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Kitchen Assistant/Porter

Do you want to become a Kitchen Assistant/Porter? Here is some information to help point you in the right direction:

Job Description - Print Page

Kitchen assistants/porters help to keep busy kitchens in hotels, restaurants or canteens running smoothly. Their tasks might include:

• making sure the chefs always have clean equipment to hand
• helping unload deliveries of ingredients
• washing up, or operating the dish and glass-washing machines
• keeping the kitchen floors, fridges, ovens and work surfaces clean and hygienic.

Kitchen assistants might do basic food preparation, such as cleaning and cutting up vegetables, skinning and filleting fish and chopping or mincing meat. They may also be asked to toast bread or make tea and coffee. They are often under the direction of the cooks or chefs, the kitchen supervisor, and front-of-house staff such as the head waiter.

Salaries range from around £8,000 to £15,000 a year.

The normal working week is 40 hours, but this can involve working evenings, nights or days. There might be shift work and work during public holidays. Kitchen assistants are on their feet most of the time and the kitchen is often a hot, steamy and noisy place in which to work.

Kitchen assistants/porters need:

• to have stamina and enthusiasm
• to be able to work quickly and efficiently in a team
• to follow strict health, safety and hygiene rules.

Kitchens are always in need of assistants and there are opportunities throughout the UK. Assistants work in restaurants, hotels, bars, pubs, hospitals - in fact, anywhere that food is prepared. There are also opportunities overseas, for instance, in holiday resorts.

Kitchen assistants do not usually need formal qualifications, but employers may prefer candidates with some GCSEs/S grades (A-E/1-5). Some kitchen assistants might take a full or part-time college course, such as an SQA in Health and Food Technology or a City & Guilds certificate in Food Preparation before they start work, or while in work.

It is possible to become a kitchen assistant at any age. Experience in food preparation or customer service is an advantage.

Training is normally on the job, supervised by experienced members of staff. Kitchen assistants learn the kitchen procedures, how to handle equipment safely, and might also learn how to prepare simple meals. Many employers will send kitchen assistants on courses to gain relevant qualifications.

Kitchen assistants/porters could go on to train as a chef, or move into related areas, such as food service or bar work. This job is a good entry route to a variety of careers in catering and hospitality.

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