JOBS
PART-TIME COOK
We’re looking for a weekend cook to work in our café. It’s a great opportunity to gain cookery experience as part of a well-established, friendly team.
You’ll get to cook traditional farmhouse breakfasts, lunches and desserts, including daily specials. We also have a production kitchen where you could get to make jams, preserves and cakes. During the summer we also have outdoor catering facilities including a hog roast, should you wish to work outside. The café uses the same fine local and home-grown ingredients for sale in the farm shop, giving you the opportunity to show-case the very best of the northwest.
This role would suit someone in training or already trained as a cook or someone with plenty of experience of home cooking and a real love for good food. We are happy to provide additional support and training to those with the enthusiasm to learn.
The role is to work Saturdays and/or Sundays. Additional week-day shifts may be available should you wish to work extra days. We’re particularly looking for additional hands between May and August and although we don’t expect you to work every weekend during this time, the more flexibility you have to work, the better! We may also be able to offer shifts beyond August.
Pay is dependent upon experience. To apply, please email your CV and cover letter to theshop@kenyonhall.co.uk, or if you would like more information please contact Barbara on 01925 765531.
We’re looking for a weekend cook to work in our café. It’s a great opportunity to gain cookery experience as part of a well-established, friendly team.
You’ll get to cook traditional farmhouse breakfasts, lunches and desserts, including daily specials. We also have a production kitchen where you could get to make jams, preserves and cakes. During the summer we also have outdoor catering facilities including a hog roast, should you wish to work outside. The café uses the same fine local and home-grown ingredients for sale in the farm shop, giving you the opportunity to show-case the very best of the northwest.
This role would suit someone in training or already trained as a cook or someone with plenty of experience of home cooking and a real love for good food. We are happy to provide additional support and training to those with the enthusiasm to learn.
The role is to work Saturdays and/or Sundays. Additional week-day shifts may be available should you wish to work extra days. We’re particularly looking for additional hands between May and August and although we don’t expect you to work every weekend during this time, the more flexibility you have to work, the better! We may also be able to offer shifts beyond August.
Pay is dependent upon experience. To apply, please email your CV and cover letter to theshop@kenyonhall.co.uk, or if you would like more information please contact Barbara on 01925 765531.
CAFE MANAGER
* 11th March: We're in the process of reviewing the applications received so far for this role and are not accepting any further applications at this time.*
This is an outstanding opportunity for the right person to join the farm at a senior level. The role is permanent and full-time, requiring a mix of skills, experience and dedication, with some weekend and school holiday work essential. Definitely not just another 9 to 5! In return you’ll enjoy a working life in a unique farm setting with huge variety - there’s never a dull moment. You’ll have freedom to shape your own role and your efforts will be matched with support and training to help you continuously develop. If this sounds exciting then read on…
* 11th March: We're in the process of reviewing the applications received so far for this role and are not accepting any further applications at this time.*
This is an outstanding opportunity for the right person to join the farm at a senior level. The role is permanent and full-time, requiring a mix of skills, experience and dedication, with some weekend and school holiday work essential. Definitely not just another 9 to 5! In return you’ll enjoy a working life in a unique farm setting with huge variety - there’s never a dull moment. You’ll have freedom to shape your own role and your efforts will be matched with support and training to help you continuously develop. If this sounds exciting then read on…
Cafe Manager: Click for More Information
About the café:
The café at Kenyon Hall Farm has been open since 2011. Originally built as a small tea room to accompany the farm shop, it's has grown from strength to strength. With 40 seats inside and twice that available outside, we now serve tens of thousands of customers a year with high-quality hot and cold food and drinks, afternoon teas and group events. We’re open 7 days a week almost all year round.
In addition to this, the café also operates as a production kitchen, making home-made produce for sale in the farm shop including jams, chutneys and cakes. It also show-cases the fresh local food sold at the farm, through a menu of daily specials using whatever is in season.
The café is an integral part of the farm as a whole, which has range of seasonal offerings including a busy plant centre in spring, pick your own fruit in summer and our pumpkin festival in October. The café must cater for these changes in seasonality, which bring into the cafe different types and volumes of customers at different times of the year. This year the farm is further developing it’s ‘pick your own’ operation which should bring in more customers to the café than ever before, especially between June and August.
