Catering Assistant

What you'll be doing:

Job Description

Catering Assistant

Salary: up to £12.71 per hour

Location: Whipsnade Zoo, Dunstable

Contract: Zero Hour

About the role:

As a Catering Assistant, you'll be part of a dynamic, fast‑paced team, contributing to a positive and friendly work environment. You'll play an important role in supporting day‑to‑day café operations, delivering excellent customer service, and maintaining a clean, welcoming space for all visitors.

This role offers great opportunities for personal growth and development within a company that values individuality and invests in its people. Your hard work will be recognised and rewarded, making this an excellent opportunity to develop your career at a world‑renowned cultural institution.

What can we offer you?:

• A collaborative and inclusive culture where your ideas are valued and creativity is encouraged
• Free staff meals while working on site
• Access to training, mentoring and development through Restaurant Associates and Compass Group UK

Your Key Responsibilities:

• Provide warm, friendly and efficient customer service
• Serve food and beverages to brand and quality standards
• Follow all health & safety, food safety and hygiene practices
• Operate tills accurately and handle transactions responsibly
• Maintain clean, tidy and well‑presented front‑of‑house and seating areas
• Support simple food preparation, restocking and product display
• Assist with cleaning and general upkeep of service areas
• Help with opening and closing duties as required
• Contribute to sales promotions and deliver positive visitor experiences
• Support service during special events as part of an all‑round catering team

Our ideal Catering Assistant will:

• Experience in a café, restaurant or catering environment
• Friendly, approachable and committed to great customer service
• Confident working in a fast‑paced, visitor‑focused environment
• Able to follow instructions and work well as part of a team
• Good communication skills and a positive can-do attitude
• Understanding of food safety and hygiene practices (training provided)
• Flexible and reliable, with the ability to work weekends and busy peak periods

About us:

Restaurant Associates is a leading premium hospitality provider with an ethos drawn from our history of fine and high-quality dining in London and New York.

Within our venues team, we provide catering and hospitality services to some of the most iconic visitor attractions and destinations in the UK including the Imperial War Museum London, Glyndebourne Opera House, Knebworth House, Design Museum, Whipsnade Zoo and many more. Within these amazing venues we operate a host of bespoke cafés and restaurants, as well as delivering private events ranging from small meetings to large-scale ground events of up to 1000 people. You can find a full list of our venues on our website.

Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!

Working conditions

Contract: Permanent Casual