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Kitchen porter

Kitchen porters clean, wash up and prepare food to keep hotel, restaurant and hospital kitchens running smoothly.

Annual Salary

£13,000 to £18,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

40 to 42 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts

0.3%
Future employment

There will be 0.3% more Kitchen porter jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

Your day-to-day duties could include:

  • unloading deliveries
  • organising the storeroom
  • collecting and washing pots, pans, plates and cutlery
  • getting pots, pans plates and cutlery back into use quickly
  • washing and disinfecting kitchen appliances, work surfaces, floors and walls
  • making sure kitchen equipment is properly stored
  • removing and recycling waste from the kitchen

Working environment

You may need to wear a uniform.

You could work at a restaurant.

Your working environment may be hot and humid.

You can get into this job through:

  • college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • applying directly
College

There are no set requirements, but it might help if you take a college course in cookery or hospitality like:

  • Level 1 Award in Introduction to Employment in the Hospitality Industry
  • Level 1 Certificate in General Cookery
  • Level 1 Certificate in General Hospitality

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or fewer GCSEs at grades 3 to 1 (D to G), or equivalent, for a level 1 course
For more information
Apprenticeship

You could do a hospitality team member intermediate apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
For more information
Direct application

You can apply directly for jobs. There are no set requirements, though some employers may ask for GCSEs at grades 9 to 2 (A* to E) in English and maths.

Experience of working in a kitchen would be useful but is not essential.

More information

Further information

You can find out more about working as a kitchen porter from the Hospitality Guild and CareerScope.

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With experience and training you could progress to kitchen assistant or chef.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to work on your own
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • active listening skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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