Company description
We’re developing a modern market and café with prepared foods and catering in Chittenden County, Vermont. The market and prepared foods will showcase the best of local producers, farms, and artisans through a refined yet approachable lens. The pre-existing cafe draws customers in on a daily basis. This consistent foot traffic provides a built-in audience to introduce new elements like the prepared food options. The strategic use of a "pop-up" format inspired by seasonal changes will allow for dynamic, low-risk experimentation with our menu and inventory. Our dream is to expand on this foundational model and we are seeking a Culinary Director who would want to grow and evolve the space with us over time.
Job description
Culinary Director Opportunity — Vermont Market Cafe
About the Project
We’re developing a modern market and café with prepared foods and catering in Chittenden County, Vermont. The market and prepared foods will showcase the best of local producers, farms, and artisans through a refined yet approachable lens. The pre-existing cafe draws customers in on a daily basis. This consistent foot traffic provides a built-in audience to introduce new elements like the prepared food options. The strategic use of a "pop-up" format inspired by seasonal changes will allow for dynamic, low-risk experimentation with our menu and inventory. Our dream is to expand on this foundational model and we are seeking a Culinary Director who would want to grow and evolve the space with us over time.
The Opportunity
We’re seeking a Culinary Director to shape the food identity and kitchen operations from the ground up. This is an opportunity for someone who’s driven and excited to take ownership over building the business’ identity and growth. We seek someone creative and practical to design seasonal menu items that celebrate local sourcing, put in place and oversee efficient systems, and build a sustainable prepared foods business for daily pick-up and catering.
More specifically, this role will involve:
Designing and implementing SOPs to establish effective systems and workflows, including kitchen workflows for both retail and catering and managing relationships with local farmers and producers for sourcing
Developing the initial menu direction and prepared foods lineup, including costing and R&D recipes
An understanding of a synergistic model ie. using goods from the market for prepared foods and leveraging the wine and coffee shops’ regular clientele
Guiding, directing and coaching staff across the business’ elements to maintain knowledge about menu items and ingredients, including coordination with Market Manager on sourcing and inventory
Partnering with and pro-actively advising ownership on culinary direction and operations
Directing costing, production schedules, and hiring as the project grows
Ideal Partner
We’re looking for someone who is:
Experienced in market-style operations including gourmet prepared foods and event catering
Extremely time efficient, able to work independently and prioritize effectively amongst multiple workstreams
Excited by the idea of entrepreneurial collaboration and building something new, has a founding mindset, and has previously participated in opening a business or concept, including kitchen buildout
Passionate about Vermont food culture, showcasing seasonal and local produce, and community connection
Skilled in menu development that balances creativity with operational efficiency
Interested in long-term partnership potential (profit share or equity options available).
We look forward to partnering with the right person to create an innovative yet familiar space rooted in local relationships and good food.
Interested?
As this project is in the development phase, we are looking for a Culinary Director who is a creative and skilled food professional that wants to be part of something truly exciting and is passionate about amplifying local producers and provisions. Our priority is to find the right person who could truly embody our concept and excel within this opportunity. For that person, we could be flexible on the level of engagement.
Compensation would include a combination of:
Base pay + performance-based bonuses tied to sales or gross profit.
Option for annual profit-share (e.g., percentage of net profit from prepared foods and catering revenue).
Long-term incentive options, including equity, if succeeds in scaling the culinary programs
Reach out with a short introduction and examples of past work and concepts that inspire you.
Compensation
this position is: salaried, varies DOE, $65,000.00 - $85,000.00
Application instructions
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Deadline
no deadline