The café at Kenyon Hall Farm has been open since 2011. Originally built as a small tea room to accompany the farm shop, it's has grown from strength to strength. With 40 seats inside and twice that available outside, we now serve tens of thousands of customers a year with high-quality hot and cold food and drinks, afternoon teas and group events. We’re open 7 days a week almost all year round.
In addition to this, the café also operates as a production kitchen, making home-made produce for sale in the farm shop including jams, chutneys and cakes. It also show-cases the fresh local food sold at the farm, through a menu of daily specials using whatever is in season.
The café is an integral part of the farm as a whole, which has range of seasonal offerings including a busy plant centre in spring, pick your own fruit in summer and our pumpkin festival in October. The café must cater for these changes in seasonality, which bring into the cafe different types and volumes of customers at different times of the year. This year the farm is further developing it’s ‘pick your own’ operation which should bring in more customers to the café than ever before, especially between June and August.
What the cafe manager does:
We have in place a well-established group of professionals including chefs, bakers and front of house cafe team members. We’re looking for someone to take-over the supervision of this team from the out-going cafe manager. The fundamental remit is to perform the managerial duties required to continue the café’s smooth operation during this important year and long into the future.
As café manager you report directly to the farm’s owners. Whilst there is a requirement to run the café in keeping with the ethos that has made it a success until now - traditional farmhouse food, affordable prices, personal service - you will also enjoy freedom to develop new ideas to keep things fresh.
Whilst previous experience in a café, restaurant or the food industry would be a big advantage, this sector-specific knowledge is not essential and can be learnt through training. Much more important is experience and a proven talent for most or all of the following:
- People management – you’ll be supervising a team of 3 to 30 people depending on the season, needing to maintain good morale and productivity to ensure excellent levels of customer service.
- Organisational skills – a logical mind, ability to plan and to prioritise, to set up the café and it’s team to run smoothly and profitably every day, whether we have 50 or 5000 customers on that day.
- Longevity - it’s vital to the farm to have senior staff with a commitment to stay for the long-term. This role is amongst the most senior here and we highly value dedication and loyalty.
- Flexibility – the seasonal nature of the farm makes some times of the year much busier than others – June to August and October are especially busy, as are weekends and school holidays in general. You must be prepared to work the majority of days in these peak times.
- Standards – the success of the cafe has been built on its reputation. You will need to have exacting standards and the ability to instil these within the café team. A particular focus on quality of food, cleanliness and hygiene.
- Budget management – an understanding of how to balance the costs of running the café, with the takings, to give a profitable business. The aptitude to increase profitability over time.
- Staff development – with a particular focus on the front of house team, a key part of the manager’s role is to make sure staff are sufficiently advised and trained to be high-performing.
- Administration – you’ll have the administrative, IT and written English skills to produce rotas, place orders, maintain legal paperwork, produce checklists, track sales, create posters etc.
- Innovation – without trying to re-invent the existing establishment, you’ll have the freedom to develop new ideas to improve the café and must understand the need to keep moving forwards.
- Hands-on skills – the manager’s role provides approx 20 hours of work spread across the week. You must be able to double-up as a productive member staff for the remainder of the week. Ideally you will fit into the Front of House team when not undertaking management tasks.
You can see we're looking for someone with a wide breadth of skills and characteristics, not least: flexibility. The people that thrive at the farm are those with the adaptability to do whatever is required, whenever it's needed most. In return, we offer flexibility in your working life wherever possible. This role would suit someone wanting to work an average of 30 hours a week or equally someone wanting an average of 40 hours a week, or somewhere in between. Also, depending on the season and the needs of the team, these hours can be worked flexibly (e.g. 8 hours one day, 4 hours the next).
The pay for this role is entirely dependent on the individual. We're open to taking on someone with a couple of years experience, provided there is a foundation of knowledge to start with and the enthusiasm and ability to develop. Equally we're open to taking on the 'finished article' with decades of experience. Or someone in between. The starting wage will reflect your level of experience at the time you join.
How to apply:
Send an email to james@kenyonhall.co.uk and attach your CV. Please also include a short cover letter – just a few sentences on why this role appeals to you and why you would be well suited to it. Given the senior nature of this role, we’ll first invite selected candidates for an informal chat, followed by a trial shift and final interview. We’re looking to fill this position in March or April 2019 and would like to receive applications during February.