Production Chef Apprentice
MISSION CAFE LIMITED
Colchester (CO4 3ZQ)
Closes in 21 days (Monday 17 November 2025)
Posted on 23 October 2025
Contents
Summary
In this role, you will be responsible for preparing and serving a variety of food and beverages. The position also involves continuous learning about brewing methods, beverage blends, and presentation techniques to enhance food quality. As part of a fun, high-energy team, you will help create an exceptional experience for every customer.
- Wage
-
£11,778 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age
National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices
- Training course
- Production chef (level 2)
- Hours
-
Monday 9am - 4pm. Tuesday to Friday 10am - 3pm. With a 30 minute break each day.
30 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 24 November 2025
- Duration
-
1 year
- 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
Day to day duties include:
- Preparing foods, such as sandwiches or baked goods
- Grinding and blending coffee beans
- Brewing coffee and tea, and serving items to customers.
- Also, slice fruits, vegetables, desserts, or meats for use in food service.
- Packaging food and beverages
- Label and date food items for sale.
- Maintaining a safe and healthy work environment by following organization standards and sanitation regulations.
- Adhering to all food safety regulations and quality controls.
- Learning about brewing methods, beverage blends, food preparation, and presentation techniques to improve food quality.
Where you'll work
Innovation Centre, Knowledge Gateway
Boundary Road
Colchester
CO4 3ZQ
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
COLCHESTER INSTITUTE
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
- The apprentice will be working towards the Level 2 Production Chef Apprenticeship Standard, including Functional Skills in English and maths if required
- No formal college attendance required
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Administrative skills
- Number skills
- Team working
- Creative
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
Other requirements
Prior achievement of health and safety qualification would be desirable, but not mandatory. Please also note that catering off-site will sometimes be necessary.
About this employer
Mission Café is a young but aspiring and passionate company, on a mission for providing quality products. Mission Café Limited is located in the Innovation Centre at the heart of the University of Essex. Since its inception in June 2019, it has employed 67 individuals, full time and part time, from 16 different nationalities. At Mission Café we have three core pillars that we never compromise: 1- Quality (of food and service), 2- Sustainability (ethical approach, local suppliers, compostable cups and food boxes, cans and glass) 3- Diversity (of food, coffee and staff).
https://www.mission-cafe.co.uk/ (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
Part of the Pension Scheme, 20% off for staff in store.
After this apprenticeship
The successful apprentice could progress into becoming a qualified production chef.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
COLCHESTER INSTITUTE
Colchester Institute - Apprenticeships Team
ci.apprenticeships@colchester.ac.uk
01206712043
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000345676.
Apply now
Closes in 21 days (Monday 17 November 2025)
Sign in with your GOV.UK One Login to apply.
After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.