Company description

Jameson Ranch Camp has been in business in California since the early 1930s. Before you start picturing beaches, palm trees, and the Hollywood sign, it's important to know that camp is an extremely rustic space nestled in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains, and is 100% tech free for participants and staff. That means that JRC is outside of cell service and does not provide WiFi for the staff during working hours.

The summer program spans ten weeks, starting June 1, with a week of chef and kitchen staff work, then all-staff Orientation Week preceding the arrival of campers, sessions running until August 9, 2027.

JRC serves 85 campers in four two-week sessions, with about 35 staff members. Each meal is 100% hand cooked and home made—our kitchen is a part of the ranch process as well, and each ingredient is prepped by the kitchen staff for the best quality meals possible.

Most of the staff sleep outside, under a sleeping porch— think a roof without solid walls. There are cots and mattresses provided, participants sleep in sleeping bags. Water conservation requires outhouses instead of flush toilets. Our solar-heated showers are hot, sunny days are the norm at JRC, but they too are outside. This provides a great deal of air flow, the breeze is a nice respite from the sun, and at night temperatures are perfect for sleeping outdoors.

JRC has no Wi-Fi for staff nor is there cell phone reception. Both can be accessed once per week on staffs’ scheduled day off. There is a phone line that counselors share and international calls are free.

Job description

The Sous Chef is the Lead Chef’s principal operational partner and serves as the second-in-command of the Jameson Ranch Camp kitchen. The Sous Chef helps translate the Lead Chef’s menu, standards, and vision into dependable daily food service for campers and staff.

Working under the direction of the Lead Chef, the Sous Chef supervises daily kitchen flow, supports and trains kitchen staff, prepares food, monitors quality and safety, and steps into leadership of the kitchen when the Lead Chef is unavailable. In culinary practice, the sous chef is commonly responsible for overseeing service, guiding cooks, maintaining standards, and ensuring smooth day-to-day kitchen operations under the head chef’s direction.

Position Summary
The Sous Chef supports the planning, preparation, cooking, and service of three meals each day, while helping ensure that the kitchen remains clean, safe, organized, adequately supplied, and in compliance with Jameson Ranch Camp standards and applicable health requirements.

The Sous Chef is a hands-on leader. They cook, prepare, clean, organize, delegate, train, solve problems, and help create a calm and effective kitchen culture. This person must be able to lead with confidence while remaining collaborative, teachable, flexible, and respectful.

Primary Responsibilities

Daily Kitchen Operations
Assist the Lead Chef in organizing the preparation, cooking, and service of breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day.
Help translate menus and production plans into clear daily prep lists, staff assignments, timelines, and service procedures.
Direct and support kitchen staff during food preparation, cooking, meal service, cleanup, and closing procedures.
Monitor the pace and organization of kitchen work so that meals are prepared safely, served on time, and maintained at appropriate quality and temperature.
Prepare menu items personally and work on any kitchen station as needed.
Step into the Lead Chef’s operational role during scheduled absences, days off, emergencies, or other times designated by camp leadership.

Food Quality and Meal Service
Help ensure that meals are prepared according to approved recipes, menus, portion standards, dietary requirements, and the Lead Chef’s expectations.
Monitor food quality, taste, temperature, appearance, portioning, and readiness before and during meal service.
Assist in preparing and safely serving meals for campers and staff with documented food allergies, dietary restrictions, and special food-service needs.

Inventory and Kitchen Organization
Assist the Lead Chef with inventory, food storage, receiving deliveries, rotation of stock, and monitoring daily supply levels.
Communicate ingredient and supply needs before they become shortages.
Help ensure that food and supplies are properly received, inspected, labeled, dated, stored, and rotated using first-in, first-out principles.
Assist with weekly ordering, vendor communication, menu adjustments, and cost-conscious use of supplies when assigned by the Lead Chef.

Training and Team Leadership
Help train and orient kitchen staff in camp kitchen systems, food-safety expectations, proper equipment use, recipes, cleaning procedures, service routines, and workplace standards.
Provide clear direction, constructive feedback, and practical support to cooks, prep staff, bakers, dish staff, and other assigned kitchen personnel.
Support staff in meeting expectations while maintaining a respectful, direct, and emotionally mature workplace culture.

Required Qualifications
Demonstrated experience as a sous chef, lead cook, kitchen supervisor, chef de partie, or comparable leadership role in a commercial, institutional, camp, school, catering, restaurant, or high-volume kitchen.
Proven ability to prepare meals at volume while supervising others and maintaining consistent food quality.
Strong working knowledge of food safety, sanitation, personal hygiene, allergen management, cross-contamination prevention, food storage, and time-and-temperature requirements.
Food safety certification, Kitchen Manager Certification, or comparable food-safety certification from a recognized standardized organization; or the ability to obtain and maintain required certification as determined by Jameson Ranch Camp.
Experience with food inventory, ordering, receiving, storage rotation, recipe scaling, portioning, and waste reduction.
Ability to read and follow recipes, menus, production sheets, cleaning schedules, and food-safety documentation.
Ability to organize competing priorities, make sound decisions under pressure, and remain calm during fast-paced meal periods.
Ability to train, guide, and work alongside a diverse seasonal kitchen team.
Ability to stand, walk, bend, lift, carry, and perform physically demanding kitchen work for extended periods; ability to lift up to 50 pounds is preferred.

Community Standards
The Sous Chef will conduct themselves at all times in accordance with the standards, Customs, and Policies of Jameson Ranch Camp. This position carries leadership responsibility and must model the camp’s expectations for maturity, kindness, safety, accountability, and respect.

The Sous Chef reports directly to the Lead Chef and may supervise Bakers, Cooks, Prep Cooks, Dish Staff, and other kitchen personnel as assigned. The Sous Chef also works closely with the Camp Director and other camp leadership to support the health, safety, and daily functioning of the camp community.

This seasonal position requires dependable attendance, flexibility, early-morning, evening, weekend, and extended-hour availability as needed to support three daily meal services and the broader rhythm of camp.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, varies DOE, $9,000.00 - $12,000.00

Work visa

This employer is willing to sponsor a work visa for international applicants

Application instructions

If you are not registered, you'll be prompted to do so. Don't worry, it's free!

Deadline

March 31, 2027