Company description

Peters Valley is non-profit craft school located within the Delaware River National Recreation Area in Northwest NJ. Our campus is nestled within 1000’s of acres of pastoral and wooded nature serving as a place of learning, recreation and community building for our students, faculty, and others we serve. The facilities on our campus, including the dining hall, are in historic- landmarked buildings. Our dining hall, which serves three meals a day May through September, is the gathering place for all of the creatives that live on campus or are visiting to take workshops in blacksmithing, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, glass, woodworking and more! The mission of Peters Valley School of Craft is to enrich lives through the learning, appreciation and practice of fine craft. 

Job description

The Lead Cook at Peters Valley School of Craft will oversee all aspects of the kitchen exceeding normal industry quality standards during our workshop season, mid to late April (flexible) through early October. They will supervise and participate in our full-service kitchen operation and  work closely with the Facilities Manager and Leadership to provide an excellent dining experience for clients.
Among this key team member’s responsibilities will be the ability to ensure a consistently healthy cafeteria style dining experience. The pace of our classes require well balanced meals to fuel our hard working students, faculty and staff. We pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to the eating styles of all of the people who partake in our meals.

SUMMARY OF ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Cooking and Presentation: As the primary cook, prepare and serve a full array of healthy and well presented breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals, focusing on taste and consistency.
• Menu Planning: Implement seasonal menus that showcase fresh, local when possible ingredients and cater to diverse tastes and dietary styles with a focus on vegetarian meals. Work in conjunction with management to develop menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinners.
• Adaptability: Adjust menus and operations based on seasonal availability and guest preferences. 
• Cost Control: Manage food costs, ordering, portion control, and waste reduction.
• Collaboration: Interact with team members, guests and vendors, being welcoming and accommodating. Maintaining strong storage and inventory controls. Assist with set up, clean up, dish washing and removing garbage from kitchen areas. 
• Seasonally: Manage prep, production, and scheduling to seasonal demands. The amount of diners will vary seasonally between 20-100 people.
• Training and Scheduling: Train new kitchen staff and foster a positive work environment. Work with staff to ensure complete shift coverage.
• Kitchen Management: Supervise kitchen staff, coordinate/receive food service deliveries, maintain inventory, and ensure compliance with US Public Health and County and safety regulations.
• Skills: Have a strong sense of taste and smell, excellent hand and finger dexterity (including superior knife skills), and a clear understanding of weights and measures.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Food Safety Certification required
• Culinary school graduate or completed certified apprenticeship program preferred.
• Thorough knowledge of restaurant food and beverage operations and preparation techniques.
• Mathematical abilities in order to determine and track inventory and menu costing.
• Ability to work under pressure and deal with stressful situations during busy periods.
• Must be a team player, able to build and maintain strong working relationships with all other members of the team.
• Must be able to change activity frequently and work with constant interruptions.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States of America.

 

ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Frequent walking, bending, stooping, reaching, pushing, lifting, manual dexterity and repetitive motions. The ability to work and walk on uneven outdoor surfaces.
• Working in high temperatures/conditions both indoors and out.
• 40 to 50 hours expected, schedule varies according to operational needs and may include evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Frequent hand-washing.
• Hazards include, but are not limited to cuts from knives and slicers, burns, exposure to raw meat, poultry, seafood, and produce, slips, and tripping.

Compensation

• Commensurate with experience
• Individual room within shared housing is possible during the employment period mid April-early October.

 

Compensation

this position is: hourly, $20/hr +

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline