Company description

Circumstance is a restaurant in Swanville,Maine by Khris Hogg (formerly of Perennial Cider Bar + Farm Kitchen). We offer a 6 course dinner Friday and Saturday evenings and brunch on Sunday from mid-May through the first weekend in October. The restaurant is hosted in our barn on our homestead and features 100% locally sourced, organically grown ingredients, alongside regional natural wines and ciders. Our cuisine is a creative response to what's available in our particular place at a particular time. We rely on whole-animal butchery, charcuterie, foraged ingredients, fermentation, smoking, and other forms of food preservation to accent our menu, along with careful combinations of ingredients in their original state. Circumstance is a restaurant, but it's also an extension of lives lived close to the land, our home, and our curiosities and we are delighted to welcome guests to our barn in the woods for a unique taste of the moment. For more info: circumstancemaine.com

Job description

We are looking for a Kitchen Assistant for our opening season. The KA will work alongside the Head Chef during dinner and brunch service to support assembly and plating. Candidates with oyster shucking experience are particularly encouraged to apply. Basic setup and cleanup alongside other staff, as well as some light prep duties will also be expected. In conventional terms, this position is comparable to a Chef de Partie role, with opportunity to take on more ownership over particular aspects of the program over time, depending on skill and interest.

The ideal candidate is interested in process-driven cuisine, works cleanly and compactly, and can absorb, adhere to, and help evolve aesthetic goals. You don't need to be a culinary school grad, but being able to keep a service moving, plate with precision and consistency, and communicate with composure are important. Additional interests in natural wine, foraged foods, fermentation, charcuterie, and/or butchery are a plus. Candidates with specialties in these and/or other areas may find additional opportunities to contribute to the menu as the program evolves.

We are a team that prides itself on its composure. This is not an "angry chef throwing plates" type of situation. We work with purpose and with joy and are energized by each other's performance. We support each other and work toward synchrony. 

This is a part-time, seasonal position, with opportunities for expanded responsibilities as the business evolves and the expectation of recurring employment annually. Circumstance will provide ample training prior to the season starting, as well as ongoing professional development opportunities. We have a strong preference for candidates who can work all three services each week for the entire season, but will consider dinner-only or brunch-only applicants as well. 

Pay is a minimum of $22/hr plus paid training and staff discounts. Hourly rate could rise once we get a better sense of the tip pool. End of season bonuses/profit-sharing are a possibility and will be considered based on business performance. 

Primary responsibilities:

-Assist Head Chef with assembly and plating of dinner courses and a la carte brunch

-Provide creative feedback on plating and presentation, as needed

-Light prep duties, as needed

-Participate in tastings/meals before service

-Station setup and cleanup

-A share of dishwashing (along w/ all other co-workers)

-Suggest and participate in professional development opportunities

 

Desired qualifications:

-Previous commercial kitchen experience

-An eye for detail

-Ability to absorb, adhere to, and interpret aesthetic goals

-A natural sense of timing and pace

-Can manage a station independently

-Ability to learn and use verbal and non-verbal dialect amongst our team

-Preferred but not required: Ability to safely and efficiently shuck oysters in a time-sensitive, quality-driven setting Compensation this position is : hourly, $20/hr + Application instructions Deadlineno deadline