Apprentice Vegan Chef

TEA BY THE LOCK LIMITED

. (YO19 4RU)

Closes in 16 days (Sunday 24 August 2025 at 11:59pm)

Posted on 6 August 2025

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Summary

A unique opportunity to develop skills as a trainee chef in a fully vegan setting. This will allow freedom to explore your own creativity around vegan food. You will gain a greater understanding of the variety of foods that can be made into exciting new dishes.

Wage

£16,642 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Opportnities for increase based on performance levels.

Training course
Production chef (level 2)
Hours
Various 6 hour shifts between Wednesday and Sunday, with college day on Monday during term time. Times to be confirmed.

37 hours a week

Start date

Monday 8 September 2025

Duration

1 year 3 months

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

An average day consists of:

  • Preparing salads and vegetables ready for service
  • Baking and decorating cakes
  • Baking fresh sweet and savoury scones for the day ahead
  • Cooking menu items from scratch
  • Menu planning
  • Helping manage stock requirements
  • Maintaining kitchen hygiene and prep areas
  • Checking ingredient dates and stock rotation to be compliant with Environmental Health Standards

This role will begin with the basics of how to use catering equipment and appliances effectively, leading to freedom to explore and create vegan dishes and with potential menu input.

Although we are currently a daytime tearoom, we are looking to extend our opening hours so there will be the opportunity to be involved in the planning and catering for evening events.

Where you'll work

NABURN BANQUETING HALL
NABURN LOCK TRACK
NABURN
.
YO19 4RU

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

YORK COLLEGE

Training course

Production chef (level 2)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents
  • Prepare and cook pre-portioned fresh and frozen meat, fish, and poultry to business standards.
  • Prepare and cook fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables to business standards.
  • Prepare salad vegetables to business standards.
  • Cook poached, simmered, steamed, boiled, braised, stewed, baked, grilled, and fried dishes.
  • Regenerate dried and frozen ingredients and dishes.
  • Undertake stock control, storage, and rotation.
  • Communicate professionally with colleagues, line managers, stakeholders, and customers.
  • Work as part of a team to support service delivery.
  • Follow specifications to produce, portion, and present food.
  • Manage own time to ensure allocated tasks are completed.
  • Use techniques for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing to support self and others, including asking for and giving help with daily tasks.
  • Use feedback to improve own performance.
  • Prepare and close down an area for service.
  • Use problem solving techniques to resolve routine and non-routine issues within scope of own role.
  • Maintain prep and par levels according to business need.
  • Clean and maintain manual and electrical food-preparation and cooking tools, equipment, and technology.
  • Follow standard operating procedures to select and safely use appropriate knives and boards for the task, for example red handled knife and red board for raw meat.
  • Monitor and record food temperatures and manage allergens during preparation, cooking, holding, and serving.
  • Apply hygiene management techniques to maintain a safe clean work environment, for example COSHH, personal hygiene, and uniform.
  • Reduce the waste of resources, acting to measure and reduce plate waste, exercise portion control, and maximise yield.
  • Comply with health and safety legislation, regulations, guidelines and procedures, including stress management.
  • Follow equity, diversity, and inclusion legislation and organisational policies.
  • Deliver to key performance indicators to support the production, performance, and budget within own area of responsibility.
  • Use manual and electrical food-preparation and cooking tools, equipment, machinery, and technology.
  • Prepare and cook pre-portioned fresh and frozen meat, fish, and poultry to business standards.
  • Prepare and cook fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables to business standards.
  • Prepare salad vegetables to business standards.
  • Cook poached, simmered, steamed, boiled, braised, stewed, baked, grilled, and fried dishes.
  • Regenerate dried and frozen ingredients and dishes.
  • Undertake stock control, storage, and rotation.
  • Communicate professionally with colleagues, line managers, stakeholders, and customers.
  • Work as part of a team to support service delivery.
  • Follow specifications to produce, portion, and present food.
  • Manage own time to ensure allocated tasks are completed.
  • Use techniques for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing to support self and others, including asking for and giving help with daily tasks.
  • Use feedback to improve own performance.
  • Prepare and close down an area for service.
  • Use problem solving techniques to resolve routine and non-routine issues within scope of own role.
  • Maintain prep and par levels according to business need.
  • Clean and maintain manual and electrical food-preparation and cooking tools, equipment, and technology.
  • Follow standard operating procedures to select and safely use appropriate knives and boards for the task, for example red handled knife and red board for raw meat.
  • Monitor and record food temperatures and manage allergens during preparation, cooking, holding, and serving.
  • Apply hygiene management techniques to maintain a safe clean work environment, for example COSHH, personal hygiene, and uniform.
  • Reduce the waste of resources, acting to measure and reduce plate waste, exercise portion control, and maximise yield.
  • Comply with health and safety legislation, regulations, guidelines and procedures, including stress management.
  • Follow equity, diversity, and inclusion legislation and organisational policies.
  • Deliver to key performance indicators to support the production, performance, and budget within own area of responsibility.
  • Use manual and electrical food-preparation and cooking tools, equipment, machinery, and technology.

Training schedule

This apprenticeship will give you the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to work as a production chef and will include the following:

  • Check, prepare, assemble, cook, regenerate, hold and present food meeting the needs of the customers and maintaining organisational standards and procedures
  • Use kitchen tools and equipment safely and correctly to produce consistently high quality dishes according to specifications
  • Understand how to produce dishes to suit individuals’ specific dietary, religious and allergenic needs as required
  • Understand how to operate within all regulations, legislation and procedural requirements and complete and maintain all documentation in relation to this
  • Understand how to maintain quality and consistency in food production by using resources in line with organisations’ financial constraints, style, specifications and ethos

You will produce a portfolio of evidence demonstrating examples of your work throughout the apprenticeship.

You will attend York College on a day release basis and the qualification achieved will be Production Chef level 2 Apprenticeship.

Important note: although the workplace is fully vegan, you will be required to handle and prepare meat, poultry and fish when on your day release at college.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

  • any other subject (grade 3/D)
  • English (grade 3/D)
  • maths (grade 3/D)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Communication skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Organisation skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Presentation skills
  • Logical
  • Team working
  • Creative
  • Initiative
  • Non judgemental
  • Patience
  • Positive work ethic
  • Punctuality

Other requirements

• We are located rurally, just outside of Naburn village. There is a bus stop just up the track on the B1222 which the Number 42 bus stops at • You will be expected to work weekends, as these are our busiest days • Important note: although the workplace is fully vegan, you will be required to handle and prepare meat, poultry and fish when on your day release at college

About this employer

Tea by the Lock opened in 2021. We have 8 employees, around 4/5 working per day. We make and serve a variety of drinks, cakes and savoury dishes.

https://www.teabythelock.co.uk (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

  • You may be able to progress to a role as Assistant Chef and ultimately Head Chef.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

YORK COLLEGE

apprenticeships@yorkcollege.ac.uk

01904 770368

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000333794.

Apply now

Closes in 16 days (Sunday 24 August 2025 at 11:59pm)

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