Kitchen Manager/Cook

Job Title: Cook/Kitchen Manager

Department: Holy Cross Retreat House/Easton Ma

Reports To: Holy Cross Retreat House Director

Category: Full-Time, 40 hours per week

Schedule: September 1-June 15th , Friday-Monday

Summary

To serve as the cook for all meals during retreats at the Holy Cross Retreat House and to set the tone for a culture of Christian community amongst kitchen volunteers and retreat participants. This position is responsible for providing all food service; including all purchasing, preparation, cooking, and clean up.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

(Includes the following: other duties may be assigned.)

Meal Service Coordination

• Plan weekend menus
• Some weekly shopping (local market) for fresh foods, fruit, seafood, etc.
• Regular ordering/purchasing from local vendors/food service distributors
• Prepare food in advance for weekends
• Prepare, cook, and plan the presentation for family-style, all-you-can-eat, served meals
• Prepare meals conforming to the special dietary needs of individual guests as needed
• Rotate frozen, refrigerated, and dry storage inventory on a first-in/first-out basis
• Maintain all unused and leftover foods in the properly covered containers and incorporate them into upcoming meals (as appropriate)
• Maintain food invoices for ordered items and transmit them to the Retreat House Director as they are received

Hospitality

• Help build community by creating relationships with volunteers and welcoming retreat participants
• Create and communicate a serving plan for each meal for the volunteers to follow
• Direct volunteers on how to Set and clear dining room tables for each meal
• Direct volunteers to Wash/Sanitize plates, glasses, silverware, pots/pans, and cooking utensils after each meal
• Include a meal for volunteers after each mealtime service

Organization and Maintenance

• Knowledge of proper food handling guidelines and regulations
• Clean/Sanitize kitchen food preparation areas and dining room after each meal with volunteer help
• Maintain a clean/ sanitized kitchen with regular cleaning of appliances, floors, mats, and utensils
• Monitor and maintain the kitchen, washroom, and dining area and communicate suggestions or concerns regularly to the Director of the Retreat House
• Take out trash each evening and recyclables as needed

Assist the Retreat House Director with special projects on weeks that no retreat is scheduled as time allows.

Qualifications

To be successful in this position, an individual must have a passion for creating meals that are a ministry within the retreat weekends and be able to perform essential duties satisfactorily. A commitment to the Holy Cross Retreat House mission and a personal desire to manage the kitchen based on a foundation of faith is a plus. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Education and/or Experience

A High School Diploma or equivalent is required and three (3) to five (5) years of relevant experience is strongly preferred.

Computer/Office Equipment Skills

Basic familiarity with standard office equipment such as copiers, fax machines, telephones with voicemail, and computers is preferred.

Other Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities

This position requires basic oral and written communication skills and outstanding interpersonal communication skills. This position requires the ability to work independently, make routine decisions as they pertain to areas of responsibility, solve practical problems, work well alone and as part of a team, welcome volunteers and communicate their duties, multi-task, and recognize and set priorities. The ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals is required. Basic mathematical skills such as computing and converting weights and volumes as pertains to food purchasing and preparation are required as well as the ability to plan and meet budget requirements.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, reach with hands and arms, twist, bend, talk or hear, and taste or smell. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 100 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust and focus.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.