Production Chef

👨‍🍳 Production Chef - Central Kitchen, Big Volume, Bigger Rewards 👩‍🍳
📍 Location: Reading
📅 Start Date: September 2025
💼 Contract Type: Permanent
⏱️ Hours: 36 hours per week
💰 Salary: £26,000 - £30,000 per annum
💸 Enhanced Pay: Time and a half for overtime, double pay on Sundays
Are you a skilled chef who thrives in a fast-paced, high-volume kitchen?
Want to be part of a central production team crafting hundreds of meals daily?
Blue Arrow is recruiting Production Chefs to join a large-scale catering operation in Reading - where your precision, speed, and passion will be rewarded.
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🍽️ About the Role:
Work from a central production kitchen preparing 600 meals a day, supplying a network of eateries, bars, and restaurants across the estate. You'll be part of a skilled brigade focused on quality, consistency, and sustainability.
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✨ What's in it for you?
* 🍽️ Free meals on duty
* 💸 Overtime paid at 1.5x hourly rate
* 📆 Double pay on Sundays
* 🎄 Christmas & Easter off - all kitchens close for the holidays
* 🌴 36 days annual leave
* 💷 Pension contribution - 5%, rising to 7% after 5 years
* 🧑‍🍳 Training & development - NVQs available
* 🏆 Chef competitions - showcase your skills
* 🏢 Variety of kitchens - across a large estate
* 🚗 On-site parking available
* 🌱 Fresh food focus - sustainability at the heart of every dish
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🧑‍🍳 What you'll be doing:
* 🔪 Producing large volumes of fresh meals to exacting standards
* 📋 Following HACCP and food safety procedures
* 🧾 Managing stock, ordering, and minimising waste
* 👥 Working closely with the Head Chef and wider team
* 🧠 Supporting menu development and operational efficiency
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🎓 What you'll need:
* 🎓 NVQ Level 2 in Professional Cookery (or equivalent)
* ✅ Level 2 Food Safety
* 🧠 Experience in a commercial or production kitchen
* 💬 Strong communication and organisational skills
* 💪 Calm under pressure, with a passion for food and teamwork
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Typical shifts include:
🕖 7am-2:30pm | 🕗 8am-2:45pm | 🕐 1pm-9pm | 🕝 2:15pm-10pm
Weekend work available - earn significantly more!
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Ready to feed the future? Apply now and power up your career with Blue Arrow!

Blue Arrow is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to helping find great work opportunities for great people.