Northmoor Community Diner Cook

Northmoor Community Association is based in Longsight, Manchester and consists of a Community Centre and a Hub. NCA is run with an emphasis on relieving poverty, promoting health & wellbeing, advancing skills & learning and enhancing the quality of life for the people who engage with us and use our services. Today the NCA is an integral part of a diverse community that is tackling multi levels of deprivation and we fulfil our mission by offering a wide range of services and activities for all ages, all of which are delivered by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers who have a variety of skills and knowledge.

We are looking for volunteers to support with our Diner. The idea behind the Diner is to create a welcoming space for anyone to come to enjoy a freshly cooked meal, meet members of their community and find out what’s going on in the area. The Diner has a Level 5 Food Hygiene rating and is open to everyone in the community every Wednesday and Friday 12-2pm. All meals are £1 and there is a different meat (halal) dish, vegetarian dish cooked very week by our dedicated team.

Volunteer tasks include:

• Helping with the kitchen opening checks, such as cleaning surfaces and taking the fridge temperatures
• Adhering strictly to the Food Hygiene process as covered in the online training, including clearing up as you go, washing hands regularly, using the correct chopping board etc
• Assisting the staff to prepare the ingredients for the meals and taking direction from the manager
• Using the various ingredients provided to preparing a meal/bake a cake using the instructions on the recipe
• Minimising food waste and recycling food and other items where possible
• Keeping a log of all the ingredients used in the dish and which ones that need to be stated as allergens
• Plating up the food in controlled portion sizes and serving it to customers
• Be friendly and communicate with customers, such as telling them food service updates
• Taking part in the ‘working group’ with the other staff and volunteers; this is a discussion after each session where we discuss how things went, talk about menus and have Food Hygiene reminders.

We are looking for volunteers who have the following:

• To be able to take direction but also be self-motivated and work from your own initiative
• To work well as part of a busy, diverse team
• Good communication and English Language skills for interacting with staff, volunteers and customers
• To be polite, friendly, helpful and patient
• To be able to work flexibly and adapt to the varying needs of the customers
• A commitment to Equal Opportunities, treating all individuals equally and with respect
• An understanding and commitment to Confidentiality, Safeguarding and GDPR standards

Commitment:
Either

• Wednesday 09:45 - 14:30 (breaks and free lunch included)
• Friday 09:45 - 14:30 (breaks and free lunch included)

Inductions and Training:
A full volunteer induction and introduction into the project. It is required by law for everyone serving food to the public to have completed Food Hygiene Level 2 training; we provide this training free through an online course which must be completed before you start. It is also essential that anyone in the kitchen is aware of Food Allergens and completes the Food Allergen awareness online course before you start. Both these online courses are industry standard courses that you gain a certificate for on completion.

Benefits of volunteering with NCA:

• You are entitled to a free lunch from the menu that week
• You will be paid out-of-pocket expenses such as bus fare 
• We provide a professional reference for you after completing 30 hours over 3 months 
• You can take advantage of all the free courses, training, events and services we have here a the centre 
• You can gain valuable experience which will help improve your job prospects 
• You will be invited to all the staff and project meetings and have your thoughts and suggestions heard 
• You will meet other volunteers and can be part of the Volunteer Steering group 
• You will be celebrated as a volunteer in our Volunteer Celebrations twice a year 
• You will feel a sense of reward at helping your local community and meeting a diverse range of people 

As you can not go in the kitchen till you have done your training, you can not do a taster session of the full role. However, we can arrange for you to come to the Diner between 12-2pm every Wednesday or Friday to meet the team and see what it’s all about or you could do a taster session of the role without going in the kitchen.