A cook at a Bristol-based day nursery group has put down his pots and pans and swapped them for a paint brush as he embarks on a new career in the maintenance division.

Joe Denyer, 28, has been a cook at the Mama Bear’s Day Nursery and Pre-School in Totterdown for three years but has always had aspirations of becoming a plumber.

After recently gaining plumbing qualifications, Joe has landed himself a job on the maintenance team at Mama Bear’s, where he’ll put putting his plumbing, building, decorating and gardening skills to the test.

The appointment of Joe comes shortly after a new Facilities Manager was hired to oversee the maintenance at all 16 Bristol nurseries run by the family-owned group.

Owner Tony Driffield said: “We are thrilled that Joe is staying within the Mama Bear’s family and turning his hand to something he is really passionate about.

“Joe has been a fantastic employee and we are committed to our internal development programme which aims to keep our talent within the company and offer attractive career progression routes.

“We have recently invested heavily in our maintenance team so Joe will be a great asset in helping to ensure all our settings are presentable, functional and safe for children and staff.”

The Mama Bear’s nurseries underwent a series of renovations recently when the maintenance team took advantage of lockdown to refresh and rejuvenate the sites, which were only being utilised by the children of key workers and vulnerable children.

With 24 nurseries in total across the South West, Mama Bear’s is one of the most reputable groups in the region, catering for children aged 3-months to five-years.

Joe said: “I loved my job as a cook and I’ve loved working for Mama Bear’s so to be able to start my new career within the same company is great. I’m really looking forward to joining the maintenance team and

will find it really rewarding to work on the improvement projects we’ve got coming up.

“Mama Bear’s aims to create a home-from-home environment for children and part of that is making sure

things look nice and welcoming as well as making sure everything is working correctly.”

Mama Bear’s is a family-run organisation with settings across Bristol, Somerset and Devon.  

Mama Bear’s nurseries provide a nurturing environment and offer high-quality early years education to prepare children for the big step up to primary school.  

More information on Mama Bear’s Day Nursery can be found at www.mamabear.co.uk