Volunteer Role Profile

1. Volunteer Role Profile Lead Cook for Lunch (Wednesdays) The Food Chain provides nutrition services including home delivered meals, essential groceries and nutrition advice to men, women and children who are chronically sick as a result of HIV related illness. We aim to ensure that no one living with the virus has their ability to get well and stay well adversely affected by lack of access to appropriate food. All our services are provided with the help and support of around 600 volunteers. As the Lead Cook, you will lead the team that prepares and cooks the nutritionally balanced meals that are eaten during an Eating Together session. You will be involved in bringing it all together: the menu planning, the shopping, and coordinating the kitchen team. What does the role involve? Every Wednesday The Food Chain hosts a communal lunch for our service users called Eating Together. It’s an opportunity for people living with HIV to come together to socialise with other people living with the conditional. As the Lead Cook, you’ll organise all elements of the food preparation for the lunch. This includes: shopping for the food beforehand in line with an agreed budget and menu, prepping, cooking and serving and clean up at the end of the meal. You get to eat lunch too! You’ll have two kitchen assistants at your disposal (also volunteers) to assist you who’ll you will direct as appropriate to get the meal cooked in time. This is a challenging and rewarding role. As well as overseeing the meal preparation, you will need to comply with procedures to ensure high standards of personal hygiene in the kitchen and completion of temperature controls and other legal records in line with policy. We often have a speaker who joins us for lunch and gives a talk on particular topic. This role would suit someone who is a good forward planner and team leader. Reliability is important due to the nature of the role. You’ll also need a flexible attitude and an open mind. This shift starts at 10am and finishes at 3pm and we are looking for someone who can manage at least one session every month to six weeks. But you can do more! How often do I need to volunteer? How much time do I need to give? We ask for a commitment of one 6 hour shift (plus preparation time) every 4 - 6 weeks. What training and support will I get? Volunteer Induction You will need to complete at least two shifts as a Kitchen Assistant and at least two shifts shadowing two different Lead Cooks. You will then undertake role specific training before completing two more shifts whilst being shadowed by a Lead Cook. Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety training and Level 2 Health and Safety training Support from the Supervisor or Event Host Support from the Food Services Delivery Coordinator and the Training and Volunteer Coordinator in the office Expenses: Travel expenses can are reimbursed in line with the Finance Policy What skills do I need to be a really good Lead Cook? You’ll need to be a good planner and be reliable and organised. An ability to work to deadlines A good leader who can delegate tasks to others An ability and interest in cooking, including the ability to follow recipes successfully You’ll need excellent communication and interpersonal skills as you’ll be working with a variety of different people.