Part-time Studio Cook at Tom Stuart-Smith Studio/ The Apple House at The Serge Hill Project
Tom Stuart-Smith Studio is looking for a friendly, organised and proactive in-house cook to cater for the studio team and studio events. They would prepare five delicious vegetarian lunches a week for our team of landscape architects and garden designers. Our team is 25 in total, but on a day-to-day basis you’d be catering for between 12 to18 people. Part of the role would be baking cakes for studio birthdays and garden visits and catering for studio guests and events hosted in the Apple House. We are looking for someone who is passionate about cooking and using homegrown organic ingredients from our studio vegetable garden when available.
You’ll have use of the incredible Apple House kitchen on Mondays and Fridays, home to The Serge Hill Project, which looks out on to our Studio vegetable plots and Plant Library. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you’ll be cooking in the Dairy Studio kitchen, where the design team is based. Each lunch should take no longer than 2 to 3 hours to prepare, depending on numbers. It’s all about healthy homecooked family-style food, with big flavours, lots of variety and lots of fresh herbs! There’s no need for restaurant style presentation.
There will also be an element of “housekeeping” included in this role, to ensure the studio and Apple House kitchens always look and work to their best. This will involve organising and maintaining fridges, cupboards and kitchens, ensuring adherence to food safety and hygiene standards, and managing waste and composting, coordinating rubbish collections, and overseeing the studio team in taking out the rubbish. Additionally, you will be the point of contact for the studio’s cleaning services, handle general housekeeping tasks, and manage the ordering of cleaning products and other necessary supplies.
The role will be 20 to 25 hours per week, Monday to Friday, with flexible hours arranged around the daily cooking of lunch.
Tom Stuart-Smith Studio is a landscape and garden design practice based at Serge Hill, near St Albans, in a recently built contemporary studio immersed in established gardens.
Essential skills, attributes and responsibilities:
Proven experience and/or training in catering for large groups (professional or home-based).
Basic Food Hygiene Certificate (Level 2) – or willingness to obtain one.
Willingness to take full ownership of kitchen organisation, cleanliness and maintenance.
Proficient in planning meals, managing stocks and orders and working to a defined studio budget.
Confidence in using online grocery ordering systems (e.g. Ocado).
Ability to adjust daily menus to dietary needs and studio staff allergies/intolerances.
Food / larder stock management.
Organising waste collection, composting and coordinating with the studio cleaner.
Ability to manage time effectively and work with initiative under minimal supervision.
Passion for using fresh ingredients and the ability to incorporate them into dishes seasonally.
Baking cakes for garden visits and studio birthdays.
What we offer:
A friendly, warm and supportive work environment.
£30 to £35k pro rata.
Yearly continued professional development allowance.
12 to 15 days paid holiday depending on time worked plus bank holidays, increasing with time at the company.
Application deadline: 7th May 2025
If you are interested in the position, please include the role you are applying for in the email subject and send your CV along with a seasonal menu suggestion – a lunch for 25 people that you could cook in 2-3 hours, just one course (though sides are always welcome) to: recruitment@tomstuartsmith.co.uk
For more information about our work, please look at our website: https://www.tomstuartsmith.co.uk/
For more information on the Apple House at the Serge Hill project, go to: https://www.sergehillproject.co.uk/