Is this the best place to work in Kent?

Toiling away in a kitchen might not sound fun, but many of the staff at a frozen ready-meal company – which gives all employees the day off on their birthday along with free meals, profit shares and a 30% staff discount – disagree.

Staff at COOK, which has two kitchens in Sittingbourne and a distribution depot in Gillingham, say the business is "the best company they've ever worked for".

Founded in 1997, COOK makes frozen meals and puddings including microwavable and oven-cook meals such as mac and cheese, creamy chicken with mushrooms and bacon, pies with a range of fillings, slow roasted meats and even hot and cold puddings like lemon tart and cherry bakewell.

You won't find them in the frozen aisles of major supermarkets but you have probably seen them at one of more than 850 independent retailers nationwide such as farm shops.

Customers can also order online, for home delivery and click-and-collect. It also has its own independent COOK shops in Kent towns such as Tonbridge and Sevenoaks.

Supporting those independent retailers is all part of the family feel, an ethos which starts at the very beginning of the process.

The firm employs approximately 750 people who live in Kent with most of the teams who work in both Sittingbourne kitchens living in Sittingbourne and Sheppey, with a smaller group coming from Medway or Maidstone.

Brian Coleman, who is head of mix and weigh – where the raw ingredients are brought together ready for the next stage – joined COOK in 2003. He enjoys his work but said it was the wider care and support from colleagues which made the big difference for him.

The 41-year-old said: "It is the best company I've ever worked for.

"They're a family here and they look after you. If you've got problems outside of work, they look after you.

"While you're at work, you have a laugh, you have fun, you make friends while you're working.

"I've been here for 20 years and I've had a lot happen outside of work that COOK has stood by me from day one."

That support came when Brian, who is from Sittingbourne, lost a family member to illness. After his loss, COOK allowed him as much time off as he needed and even sent care packages to his home which were full of food to make sure he was looking after himself.

He added: "They've helped resolve any issues that I've had.

"I'll be at COOK until I retire more than likely, because it is such a good place to work.

"When I started I was a chef but since then I've moved from prep, to ovens, and even a night manager.

"But now I run mix and weigh at the Classics kitchen.

"If you've got the opportunity to work for Cook and you're offered a position, grab it with both hands because they will look after you no matter what your background is."

When asked why he thought his employees love working for the company, chief executive Ed Perry said: "We believe if we look after our people the rest will look after itself."

There are 530 people working in the two kitchens on the Eurolink Business Park.

COOK spokesman Claire Postans said: "We believe food should be cooked not processed, so we have kitchens not factories, full of talented people. It takes dozens of teams working day and night in harmony to create a COOK meal.

"From vegetable prep, to pastry making and washing up, it’s a remarkable team effort.

"We have two savoury kitchens in Sittingbourne and one pudding kitchen in Ilton, Somerset. Across our two sites in Sittingbourne we cook 212 different recipes using 388 different ingredients."

At The COOK Kitchen, 235 batches are cooked a week, which equates to 373,000 portions of food.

Claire explained: "A batch is roughly 1,500 portions – a lot by home cooking standards but small by industrial kitchen standards.

"At this scale we believe we can remain true to our commitment to make food that looks and tastes homemade.

"At COOK Classics, which was opened in 2020, we cook 183 batches a week, equivalent to to 236,000 portions."

Through the finishing line and spiral freezer, the business makes 60 portions of food a minute.

Alan Martin, from Eccles in Aylesford, is general manager at COOK Classics.

The 36-year-old, who's been at the company for 13 years, said: "I started when I was 22 as a prep chef.

"I had a catering background and came here because the hours were beneficial to me.

"Shortly after I was going to leave as I'd been offered a different job that was a little bit closer to where I lived.

"But my leader at the time wouldn't accept my resignation. He said he saw something in me.

"So I stayed and then got promoted to bratt pan – a heavy duty commercial cooking appliance – chef and then just went on from there."

Alan later became head chef and then ran the company's operational product development before becoming production manager.

However, when the COOK Classics site was opened in 2020 Alan became its new general manager.

He said: "I've done loads of internal training and loads of external training.

"I was sent to uni and did a diploma in management studies, which was difficult for me as an adult learner, but I was again pushed and supported in that direction by COOK.

"There's loads of career development options here and loads of benefits.

"You get your birthday off, which is always a bonus. But there's so much more. COOK has certainly helped me and it still does and I've been here nearly 14 years."

COOK also offers employment support and training for those who’ve dealt with trauma, addiction, homelessness and prison with its RAW Talent scheme.

Tom Bullock, 23, is part of the company's packaging and sealing team.

Currently filling in as team leader of the department, he said: "I started just after the pandemic through the RAW talent scheme.

"I had pretty bad anxiety before joining and now it's changed a lot.

"It's been great working here. I started out as a porter, cleaning, and it was a great start considering I hadn't actually worked before that.

"But after a year I joined the sealing and packaging team with my brother and some friends.

"I loved it down there, I'm still there. RAW Talents been great.

"It helped me get into this job and it has been non-stop ever since."

For 10 years running, COOK's team has been named as one of the top 100 best companies to work for in the country, as voted for by staff themselves.

COOK is also certified by the Living Wage Foundation and shares a percentage of its profit with its employees every year.

Alan explained that in the COOK Classics kitchen there is a thoughts and complaints box that can be used anonymously by workers to share their feelings.

Last month, the only complaint was that some staff were sick of listening to 80s music on the radio.

Victoria Croucher, from Maidstone, has been a production manager at COOK for the past three years.

The 29-year-old said: "Working for COOK is great.

"There's a lot of opportunities and a lot of doors open for you.

"I actually joined five years ago as a development chef and I didn't aspire to be a production manager, but it's sort of the route that COOK has taken me on.

"The food is probably some of the best food you can buy on the market.

"It's all made in-house with fresh goods which are all prepped, cooked and dished by hand exactly as you would at home."

Mum-of-two Kaya Walshaw also works in the packing and sealing department.

The 26-year-old, from Minster, said: "I've worked with COOK for the last nine years.

"I've grown up here really. I was 18 when I started and in that time I've had two children and been married.

"They're very accommodating and they've helped me out a lot with my hours so I can do the school run and things like that.

"COOK has really supported me. As mums know, kids are always picking up germs and having to have days off but COOK is really understanding about things like that."

In June, COOK is opening a third kitchen in Sittingbourne at the old Everest building at the Eurolink Industrial Centre.

The spokesman added: "We're recruiting for our new team and are looking for people across all levels.

"No experience is needed as we offer thorough training to support people getting up and running in their new roles."