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Do you love cooking delicious vegetarian meals? Come & join us!

5.0
(29 reviews)29

The experience

We are a registered charity, housed in a beautiful English medieval manor with an ancient courtyard and a magnificent timbered Great Hall, dating from the 13th century. It is situated in extensive grounds where deer roam freely and where squirrels run up and down trees.
Over the past 40 years the charity has run a range of group activities including retreats and other spiritual events, lectures, concerts, yoga classes, creative workshops, etc.

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Cleaning: Help clean the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas.

Kitchen Hand: Help prepare, finish and serve meals.

Cooking: Choose the menu, pick ingredients and cook delicious dishes.

What you get

2 days off per week

Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Bikes at your disposal: You can use our bikes any time you want.

Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English

Between 25 and 60 years old

Only hosts solo volunteers (doesn’t accept couples or partners)

Travel insurance

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

We are currently looking for a competent volunteer who could cook for the volunteer resident team (usually around 5 people) but also give a hand in the kitchen when we are hosting guests. We have a chef cooking for retreats.

The Abbey is a vegetarian place and we are trying as much as possible to grow our own vegetables in our beautiful walled garden. We would love to have someone also interested by what we are trying to achieve in the garden with our small team of local volunteers.

We hold retreats, workshops, and run a weekly community cafe intended to create an exchange between the Abbey charity and the local community. As a volunteer cook, you will play a crucial role in creating a welcoming and comfortable environment for our guests, volunteers and visitors.

Please read carefully all the information provided.

You will have your own unique room in this ancient building but depending of the season you can be asked to share a room with another volunteer (always around the same age and gender). We also have one twin room suitable for friends (or couples) traveling together. The rooms are not en-suite but there are showers and toilets nearby.

Our house is a quiet and peaceful place, well suited for rest, reflection and respectful communication. It isn't a place for late night parties, illegal drugs and a city lifestyle -- but if you like being surrounded by nature and meeting new people from different cultures as well as living and working together in a friendly and beautiful environment, then this is the place to be. You will have a lot of freedom, autonomy and time for yourself as long as the work is done and the house rules are respected.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR STAY IS SUBJECT TO A ONE WEEK TRIAL. It is something to keep in mind before applying.

Activities & Shift

We expect volunteers to help 25 hours per week. You must be able to help flexibly, both independently and as part of a group, and without us having to chase you. Please note that we are expecting from our volunteers to help with whatever is needed rather than what they want to do. We expect volunteers to be responsible, proactive, mature and respectful.

Your days off may not be the same from one week to another and you don't necessarily have consecutive days off. You will always work on Saturdays as we are running our weekly cafe and you may also sometimes work on Sundays depending on our activities, but you will have time off each week. The Abbey Manager is very cautious about providing the best balance possible between your work and your free time. Each Monday, you will have your weekly schedule.

After induction and training we like to get our volunteers straight into action. After training you would typically be expected to:
- prepare meals for the team, make sure the basic food safety rules are respected by everyone, make sure there is no waste of food, etc.
- give a hand for the cafe (you're not in charge of cooking for the cafe but you will be asked to bake 2 or 3 cakes per week)
- give a hand in the kitchen when we are hosting residential retreats and serve food to our guests and clients. During these retreats, we have a chef coming and you need to assist him for some basic tasks (e.g. washing, chopping).
- welcome guests and visitors if needed
- make sure the kitchen is always clean

Rules

As a charity, we try to be inclusive, including in terms of mental health diversity. At the same time, there are limits to how much we can support people if they become very unwell. So we ask you to ask yourself – and perhaps talk it over with your friends or family too: Do I have the necessary support in place for my health conditions - whether that is physical or mental? Can I meet my needs while living as a volunteer? Think about whether it is right for you, and also for the Abbey team.

Please note that you will be sharing a house with a small group of people (usually between 5 and 6), mainly international volunteers, and we expect you to be part of the Abbey life (e.g. you don't take your meals on your own in your room). You will be living, eating and working among other people with different temperaments, cultures and personalities. The Abbey is not the place for you if you don’t enjoy socializing and if you don't wish to be part of a group. Of course, you will have plenty of time for quiet and solitude each day and there will be time for your own work, besides the Abbey tasks, if you are a digital nomad. And on your days off, you do your own things and live your life :)

As an international volunteer, please note that you can only volunteer for up to 30 days for a registered charity in the UK. You must have a good understanding of spoken English as you will have a lot of interactions with guests and visitors.

For UK nationals or people with the settled status, you can stay at the Abbey for up to 3 months.

We will need references if you don't have any reviews and an identity check (passport and visa) when you arrive.