Charlie Bigham's, the fast-growing premium prepared meals business, has launched its first recruitment drive of 2021 – with 20 new positions at its Quarry Kitchen, Dulcote.

Last year, Bigham's sales grew by 20 per cent in three major retailers, and with ambitious targets for 2021, the business is adding 20 new positions to its current 300-strong Somerset team.

Bigham's will be recruiting for a range of roles including production positions, which are suitable roles for candidates seeking a first career step in the food industry.

Bigham's offers a rewards package, flexible working patterns and a tailored training and development programme for all team members.

Since the Quarry Kitchen opened in 2017, Bigham's has regularly increased employment opportunities within the local area, including apprenticeship placements to attract school and college leavers.

Recently accredited as a B Corp, Bigham's has pledged to balance profit with purpose and actively contribute to the enrichment of its neighbouring communities in the Wells area.

During the first lockdown, Bigham's made deliveries to more than 1,500 Mendip residents, providing meals and a night off from cooking.

Thousands of meals were also delivered to Somerset hospitals, facilities aiding vulnerable people and key workers, as well as care homes.

Via Charlie Bigham's Charitable Foundation, the business contributes to a number of community initiatives including South Horrington-based mental health charity Heads Up, Wells Carnival and Cheddar Valley Food Bank.

As the headline sponsor of Wells Food Festival 2020, Bigham's oversaw its execution as a national virtual food event, supporting 150 artisan businesses and raising £13,000 for Chefs in Schools.

Bigham's head of people, Lauri Duncan, said: "We have a fantastic team of people at our Quarry Kitchen who have worked extremely hard to support our customers and each other over the last year.

"After another year of double-digit growth, we expect demand for our dishes to increase further. As a result, we're delighted to announce that our Dulcote team is expanding and that we're recruiting 20 people to join our team in the coming weeks – welcome news for the local community during this uncertain economic climate."

The new jobs will be advertised on the company's careers page when recruitment starts, or prospective employees submit a speculative CV to [email protected].

Check out more jobs in the Wells area by visiting our Jobs page HERE.