Dining & Hospitality Host/Hostess

Job summary

Job Description: Dining & Hospitality Host/Hostess (Floor-Based) | 08:00–15:00

We’re looking for a friendly, organised Host/Hostess to run meal service and a tea trolley on the floors at Foxholes. You’ll welcome residents, serve breakfast and lunch with consistent portioning, deliver meals to rooms when needed, clear down and manage wash-up turnaround. This is a people-focused hospitality role in a calm care setting (no late nights). Training provided.

Location: Foxholes Care Home (assigned to floors / serveries)

Hours: 08:00–15:00 (some weekend rota availability preferred)

Reporting to: Head Chef / Kitchen Manager (day-to-day) and working closely with Floor Lead

Role purpose

To deliver a calm, consistent, welcoming dining experience for residents by leading floor-based meal service, room service, and wash-up turnaround, plus running the mid-morning tea trolley. This role restores the “hotel-style” feel and reduces task-loading onto care staff.

Core responsibilities

Breakfast service (08:00–10:00)

• Prepare the dining room for breakfast: tables set, clean, calm environment
• Welcome residents as they arrive, support seating, create a pleasant atmosphere
• Serve breakfast with consistent portioning and presentation, following resident preferences
• Deliver breakfast to resident rooms on that floor when required
• Clear tables and resident room trays promptly and respectfully

Post-breakfast clear-down & wash-up (10:00–10:30)

• Collect used crockery and trays from dining room and resident rooms
• Complete wash-up either via floor dishwasher or central kitchen process (to be confirmed)
• Reset dining area ready for the next service

Tea trolley round (10:30–11:30)

• Prepare and run the tea trolley across the floor
• Make teas/coffees and offer small snacks where appropriate
• Provide friendly interaction and reassurance, encouraging hydration

Lunch set-up & service (11:30–13:30)

• Set dining room for lunch: tables, drinks, condiments, cleanliness
• Support the lunch service: consistent plating/portioning and a calm rhythm
• Deliver lunch to resident rooms on the floor where required
• Clear dining room and collect room trays after service

End-of-shift close (13:30–15:00)

• Final wash-up/turnaround as needed
• Dining room reset, wipe-downs, bins managed
• Handover to carers/floor lead: key notes (who ate well, who refused, mood/engagement)

Standards & compliance

• Follow food hygiene, allergen awareness, infection prevention, COSHH, and safe manual handling
• Report hazards immediately (spillages, hot equipment, trip risks)

Person specification

Essential

• Warm, confident, calm communicator (you set the tone in the room)
• Organised and consistent with portioning and routines
• Comfortable working in a care setting and engaging with older people
• Physically able to move trays/trolleys and be on your feet

Desirable

• Experience in hospitality (cafe?, restaurant, hotel, catering, school kitchen)
• Food Safety Level 2 (or willingness to complete immediately)

What success looks like

• Dining room feels calm and welcoming, not task-driven
• Residents are greeted and served by a familiar face daily
• Meals delivered to rooms smoothly, with trays collected back promptly
• Carers spend less time on serving/washing up and more time on care