Associate Chef, On-Call

Cerescommunityproject; Santa Rosa (CA); On-site; USD 35,000 - 50,000; Part time

Job summary

Cerescommunityproject in Santa Rosa, California seeks an Associate Chef to support kitchen operations. This role leads shifts with adult and youth volunteers, ensuring meal production quality and food safety.

The ideal candidate has over 3 years of experience in production cooking, is certified in food handling, and possesses strong communication skills. This position requires a commitment to Ceres' mission and upholding its values while engaging with the community.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years of professional production cooking experience, preferably in the whole food arena.
• Ability to provide overall management to a fast-paced shift of staff and volunteers.
• Excellent communication skills; ability to communicate warmly and clearly.

Responsibilities

• Leads production on adult and/or youth volunteer shifts.
• Ensures consistency across all shifts in food safety and sanitation practices.
• Oversees volunteers and production details closely.

Skills

Production cooking experience

Food safety protocols

Volunteer management

Teaching kitchen skills

Communication skills

Education

Active food handler's certification

Job description

Department

Culinary Operations

Reports To

Kitchen Manager

Location

Ceres HQ

Status

2 Casual/On Call, Part-Time, Non-Exempt

Expected Hours

0 - 30

Position Summary

The Associate Chef supports the smooth operation of kitchen shifts, ensures efficient and organized meal production, and maintains quality standards and food safety. As an Associate Chef this position is a shift lead for volunteers, and models a supportive site culture that positively engages adult and youth volunteers, ensuring that volunteer hours are maximized and work on those shifts is meaningful. S/he/they is expected to uphold and model Ceres' culture, values, and mission at all times when interacting with staff, volunteers, and the community at large. On Call Associate Chefs are called upon to cover a variety of shifts, from kitchen Adult or Youth shifts, and bagging and packaging shifts.

This role requires a fingerprint background check.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Leads production on adult and/or youth volunteer shifts; point person for volunteer questions and issues on shift; ensures volunteers are leveraged as fully as possible.
• Follows the daily cooking plan and production schedule, adjusting and pivoting as directed by the Lead Production Chef.
• Ensures consistency across all shifts in food safety and sanitation practices, cooking techniques, and food quality; maintains all documentation of time/temperature cooling logs, refrigeration logs, all other HACCP documentation.
• Keeps kitchen neat and orderly during shifts and provides a clean handoff to the incoming chef with accuracy and good organization, including assisting with dish washing, mopping, and laundry needs. Conducts deep cleaning and organizational tasks.
• Oversees volunteers and production details closely to ensure that all meals leaving the kitchen are beautiful, delicious, and maintaining Medically Tailored Meal (MTM) standards. Follows SOPs, recipe guidelines, portioning and cooking plans as outlined.
• Works under guidance of Kitchen Manager and Lead Chef to maximize food going to clients and minimize food waste.
• Assists with shorthanded shifts and covers for chef absences as needed.

Additional Tasks as a Culinary Team Member

• Follows food safety protocols include but are not limited to: documentation of time/temperature cooling logs, refrigeration logs, all other HACCP documentation; properly rotating food to avoid waste; as keep the kitchen neat and orderly during and between shifts; conducts deep cleaning tasks.
• Oversees volunteers and production details closely to ensure that all meals leaving the kitchen are beautiful, delicious, and maintain Medically Tailored Meal (MTM) standards.
• Regular, reliable, predictable attendance is required for all shifts.
• Other duties as required and requested.

Adult and Youth Volunteer Program Responsibilities

• Ensure new adult volunteers and youth receive a warm welcome and are oriented to kitchen workflows and that all volunteers are engaged in meaningful work throughout the course of each shift.
• Teach volunteers new skills related to the work of the kitchen.
• Ensure volunteers are communicated with respectfully and with appreciation.
• Develops and maintains positive working relationships with adult and youth volunteers; provides appropriate support, training, acknowledgement, and gratitude, every day and on every shift.
• Models Ceres' culture and values; maintains an atmosphere of non-judgement and respect for diverse value sets.
• Documents accurate volunteer attendance on shifts.
• Holds Adult volunteer circles regularly on each shift, so that volunteers understand the plan and flow of each shift.
• Maintains Positive Youth Development environment at all times, follows principles of youth development and Ceres' youth program standards.
• Facilitates youth curriculum circles and engages teen leaders in helping to manage tasks.
• Attends Youth Program staff meetings and trainings.
• Holds check-in conversations with teens modeling youth development best practices.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years of professional production cooking experience, preferably in the whole food arena.
• Active food handler’s certification (manager’s preferred).
• Ability to provide overall management to a fast-paced shift of staff and volunteers.
• Youth and volunteer management experience strongly preferred.
• Strong capacity for teaching kitchen skills.
• Ability to stay calm and keep a sense of humor in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to perform basic computer functions using Microsoft Office.
• Ability to work well in a team.
• Excellent communication skills; ability to communicate warmly and clearly.
• Demonstrates a good awareness of self and ability to self-assess.
• Ability and desire to be in a work environment that values working as a team, relationships and giving and receiving honest feedback.
• A commitment to Ceres Community Project mission and operating principles.

Physical Demands / Work Environment

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

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand in a kitchen; use hands and fingers to operate various kitchen utensils and equipment; talk and hear to communicate with coworkers.
• The job requires regular chopping, lifting, cooking, and sorting.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements to ensure food safety standards.
• Moderate lifting of up to 50 pounds, bending, stooping, and climbing a ladder is occasionally required.
• The work environment is primarily indoors with occasional loud noise in kitchen area (e.g., pots/pans banging, water running, multiple people talking at once, some music).
• Occasionally the employee is required to work out-of-doors representing Ceres at events.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

Ceres Community Project is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions at Ceres are made without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, marital & veteran status or any other status protected by laws or regulations.