Centre Chef

Villa Bambini is looking for a warm, passionate and experienced Centre Chef to join our beautiful boutique early learning community. At Villa Bambini, we believe that food is an important part of a child’s day. It’s not simply about providing meals — it’s about creating positive experiences around food, supporting children’s health and wellbeing, and helping them develop a lifelong appreciation for fresh, nutritious and wholesome meals.

Our Chef plays an important role within our service community, working closely with our educators, children and families to provide delicious, nutritious meals that are thoughtfully prepared and suited to the individual needs of our children.

If you take pride in your cooking, love working in a warm child-focused environment and enjoy creating fresh and wide-ranging meals, we would love to hear from you.

About the Role

As our Centre Chef, you will be responsible for creating and preparing fresh, nutritious meals and snacks for our children aged 0–6 years.

Your role will include

- Planning and preparing a fresh, nutritious and varied seasonal menu
- Preparing daily meals and snacks with care and attention to quality
- Catering thoughtfully for allergies, intolerances, dietary requirements and cultural preferences
- Maintaining the highest standards of food safety, hygiene and cleanliness
- Completing kitchen cleaning schedules, temperature checks and food safety documentation
- Maintaining a clean, organised and welcoming kitchen environment
- Working collaboratively with our educators and leadership team
- Building positive relationships with children and families around food and nutrition
- Where appropriate, creating opportunities for children to be involved in simple cooking and food experiences
- Contributing to our warm, welcoming and community-focused environment

What We’re Looking For





We are looking for someone who genuinely enjoys cooking for children and takes pride in the important role food plays within an early learning environment. You will be someone who is:
- Passionate about fresh, healthy and nutritious food
- Warm, friendly and approachable
- Experienced in preparing meals for young children
- Confident managing allergies, anaphylaxis and dietary requirements
- Organised and able to work independently
- Reliable, calm and professional
- Committed to maintaining high standards of food safety, hygiene and cleanliness
- Comfortable working as part of a close-knit team
- Respectful of individual family, cultural and dietary preferences
- Passionate about creating positive and enjoyable experiences around food
- Committed to our Child Safe culture and the wellbeing of every child

Essential Requirements

- Certificate III in Commercial Cookery or equivalent
- Current Food Safety Supervisor Certificate
- Current Anaphylaxis training
- Current Allergy Management training
- Current First Aid certification
- Experience working in an early childhood setting is highly regarded

Why Join Villa Bambini?

Villa Bambini is a boutique early learning service where relationships genuinely matter. We are proud of our warm and welcoming environment, our strong connection with families and our focus on providing children with meaningful experiences throughout their early years.

As part of our team, you will be valued as an important member of our service community, with the opportunity to:

- Work within a warm, supportive and close-knit team
- Build genuine relationships with children, families and educators
- Have a meaningful impact on children’s health, wellbeing and relationship with food
- Bring your creativity and passion for cooking into your role
- Work within a beautiful boutique early learning environment
- Be part of a service that values quality, connection, respect and a strong sense of community

If you are passionate about cooking and would love to be part of a service where your work has a meaningful impact on children every day, we would love to hear from you!

📌 Centre Chef (Essendon)
🏢 Villa Bambini
📍 Essendon