Lunch and Dinner Cook

CoolWorks.com - Jobs in Great Places; Red Feather Lakes (CO); On-site; USD 25,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site housing

Three meals a day

Tips

Job summary

Sundance Trail Ranch in Red Feather Lakes, CO, is seeking a cook to run lunch and dinner daily for up to 24 guests plus crew. The role is hands-on, with the kitchen owned by you, and service to be prepared and sent on time with care.

You’ll work mostly solo, with on-site housing and three meals a day provided. The job offers competitive hourly pay ($18–$24) plus tips and the chance to cook at altitude in a rugged, scenic setting near Roosevelt National Forest.

Qualifications

• Experience running lunch and dinner services in a ranch or casual setting.
• Ability to work independently and manage a kitchen daily.
• Familiarity with safety and sanitation standards.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, cook, and send lunch and dinner daily for up to 24 guests and crew.
• Maintain cleanliness and organization of the kitchen and pass.
• Own the kitchen operations with minimal supervision.
• Ensure meals are served on time, at proper temperature, and with attention to quality.

Skills

Kitchen management

Food preparation

Timing under pressure

Sanitation & safety

Job description

Twenty-four guests. Three services a day. A kitchen that's yours to run.

Sundance Trail Ranch is a small guest ranch in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado — 138 acres at 8,000 feet, backing onto roughly 800,000 acres of Roosevelt National Forest. Forty-five minutes from Fort Collins, far enough that the sky gets properly dark at night. We cap at 24 guests, which means the people you cook for aren't tickets on a rail. You'll learn their names, hear how the trail ride went, and watch them come back for a second helping. It also means there's nowhere to hide. The kitchen has to be right, every service.

We're looking for a cook who can run lunch and dinner daily, mostly on their own.

THE ROLE

This isn't a prep job and it isn't a training job. Head Chef Christopher sets the menus and the standard. You execute two services a day and get food out on time, at temperature, looking like someone cared.

Christopher came to us after a run as Executive Chef at Gateway Canyons Resort, managed a working ranch kitchen in West Texas, and spent years as road chef for Michael Martin Murphey. He knows what good looks like at altitude and on a schedule, and you'll learn from him — but you won't need him standing over you.

What the job actually is:

• Prepare, cook, and send lunch and dinner daily for up to 24 guests plus crew

• Family-style service in the dining room

• Simple ranch cooking done properly. Roasts, stews, sides, fresh bread, something warm at the end. The quality comes from care and timing, not complexity

• The kitchen is yours to own — cleanliness, order, efficiency, and the standard of what leaves the pass. Nobody comes in behind you to fix it

• Reports to Head Chef Christopher

WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

You can run a service on your own. Prep, cook, send, reset. You know the rhythm and you hold it without being reminded. Nobody is going to plate up beside you at 5pm.

Simple food, done right. Right temperature, right portion, right time. The plate is the first thing a guest judges and the last thing they forget.

You own the kitchen. Clean as you go. Everything back where it belongs. Walk-in organized.

Pressure without drama. You handle the heat without making the rest of the crew feel it.

You like a small team. Close quarters, shared meals, real relationships. You'll know the people you're feeding and the people you're working beside.

THIS PROBABLY ISN'T FOR YOU IF

• You need someone checking your work

• You want a big brigade and a narrow station

• Remote living, weather, and altitude sound like problems rather than the point

WHAT WE PROVIDE

• $18-$24 per hour depending on experience, plus tips. The top of that range is for cooks who can run service unsupervised from week one

• On-site housing, provided

• Three meals a day, included

• Roosevelt National Forest out the back door on your days off. Trails, lakes, and the kind of quiet most people drive a long way for

Start date: ASAP