Application deadline 10/10/2025
Details
We are looking for an enthusiastic and reliable cook to join our café team at Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum.

In this varied role, you’ll be responsible for:
  • Preparing and cooking meals to order
  • Maintaining high standards of food safety and hygiene
  • Assisting with stock management and ordering

Weekend and bank holiday work is required, but we aim to provide regular weekends off to support a healthy work-life balance.

At Queenswood Café, we pride ourselves on:

  • A warm and welcoming atmosphere
  • Excellent customer service
  • Wholesome food made with locally sourced ingredients

In addition to our regular breakfast and lunch service, we also cater for corporate lunches and seasonal events, offering plenty of variety and opportunities to grow your skills.

Perks of the Role
  • Work in the beautiful surroundings of Queenswood Country Park
  • Free hot drinks on shift
  • Staff discount on food
  • Free staff parking
  • Be part of a conservation charity protecting Herefordshire’s wildlife

About us
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust (HWT) is a wildlife conservation charity for everyone who cares about nature in Herefordshire.  We are dedicated to protecting the special wildlife in Herefordshire and encouraging people to enjoy, care for and act for nature.  We own and manage 55 Nature Reserves across the county and have over 7500 members.  Our Vision for Wildlife aims to place nature’s recovery at the forefront of tackling the climate emergency - for wildlife itself, for the natural services it provides and for everyone’s wellbeing.  Together we can make sure that future generations living in Herefordshire will be able to enjoy the sense of wonder and well-being that nature offers.

Reports to: Cafe Manager and Team leader 

Location: This role will be based at Queenswood, although on rare occasions you may be asked to support at our other locations in the local area (with travel expenses covered).  
 
Management Responsibility:  None 
Liaison with:  Cafe Team members 
 
Key Responsibilities 

Catering duties 
  • Deliver the highest standards of food and drink preparation and presentation.  
  • Work in our kitchen preparing and cooking our menu. 
  • Assist the management team to create the menu and café offer. 
  • Accurately manage kitchen stock and assist with ordering.  
  • Communicate with front of house staff throughout the shift. 
  • Deliver excellent customer service and strive to always exceed visitor expectations, helping us to establish a reputation for consistently delivering high quality food and service.  
  • Actively maintain knowledge of the product ranges so that you can assist and advise visitors with their purchases.  
  • Provide visitors with information on food composition, ingredients and menu and food displays. 
  • Assist with the delivery of conferences, weddings and other functions as required. 
  • Take a personal responsibility for Food Hygiene standards whilst performing daily tasks, ensuring personal workstations and kitchen areas are always clean and tidy. 
  • Maintain a clean and safe kitchen space, including operating our pot wash area. 
  • Follow daily and weekly site cleaning programmes. 
  • Follow COSHH regulations. 
  • Uphold the licencing objectives regarding the sale of alcohol. 
 
Other duties 
  • Undertake Health and Safety duties commensurate with the post and as detailed in the Trust's Health and Safety policy; 
  • Comply with all other organisational policies and relevant legislation e.g. Equal Opportunities – it being the responsibility of the post holder to make themselves aware of such items.  
  • Take advantage of formal and informal opportunities for personal and professional development, participate in appropriate training activities in consultation with your line manager  
  • Cascade relevant skills and knowledge to relevant staff 
  • Act as an ambassador for Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, constructing and maintaining positive relationships with volunteers, visitors and other organisations  
  • Undertake any other work that might be deemed necessary by HWT commensurate with the level of responsibility of this post. Work with the broader HWT team on any other activities that match your skills and abilities as agreed with your line-manager  
 
Person specification 
Qualifications and Experience  

Essential 
  • Experience of food preparation and cooking within a catering environment. 
  • Experience of food handling, and legislation such as allergens and dietary requirements. 

Desirable 
  • Food Safety Level 3 certification. 
  • Knowledge of food hygiene and Health and Safety compliance requirements. 
  • Experience with ordering stock and maintaining minimum stock levels. 
  • Experience with conferencing, events, and weddings. 
  • Experience in a busy mixed environment such as a hotel or visitor attraction. 
 
Skills Essential 
  • Excellent standards of customer service and presentation. 
  • Strong people skills and able to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences. 
  • Strong organisational and team working skills. 
  • Ability to work under pressure and to remain calm in stressful situations. 
 
Other Essential  
  • Valid Full Driving licence, Own vehicle  
  • Ability to work flexible hours including weekends and bank holidays,  
  • Physically fit to work standing for extended period, handling food and beverage preparation 

Personal Attributes 
  • Passionate about delivering excellent food and service. 
  • People oriented with a “can do” attitude. 
  • A friendly and approachable manner, with an outgoing personality. 
  • Ability to be flexible and respond to changing situations. 
  • Punctual, reliable, and professional. 

Desirable 
  • Passionate about nature and wildlife conservation. 
  • An interest in the Nature Reserve at Queenswood  
Benefits

25 days holiday plus bank hols p.a. (pro rata with incremental increase with length of service up to 30 days)
5 % Employer pension contributions
EAP 24/7 confidential access to expert services including counselling , wellbeing, independent legal and financial advice
Health cash plan with Westfield Health
2 Paid Volunteer days per year
Flexible working
Enhanced Sick Pay
Free parking (Queenswood Site)
HWT and PPE work wear as relevant
Training & development opportunities

Notes

This is a full time permanent role, 37 hours per week.
Further details with full job description and an application form are available to download below.

To apply:
> please download the Job Description, Application Form and Diversity Monitoring Form
> complete and save both forms on your device
> upload these forms when you make your full application here by clicking on the Apply button below.

We hope that you will tell us in your supporting statement, how your skills and experience relate to the Job Spec. and make you a suitable candidate for this role.

PLEASE NOTE: I'm sorry but we do NOT accept CVs as a form of application - only applications received on our application form below will be considered.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on 03/11/2024.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Attached documents
Title File
Application Form 04_HWT_new_application_form_(6).doc
Diversity Form 05_New_Diversity_Monitoring_Form_(6).xlsx
Equal Opportunities HWT_EQUAL_OPPORTUNITIES_AND_DIVERSITY_POLICY_(1).pdf
Ex offenders Policy Recruitment_of_ex_offenders_policy_statement_(1).pdf
Job Description JD_Cafe_Cook.pdf
apply