Lead Cook

Cook and serve the evening meal for around 28 residents and set the direction for food across all our houses — designing the seasonal menus and the stock and shopping lists our other cooks order from.....

Casual, with a pathway to permanent part-time

At Servants, a freshly cooked dinner is often the warmest, most stable moment in a resident’s week. We’re looking for a Lead Cook to make that happen at one of our rooming houses in Kew — and to shape the food across all our houses.

About us

Servants Community Housing is a Christian not-for-profit providing safe, affordable, community-centred housing for people experiencing trauma, mental illness, homelessness and disadvantage. We’re home to 96 residents across four rooming houses in Kew and Hawthorn, built on dignity, relationship and belonging.

The role

You’ll cook and serve the evening meal for around 28 residents and set the direction for food across all our houses — designing the seasonal menus and the stock and shopping lists our other cooks order from. You’ll manage dietary needs, food safety, ordering and budgets, and bring a warm, familiar presence to the servery window.

Dinner service runs Sunday to Friday. Starting at 3pm and finishing at 7pm, the standard pattern is five shifts, Monday to Friday or Sunday to Thursday, with two days off in a row although this is flexible. Sunday is an easy meal with a quick 2 hour shift. There’s an occasional cooked breakfast, an hour each week for ordering, and extra paid hours four times a year to develop the seasonal menus.

What we’re looking for

• Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (or equivalent experience) and a Food Safety Supervisor Certificate

• Someone warm, reliable and community-minded who works well with people doing it tough

• Confidence to plan menus and manage stock, ordering and budgets independently

• Intermediate Word and Excel skills for menus, costings and food safety records

• First Aid Certificate (or willingness to obtain)

What we offer

• Paid under the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, plus superannuation

• Salary packaging benefit which helps keep more of your pay in your pocket

• A genuine casual-to-permanent part-time pathway

• Meaningful work in a supportive team, with live-in managers on site

Before you start

Appointment is subject to a Working With Children Check, a National Police Check and the right to work in Australia.

Submit your resume and a short cover letter telling us why this role speaks to you to ceo@servants.org.au. Would you like the full position description first? Email the same address and we’ll send it through. We review applications as they arrive, so please apply early. Applications close Monday 17 August 2026 however interviews will commence immediately and the position may be filled before the closing date.