Cook/Chef

PU17 Café in Rye is a busy, vibrant café known for great food, quality coffee and exceptional service. We are looking for highly skilled and motivated chefs/cooks who are confident working under pressure, can maintain consistently high food standards, and thrive as part of a busy kitchen team.

CHEF – Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Plan, develop, and update menus for the café, taking into consideration customer preferences, seasonal ingredients, café offerings, and operational requirements.
• Prepare, season, and cook a variety of café menu items to a consistently high standard.
• Ensure all food is prepared and presented in accordance with the cafe’s recipes, quality standards, and presentation requirements.
• Monitor the quality, taste, freshness, portion sizes, and presentation of food throughout preparation, cooking, and service.
• Supervise, train, and coordinate kitchen staff to ensure smooth, efficient, and organised kitchen operations.
• Allocate kitchen duties and coordinate food preparation to ensure meals are prepared and served within appropriate service times.
• Estimate food and ingredient requirements, place orders with suppliers, and monitor stock levels to maintain adequate supplies.
• Manage inventory, stock rotation, storage, and ordering procedures to minimise spoilage, wastage, and unnecessary costs.
• Monitor food and labour costs and implement appropriate measures to control expenses and minimise food wastage.
• Develop and introduce new recipes and menu items that are suitable for the café and maintain consistency across all dishes.
• Ensure compliance with applicable food safety, hygiene, sanitation, and workplace health and safety requirements.
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness and organisation throughout the kitchen, preparation areas, equipment, and storage areas.
• Coordinate with café management and front-of-house staff to ensure efficient service and timely preparation of customer orders.
• Address food preparation or quality issues promptly and take appropriate corrective action to maintain café standards.

COOK – Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Prepare and cook a variety of café menu items in accordance with the cafe’s recipes, procedures, and quality standards.
• Prepare ingredients for service, including washing, cutting, chopping, marinating, portioning, seasoning, and cooking food as required.
• Follow established recipes and preparation methods to ensure consistency in taste, quality, portion size, and presentation.
• Ensure meals are prepared and presented consistently with Cafe’s standards and customer expectations.
• Monitor food quality throughout preparation and service, including freshness, flavour, temperature, portion control, and presentation.
• Assist with the preparation of daily food items and ensure sufficient quantities are available during café service periods.
• Receive deliveries and check the quality, quantity, and condition of ingredients and supplies.
• Store and rotate food and ingredients appropriately in accordance with food safety and stock rotation requirements.
• Assist with stock control by monitoring ingredient levels and reporting shortages or additional requirements to the Chef or café management.
• Maintain cleanliness and sanitation of kitchen equipment, utensils, preparation areas, cooking areas, storage areas, and work surfaces.
• Follow all food safety, hygiene, sanitation, and workplace health and safety procedures applicable.
• Assist the Chef and other kitchen staff with daily food preparation and kitchen operations as required.
• Minimise food wastage by using ingredients efficiently and following appropriate portioning and storage procedures.
• Work efficiently as part of the kitchen team to ensure customer orders are prepared accurately and within required service times.

Selection Criteria

• Relevant commercial cookery qualification or equivalent industry experience.
• Minimum 1 year of relevant experience in the nominated occupation.
• Minimum Certificate IV qualification or higher required.
• Strong knowledge of café kitchen operations and food preparation processes.
• Ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced team environment.
• Excellent organisational and communication skills.
• Availability to work weekends, evenings, and public holidays.