About the Employer
At Cromford Mills, we believe in being a supportive, teamwork driven workplace, where working together creates the best experience for our visitors.
We are a large site with a business centre, a busy events and conferencing programme throughout the year. We operate guided tours of the mill which includes our visitor centre and the Arkwright Experience, telling the story of Sir Richard Arkwright who established the world’s first successful water powered mill here at Cromford in 1771.
We have an award-winning educational offer for schools and a very enthusiastic and involved volunteer team who help deliver the visitor heritage offer. Part of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site; all these activities create a beautiful, unique and vibrant place to work.
We play host to numerous conference and banqueting functions, and help deliver external catering for our wide-ranging and diverse events such as Comic Con, The Dog Show, Cromford Builds (Lego), and Our Famous Beer Festival. There is always something to look forward to at Cromford Mills!
About the Role
As an apprentice, you’ll work at a company and get hands-on experience. You’ll gain new skills and work alongside experienced staff.
Predominantly working alongside one of our experienced cooks, the ideal candidate will be serving breakfast and lunch for our guests, preparing homemade soups, quiches, and scones, and helping to deliver our afternoon tea menu, launching this Autumn.
There will be opportunity to experience everything that a busy day-visitor attraction has to offer, including ordering and monitoring stock, learning about and developing vital skills in health and safety and hygiene, customer service skills, general cleaning duties, and touching on menu development and pricing.
Duties will include:
- producing dishes using fresh and pre-prepared ingredients
- preparing soups and menu items for the day
- assisting to complete hand over notes, and ensure enough stock is prepared for the next day
- help to gather stock lists for supplier orders
- ensuring food stock is stored correctly and used in rotation
- working effectively as part of a team
- communicating with the internal team and with customers
- following standard operating procedures
- take responsibility for own development whilst observing professional standards
- using equipment safely and effectively
- adhere to site specific risk assessments, fire regulations, health and safety and food safety legislation, and undertake due diligence
- adapt and produce dishes to meet special dietary, religious and allergic requirements
- observe equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing guidelines, and contribute to a supportive, inclusive and motivational environment.
Other requirements
Although transport links are good to Cromford, candidates should ensure they are able to travel to and from work at the appropriate start/finish times. Some lifting and carrying will be required. Some outdoor work may be required for certain events. Sensible footwear and clothing should be worn in transit as we are a countryside site susceptible to adverse weather conditions. Chefs uniform will be provided should it be required.
Company benefits
- Free parking.
- Free meals on shift.
- Health and wellbeing program.
- Predominantly day-time hours.
Training
An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.
College or training organisation
University of Derby
Your training course
Production chef
Equal to Level 2
Your training plan
Apprentices will attend weekly on-campus activity days alongside training in the workplace both on and off-the-job. A college instructor-mentor will visit apprentices in the workplace regularly to complete observations, professional discussions and discuss progress.
More training information
Training in the workplace will be delivered by an experienced team of cooks, training will include; food safety, stock management, customer service, hygiene and cleaning, knife skills, menu development, team work, allergen awareness, baking and much more.
After the apprenticeship
- Potential for permanent work at Cromford Mills.
- Career growth within the department.
Entry Requirements
Desired qualifications
- GCSE English (Grade 4 or above) desirable
- GCSE Maths (Grade 4 or above) desirable
Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Creative
- Reliable
- An interest in the industry
- Ability to learn from peers
- A desire to learn
- Calm under pressure
About the University
We have one simple promise – to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better.
The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.
We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 – making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.
Start your journey to success by applying today
How to apply
- Go to the University of Derby - Buxton website
- Select 'apprenticeship vacancies' from the 'course selection' dropdown
- Add 'Production chef' to the 'Please specify which apprentice vacancy' text field
- Choose a campus in the 'what campus do you wish to study at' field
- Complete the remaining steps of the form.
Apply through the University of Derby - Buxton website.