Typical duties
- Prepare or support safe food service
- Maintain accommodation hygiene standards
- Manage stores, laundry or stewarding tasks
- Follow offshore safety and infection controls
Essential offshore services
Catering & accommodation
These roles keep offshore installations safe, hygienic and functional. Profiles emphasise food safety, high-volume service and rotation readiness.
What the work can involve
Typical evidence
- Food hygiene appropriate to the role
- Offshore medical and survival training
- COSHH awareness
- Allergen awareness where relevant
Profile fields
- Galley or accommodation experience
- Volume catered
- Dietary/allergen competence
- Rotation history
Progression
Steward/galley hand → chef/supervisor → camp boss.
Training routes
Training for this role
Catering & accommodation training options.
Catering and accommodation training should match food safety, allergens, hygiene and the precise offshore survival route required by the asset.
3t survival routes
Review the asset-specific offshore survival route; use a suitable food-safety provider for the productive catering qualification.
View provider guideFleetwood survival routes
Review OPITO or STCW safety prerequisites separately from the productive food-safety qualification.
View provider guideNo dedicated food-safety package is currently confirmed. The survival route and catering qualification must be checked separately.Review general training guidance
Role pathway guide
Building a credible catering & accommodation profile.
Catering and accommodation teams maintain food service, hygiene and living standards for people working offshore. Roles include chefs, bakers, galley hands, stewards, housekeepers, laundry staff and camp bosses.
Employers value high-volume service experience, reliable hygiene controls and the ability to work a rotation within a close-knit installation community. Food safety is assessed alongside offshore readiness.
Working environment
Teams work early, late and split shifts to support round-the-clock operations. Storage limits, resupply schedules, allergens, COSHH controls and infection prevention all require consistent records and routines.
What employers check
- Relevant catering, housekeeping or accommodation experience
- Food-hygiene and allergen evidence appropriate to duties
- Experience with volume, dietary needs and stock control
- Current offshore medical and survival prerequisites
A practical starting sequence
- Choose the specific galley or accommodation role
- Describe volumes, duties and supervisory responsibility
- Keep food-safety and offshore evidence current
- Show readiness for shifts, rotations and shared accommodation
Keep evidence current
Certificate names, numbers, issuing bodies, dates and files must agree. Offshore Personnel records expiry and review status, but the employer and certificate issuer decide whether evidence is accepted for a particular assignment.
Never alter documents or describe supervised exposure as independent competence. Accurate profiles are easier to assess and safer to mobilise.
Common questions
Catering & accommodation questions
Requirements vary by employer, asset and jurisdiction. These answers explain the recruitment approach and the evidence employers commonly assess.
Are offshore catering roles entry-level?
Some support roles may accept transferable experience, but employers still require proven hygiene, service reliability and the offshore evidence specified for the installation.
Do offshore chefs need allergen training?
Allergen awareness is commonly relevant to food-service duties. The employer determines the accepted qualification and any additional site procedures.
What does a camp boss do?
A camp boss may coordinate catering, accommodation, stores, hygiene and service teams. Employers normally expect substantial operational and supervisory experience.