Join Our Team at Busy Bees – Leading Nursery Group in the UK

Are you passionate about cooking and providing nutritious meals for young children? As an Assistant Chef at Busy Bees, you’ll be a key part of our kitchen team, preparing healthy meals that support children's growth and development. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a nurturing environment where you will contribute to the wellbeing of children while gaining valuable experience in catering within the early years sector.

About Us
Busy Bees is the UK's leading nursery group, with nearly 400 nurseries across the UK and more overseas. We are dedicated to giving every child the best start in life and are proud to have won awards for our workplace culture. At Busy Bees, we ensure that every member of our team feels heard, valued, and nurtured.

Why Work at Busy Bees?
We offer a supportive environment that empowers you to create engaging, educational spaces where children can thrive. As part of our team, you’ll be introduced to our unique Bee Curious curriculum, designed to foster curiosity and confidence in young learners.

Our Charitable Commitment
Through our partnership with BBC Children in Need, we offer fantastic opportunities for community involvement and fundraising to support children's lives.

About our Nursery 
Sunderland Doxford has an Ofsted rating of Good! Our 90 place purpose built nursery has 4 spacious base rooms and a sensory room. Each room has its own free flow garden for constant outdoor access. Very long standing team with staff hitting 10 year and 20 year milestones. We have excellent links with local primary schools. On a popular business park with excellent transport links, including a bus link 2 minutes walk away from the centre - connecting you to the town! Free onsite parking available.

Busy Bees Benefits

• Competitive salary


• Ongoing professional development and career progression


• Our ‘Hive’ benefits and wellbeing hub, with discounts across a huge range of retailers


• Up to 28 days holiday per year (including bank holidays)


• Your birthday off – it’s our gift to you!


• 25% childcare discount


• Enhanced family leave and return to work bonus


• Menopause support through Peppy


• Financial support through Salary Finance


• Employee Assistance Programme and Mental Health First Aiders


• Cycle to Work scheme


• Easy access to your workplace pension through Cushon


• Discounted Private Medical Insurance (PMI)

But wait, there’s more! You'll also enjoy access to our Benefits and Wellbeing platform, Hive - offering huge array huge of retail discounts helping your money to go further, along with a Wellbeing Hub featuring resources to support your physical and mental health. A Celebrating You section showcasing the ways we recognise and reward our valued team members. Plus, a dedicated Grow with Us area sharing the exciting development opportunities and training designed to support you to thrive and grow at Busy Bees.

Key Responsibilities:

• Prepare healthy, nutritious meals that meet dietary requirements for children.


• Support the Chef in overseeing kitchen operations and maintaining food safety and hygiene standards.


• Ensure kitchen inventory is well-maintained and assist with ordering and stock management.


• Support meal preparation and assist in the cleaning and maintenance of kitchen equipment.

• Ideally experience in leadership within early years settings.
• Strong mentoring and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to drive improvements and ensure compliance.