Company description

First Bloom started as a charming little corner store in Bloomville, New York — a place where you could find groceries, produce and most ingredients you’d need to make a wonderful meal (plus, a few things just to make you happy). It was small. It was specific. People drove a long way to get there and we’d like to think it was worth it.

This fall, we’re opening a second location in Brooklyn Heights. It will be bigger and more ambitious than what we built upstate. There will be a nice coffee program, a small cafe with fabulous prepared foods, and a retail floor with spectacular produce.

Job description

We’re looking for a founding Head Chef who can help us build it, open it, and run the kitchen exceptionally well. Someone who has strong opinions about food, loves to collaborate, and is eager to develop and run one of the best prepared foods spots in New York.

What you’ll do:
● Collaboratively develop ideas with Alison. There’s an “assignment” of sorts to fit the general ethos with suggestive guidance, but ultimately, it's your menu.

● Lead and manage the kitchen team: hire cooks, set standards and create a culture where people love coming to work, can learn, grow, etc.

● Cook! This is just as much an on-the-ground position as it is managerial position.

● Work alongside the Head Baker/Pastry Chef, making sure everything feels like it’s from the same place (because it is!).
○ In a dream world, all cooks are able to execute/help out with the baking program where needed/necessary.

● Sourcing: build and maintain relationships with preferred vendors, farms, and producers.

● Collaborate with the General Manager on labor, scheduling, and food cost.

What we’re looking for:
● Someone who approaches their job and cooking with creativity, integrity, humor and joy.

● Experience! Restaurant, prepared foods, catering, cafe, specialty grocery, or some combination.

● A self starter who’s just as comfortable making decisions as they are executing others.

● A genuine love of the kind of food we aspire to make: Seasonal home cooking that’s better than the food you make at home. Nothing fussy or overcomplicated– the best
versions of the simplest things. Here, less is almost always more.

● Creativity and confidence. Some items should never leave the menu, some might only appear for a few weeks while things are in season, some might be a daily special if we have a bunch of produce to use up. Consistency, flexibility and creativity are all of equal importance.

● A point of view! It’s our great hope that this feels like a truly unique place with an experience you can't have anywhere else. We will not have a caesar salad.

● Experience leading a kitchen team. You’ve hired people, know how to give honest feedback, and have built something (menu, team, place, business) you were proud of.

● Fluency in the important, boring things: Food cost, ordering, schedule management, labor laws, health department compliance, etc.

● Someone that’s logistically and spiritually flexible– this is a new business with lots of moving parts, and hopefully…you love that?

Nice to have:
● Experience in a prepared foods or grab-and-go context– understanding what makes a good candidate for that style of food, the logistics and quantities needed to execute.

● Familiarity with the kinds of producers and purveyors that supply businesses in New York, especially small and specialty producers, makers, farmers and growers.

● You’ve cooked from Alison’s books or followed her work. Familiarity with what she values and the style of her food will be helpful in knowing how the menu should come to life.

The details:
● Full-time, on-site in Brooklyn.
● Competitive salary, commensurate with experience.
● Start date: Late summer 2026 to allow time for pre-opening buildout and hiring.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $75,000 - $100,000

Application instructions

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Deadline

July 01, 2026