Job description
✨Job Title: Prep Chef
📍Location: Oxygen House, Exeter, and the Five Bells (one Sunday per month)
✨Contract: Fixed-Term (6 Months), with the possibility of extension or a permanent role
⏰Hours: 40 hours per week, primarily Monday to Friday (7:00am to 3:30pm or 9:00am to 5:30pm), plus one Sunday per month
💷Salary: £28,000 per annum plus generous company benefits
📅Start date: Early December 2026
📅Closing date for applications: 30th October 2026
Join a Kitchen That Puts Vegetables First!
Oxygen House Kitchen is an organic, vegetable-led kitchen serving the Oxygen House community. We create fresh, seasonal food with a focus on quality, sustainability and thoughtful cooking.
We're looking for a skilled and enthusiastic Prep Cook to join us on an interim six-month contract. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with solid kitchen experience, strong knife skills and a genuine interest in cooking with vegetables. You'll play a key role in preparing ingredients, supporting food production and helping us deliver consistently excellent food every day.
Once a month, you'll also support Sunday service at the Five Bells, our community pub, helping to deliver a welcoming and memorable dining experience.
What You'll Be Doing
Preparing vegetables, grains, pulses, sauces, dressings and other ingredients to the standards and quantities set by the Senior Kitchen Team.
Supporting the preparation and cooking of dishes for breakfast, lunch and other services, following recipes and specifications
Assisting with Sunday lunch service at the Five Bells once per month
Working from daily prep lists and production plans, highlighting shortages or issues proactively
Following food safety procedures, including allergen management, labelling, date rotation and temperature monitoring
Maintaining a clean, organised and efficient section throughout your shift
Receiving, checking and storing deliveries correctly
Minimising food waste through careful preparation, good stock rotation and thoughtful use of ingredients
Working collaboratively with the wider kitchen and front-of-house teams
Supporting the senior kitchen team with other reasonable duties as required
About You
We're looking for someone who:
Has previous experience working in a professional kitchen
Demonstrates confident, safe and efficient knife skills
Has a good understanding of kitchen hygiene, food safety and allergen management
Is reliable, organised and able to remain calm under pressure
Communicates well and enjoys working as part of a team
Takes pride in producing consistent, high-quality work
Is enthusiastic about vegetable-led cooking and sustainable food practices
Is available to work the required shift pattern, including one Sunday per month
Desirable
Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene Certificate (training can be provided for the right candidate)
Experience in a vegetable-led, plant-based or seasonal kitchen
Experience with batch cooking.
An interest in seasonality, reducing food waste and responsible sourcing
If you're passionate about cooking, enjoy working with seasonal produce and want to be part of a purpose-driven food community, we'd love to hear from you.
Why Join Us?
We are very fortunate to have a wonderful working environment, providing us with holistic work perks such as freshly cooked plant-based food served daily by our talented catering team, regular energising gym classes, and a relaxing kitchen garden to rest and socialise in.
On top of this you will have the opportunity to participate in our broad and extensive range of company benefits, these include:
🏡Family and Finance Benefits - Enhanced parental leave, Contributory pension (matched up to 5%), Group life assurance, Employee assistance programme
🩺Health Benefits - Private medical insurance, Private dental insurance, Virtual GP, Eyecare vouchers, Flu Vaccinations
🌳Green Benefits - Green travel incentive, Cycle to work scheme, Electric car scheme and charging
🏖️ Annual Leave - 25 days’ holiday, rising by 1 day per year to a maximum of 30 days
Oxygen House is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age.
At Oxygen House Limited, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive and equitable environment where all individuals can thrive and make an impact.
Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK without sponsorship.