Job description

About the Machaca Hill Lodge:
Machaca Hill Lodge, a luxury 12-room ecotourism resort in Punta Gorda, Belize has an opening for a Culinary Director. Perched in the verdant hills above the Caribbean coast of southern Belize, the lodge is a self-contained sanctuary from the everyday world. We adhere to strictly maintained guidelines that ensure that our native plant and animal species survive and thrive. Our teak woodlots guarantee no extraction of rare tropical hardwoods for human consumption. And our education outreach to local indigenous populations aims to replace slash-and-burn cultivation with a more earth-friendly approach, which will provide arable and productive land for future generations.

About the position:
The ideal candidate will be equally adept at conceiving and executing a culinary vision as a chef as they are at managing a staff of employees and contributing to a vibrant agritourism and value-added food program. The Culinary Director will create Machaca Hill Lodge’s three-meal daily menu as well as develop and prepare high quality value products for resale and plan and execute special event menus at the lodge’s agritourism center. The ideal candidate must have a passion for food, for Belizian culture, and for Central America’s rich gastronomic heritage. The position requires:

• prolonged standing, bending, stooping, twisting, lifting products and supplies weighing 45 pounds
• repetitive hand and wrist motion
• working with hot, cold, and hazardous equipment
• using phones, computers, fax machines, copiers, and other office equipment

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for ensuring a consistent and high quality experience for patrons.
• Conceive and execute culinary relevant operations such as sourcing of ingredients from the Machaca farm, recipe development and gathering and responding to customer feedback.
• Adhere to company standards and service levels to increases sales and minimize costs, including food, beverage, supply, utility and labor costs.
• Manage shifts which include: daily decision making, scheduling and planning while upholding standards, product quality and cleanliness.

Qualifications:

• At least 3-5 years experience as a chef in a restaurant or resort, experience in food products (jams, cheese, etc.) a plus, experience in farm-to-table context a plus;
• Knowledge of computers sufficient to fulfill management functions (MS Word and Excel).
• Proficient in the following functions: food planning and preparation, purchasing, personnel management, recordkeeping, and preparation of reports.
• Understanding of Belizian farming and seasonality.
• Understanding of and experience with Central American food traditions.

Personal Skills:

• Self-discipline, initiative and leadership ability.
• Ability to motivate employees to work as a team to ensure that food and service meet appropriate standards.
• Must be able to handle the pressures of simultaneously coordinating a wide range of activities and recommend appropriate solutions to problems.
• Must possess good communication skills for dealing with diverse staff.
• Ability to coordinate multiple tasks such as food, beverage and labor cost while maintaining required standards of operation in daily business activities.

Compensation

this position is:

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline