Head Chef

Thistle Farms; Richland (TN); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous PTO

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Short Term Disability

Life Insurance

401k with 4% match

Job summary

Thistle Farms seeks a Head Chef for The Café at Thistle Farms, merging culinary leadership with mission-driven community work while guiding cafe service, catering, events, and afternoon tea. You will mentor a team that includes women in recovery and help maintain a kitchen culture rooted in dignity and growth.

Reporting to the General Manager, you will craft menus, manage costs, ensure food safety, and partner with local suppliers to support local artisans.

Qualifications

• Culinary training or certification required.
• 3+ years as restaurant or banquet chef.
• ServSafe certification required.
• Experience in nonprofit, social enterprise, or mission-driven environments preferred.
• 3+ years of menu development, food costing, food safety leadership, and inventory management.

Responsibilities

• Oversees all food and beverage production for Café service, catering, events, and special programs (including afternoon tea).
• Provides supervision and daily oversight for back-of-house staff including hiring, training, performance management, and scheduling.
• Maintains quality, presentation, and execution across offerings.
• Leads kitchen operations including prep, service flow, and cleanliness.
• Trains and coaches team on kitchen skills, food safety, and professional standards.
• Develops menus with General Manager reflecting seasonality and brand alignment.
• Manages food and beverage inventory, ordering, and vendor relationships.
• Contributes to budgeting and financial reporting related to food and beverage operations.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Menu development

Food safety leadership

Inventory management

Staff training

Budgeting

Education

Culinary training or certification

Job description

Thistle Farms is a nonprofit justice enterprise dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction. We do this by providing a safe place to live, meaningful jobs, and a lifelong sisterhood of support.

The Head Chef at The Café at Thistle Farms is more than a traditional kitchen or food preparation role. This role combines culinary leadership and operational excellence with a commitment to provide culinary training and workforce development to our community.

The Head Chef is responsible for leading the creation, execution, and continuous improvement of all food and beverage offerings at the Café at Thistle Farms, including daily Café service, catering, events, and afternoon tea. Reporting to the General Manager, this role ensures that all offerings reflect high standards of quality, consistency, and care while aligning with the mission and values of Thistle Farms.

This role is ideal for a trained chef or experienced food and beverage professional who is passionate about both craft and community. The Head Chef plays a key role in training and developing a team largely made up of individuals in recovery, creating a kitchen culture that is structured, supportive, and rooted in dignity, skill-building, and growth.

Job Responsibilities

Position Responsibilities

• Oversees all food and beverage production for Café service, catering, events, and special programs (including afternoon tea).
• Provides immediate supervision and daily oversight for the back-of-house staff to include hiring, training, performance management, and scheduling.
• Ensures consistent quality, presentation, and execution across all offerings.
• Maintains clear recipes, prep standards, and systems to support consistency and scalability.
• Leads daily kitchen operations, including prep, service flow, and cleanliness.
• Trains and coaches team members on kitchen skills, food safety, and professional standards.
• Creates a structured, supportive learning environment that builds confidence and transferable skills.
• Adapts training approaches to meet individual learning styles and needs.
• Models consistency, patience, and accountability in a trauma-informed environment.
• Develops and evolves menus in partnership with the General Manager to reflect seasonality, customer preferences, and brand alignment.
• Balances creativity with operational feasibility and expense management.
• Ensures offerings are fresh, approachable, and reflective of the Café’s role as a welcoming community space.
• Supports the creation and development of catering and event menus that drive revenue and enhance guest experiences.
• Manages food and beverage inventory, ordering, and vendor relationships.
• Monitors and controls food costs, waste, and portioning.
• Contributes to budgeting and financial reporting related to food and beverage operations.
• Identifies opportunities to improve margins while maintaining quality.
• Compliance + Safety
• Ensures full compliance with all food safety, sanitation, and health regulations.
• Maintains a clean, organized, and safe kitchen environment.
• Ensures all team members are trained and adhering to safety standards.
• Collaboration + Community Engagement
• Partners with the General Manager and broader team on Café strategy, programming, and events.
• Collaborates with local suppliers and community partners to source ingredients and support local artisans, when possible.

Additional Responsibilities

• Supports the Café’s role as a “third place” by contributing to a warm, welcoming, and mission-aligned experience.
• Models core values, policies and operational procedures for team members.
• Completes required training, as assigned.
• Attends meetings, as assigned.
• Performs other duties, as assigned.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

Position requires culinary training or certification, 3+ years of professional experience as a restaurant or banquet chef, and ServSafe certification. Experience working in nonprofit, social enterprise, or mission-driven environments strongly preferred. Requires 3+ years of experience with menu development, food costing, food safety leadership, and inventory management.

Physical Requirements

• Performing the duties of this position requires regular standing, bending, stooping, twisting; lifting up to 25 lbs., the ability to move throughout facilities, including moving up and down stairs; the ability to hear, speak, write and type.
• Performing the duties of this position requires the ability to stand for extended periods, complete repetitive movements using fine and gross motor skills. Performing the duties of this position requires the ability to work with kitchen equipment, including hot and cold environments.

Skill Competencies

• Demonstrate a strong understanding of kitchen operations, food safety, and service standards.
• Demonstrates the ability to train and develop team members with varying levels of experience.
• Demonstrates strong organizational and time management skills.
• Demonstrates the ability to work in a fast-paced environment while maintaining attention to detail.
• Demonstrates excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Demonstrates an awareness and understanding of trauma-informed care (or willingness to learn).
• Demonstrates patience, adaptability and a steady, supportive leadership style.
• Demonstrates a commitment to the mission and core values of Thistle Farms.

Additional Information

Thistle Farms believes that a balance between work and nonwork activities is essential tomaintainquality performance and a positive work culture. To support this philosophy and our CoreValue“LeadwithLoveforSelfandOthers,”ThistleFarmshasdesignedagenerouspaid time off (PTO) plan that incorporates vacation and sick leave into one accrual. In addition to generous paid time off, Thistle Farms benefits package includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability, and Life insurance in addition to 401k with a 4% employer match.