At Golestan we nurture our children with love, kindness and also good food! We only serve whole foods – all meals and snacks are prepared in-house by our kitchen team. We even bake our own crackers and bread. All our ingredients are fresh, organic and to the extent possible, local. All our meat is grass fed and pastured/free range, delivered directly from Marin Sun Farms.

• Fruits and vegetables are seasonal and sourced from local farms through Veritable Vegetable*.
• We only serve full fat organic dairy products, our yogurt comes from Strauss Family Creamery.
• All of our dry goods are sourced from Hummingbird Wholesale*.

We promote healthy and conscientious habits from an early age; this includes eating habits. We continually expose children to different ingredients and flavors so that they may develop a palette that is open to a variety of tastes. When not in a global pandemic (like in the photo above), the children sit around the table with their teachers and enjoy family–style meals. In 2020-2021, all meals are served in each indoor/outdoor classroom and enjoyed from a physically safe distance.

Job Description:  The perfect position for someone who is passionate about food, wants to be in a warm and loving environment, and thrives on nurturing others.

The job: We are looking for someone kind and nurturing to help prepare meals and snacks for our students and staff. This person would be helping to source food from local farms and distributors, and assisting our school chef in cooking meals for about 90-100 people Mon-Fri for two to three hours a day, between the hours of 11a - 3p. Meals include lunch (one protein, one grain, two vegetables) and a hearty snack (hummus, granola, bread, etc). This person would also prepare special treats for teachers, as well as food for monthly staff meetings, quarterly staff development days, and occasional guests and meetings.

This is a part-time position working ~10-15 hrs/week.

Food philosophy and procurement: We serve balanced meals with fresh ingredients. Almost everything is made in-house (including bread and crackers). Our meat (pastured, grass fed) is delivered directly to the school from Marin Sun Farms. The kitchen assistant is responsible for assisting the chef in managing kitchen inventory and preparation of meals. Fruits and vegetables are seasonal/local, some come from our garden (lettuce, herbs, cucumbers etc) and others from local vendors. The food is simple, organic, healthy, and wholesome. Nothing is processed and refined sugars are never used (unless special treats for adults!).

The perfect candidate:  Is kind, nurturing, fast and efficient in the kitchen; able to prepare delicious but simple meals.  Most people love being in this positive and loving environment. Our kitchen is the heart of our school. While there is room for creative freedom to experiment, the food should be consistent with our basic principles. One thing our kitchen team has always enjoyed is the introduction of worldly flavors from countries and cultures that the children may be exploring through their classroom units.

The ideal candidate is an experienced and consistent cook with a sense of appropriate scale.  It’s important to maximize portions while minimizing food waste.  As a non-profit school there is a tight budget and resourcefulness is key.  Golestan is a very loving and nurturing family-like environment and this person would become an integral part of our family. For this reason, we’re looking for the following personal qualities:

• Excellent knife skills; fast and efficient in the kitchen
• Resourceful and creative
• Even tempered, respectful, and kind
• Warm, nurturing, and positive disposition
• Collaborative and communicative
• Able to go with the flow and receive feedback gracefully.

Children’s palates are sensitive and sometimes hard to predict. This person must be able to receive feedback with grace and implement changes accordingly. Most importantly, the number one job of this individual is to support our chef in feeding and nurturing the children and staff of the school.