Apprentice Chef/Kitchen Assistant

Blacksmiths Arms Westow

YORK (YO60 7NE)

Closes on Sunday 12 October 2025

Posted on 8 September 2025

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Summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our kitchen team in our fast-paced pub/restaurant. Your work will involve preparing and cooking good quality, fresh food in a busy environment.

Wage

£13,741 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age

National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Pay will increase with experience and capability as the apprenticeship progresses.

Training course
Production chef (level 2)
Hours
Shifts between the following hours: Wednesday 5pm - 10pm Friday 10am - 10pm Saturday 10am - 10pm Sunday 10am - 10pm.

35 hours a week

Start date

Monday 20 October 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

You should be capable of taking direction well and multi-tasking effectively. You will gain experience in the hospitality industry and develop strong customer service skills.

Responsibilities and daily tasks:

  • Food preparation and a variety of cooking techniques.
  • Prepare meals and side dishes according to customers' dietary needs and preferences.
  • Prepare food in a timely manner.
  • Cleaning down work areas and the entire kitchen.
  • Help with stock taking and ordering.
  • Designated fridges for stock rotation and replenishing prepped food.
  • Be able to explain dishes to waiting staff and customers.

 

 

Where you'll work

MAIN STREET
WESTOW
YORK
YO60 7NE

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 the organisation’s financial constraints, style, specifications and ethos.

You will also 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 upon completion of the End Point Assessment is Production Chef level 2 Apprenticeship.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

  • any other (grade 3)
  • English (grade 3)
  • maths (grade 3)

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
  • Customer care skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Team working
  • Creative
  • Initiative
  • Patience

Other requirements

We are in a remote location with no public transport so you must have your own transport to be able to commute to work.

About this employer

We are a family run, 300-year-old country pub who pride ourselves on serving good quality home cooked food. The beef and lamb come from our own livestock on the family farm, we source much of our produce as locally as possible. We have a team of around 20 staff therefore it is essential to be a team player.

http://www.blacksmithswestow.com (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

  • Upon completion of the apprenticeship, we will discuss the opportunity to work for The Blacksmiths Arms on a long-term basis

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

YORK COLLEGE

York College Apprenticeships

apprenticeships@yorkcollege.ac.uk

01904770368

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000340853.

Apply now

Closes on Sunday 12 October 2025

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