Seasonal Kitchen Assistant

HILLDALE SHOPPING CENTER; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 20,664 - 27,552; Part time

Job summary

HILLDALE SHOPPING CENTER is seeking a Seasonal Kitchen Assistant to inspire customers during culinary classes. You will support chefs in operations and create memorable experiences while ensuring a clean kitchen environment. Ideal candidates will have retail sales and food preparation experience, excellent communication skills, and a passion for customer service. The position requires availability of 12 to 16 hours per week, including nights and weekends, adhering to food safety standards.

Qualifications

• Must be 16 years or older at time of employment.
• Preferred 1 year of retail sales experience.
• Preferred 1 year of food prep or kitchen operations experience.

Responsibilities

• Assist chefs with class execution and customer experience.
• Ensure compliance with food safety standards.
• Maintain cleanliness and organization of the kitchen.

Skills

Customer experience

Retail sales

Food preparation

Communication

Problem-solving

Education

At least 16 years of age

1 year retail sales experience

1 year food prep or kitchen operations experience

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Retail systems

Job description

As a Seasonal Kitchen Assistant at Sur La Table, you play a key role in inspiring customers throughout every stage of their culinary experience. With a passion for cooking, hospitality, and teamwork, the Seasonal Kitchen Assistant supports the chefs to ensure smooth class operations and a bestincenter experience, a company-wide standard for excellence in service. You’ll help bring culinary dreams to life by supporting our chefs, engaging with guests, and ensuring a clean, well‑organized kitchen environment.

Key Responsibilities

Customer Experience & Brand Representation

• Represent Sur La Table’s brand and culture by creating memorable, educational experiences that inspire repeat visits and customer loyalty.
• Maintains expertise by staying current on products, actively engaging in available training, and independently seeking out additional resources.
• Ensure exceptional customer experience by leading a customer‑focused, Guest Obsessed culture in both the kitchen and retail sales floor.

Sales & Business Performance

• Assist chefs with class execution that drives repeat visits and positive customer feedback
• Deliver class revenue goals by ensuring high enrollment, positive reviews, and guest return rates.
• Consistently meet or exceed monthly sales goals, contributing to overall store revenue. Performance is measured by key KPIs such as individual sales volume, average transaction value, and customer conversion rates.

Team Engagement & Store Support

• Assist in setting up and breakdown of classes including organizing mise en place, prepping ingredients, and cleaning workstations
• Clean and sanitize dishes and equipment promptly to ensure smooth kitchen operations.
• Assist with restocking, organizing, and maintaining kitchen supplies and tools to support overall store readiness

Operations & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with food safety standards, local health codes, and sanitation regulations.
• Properly handle all tools, ingredients, and kitchen equipment to maintain a safe and efficient work environment.
• Maintain accurate inventory levels, minimize shrink, and control supply and culinary expenses.
• May handle liquor, wine, and beer in compliance with state and location alcohol regulations, company policies, including enforcing age restrictions.
• Ensure store safety and cleanliness, addressing any maintenance needs promptly.
• Adhere to applicable wage and hour laws. Accurately records time worked according to SLT Policy.
• Model and ensure consistent adherence to all Sur La Table policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Physical Requirements

• Ability to communicate verbally and work cooperatively with associates and customers
• Ability to remain standing for up to 4 hours at a time
• Ability to move about the store directing class participants while selling to customers and retrieving merchandise from stockroom or sales floor
• The capability to accurately perceive and differentiate variations in intensity or quality of flavors or odors, or to identify specific tastes or scents using the tongue or nose.
• Ability to grab, reach, push, pull, bend, stoop, kneel and crouch to demonstrate, retrieve and/or replenish merchandise and/or cooking equipment.
• Ability to use hands to seize, hold, grasp, turn, or otherwise to chop, whisk, slice, stir, juice and/or demonstrate other techniques.
• Ability to lift and/or move merchandise weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to ascend/descend ladders to retrieve and/or move merchandise
• Ability to operate a computer, POS system, keyboards, merchandise scanners and mouse to accomplish work
• Available to work between 12 and 16 hours per week, with a flexible schedule, including nights, weekends, and holidays. While this is the minimum availability, scheduled hours may differ based on business needs.
• Regular and predictable attendance with the flexibility to adjust class assignments based on demand.
• Ability to work in a variable kitchen environment included but not limited to open flames, hot surfaces, temperature variations, various food allergens both physical and airborne

Qualifications & Experience

• Must be 16 years of age or older at the time of employment.
• 1 year retail sales experience, preferred
• 1 year food prep and/or kitchen operations experience, preferred
• Excellent communication, problem‑solving, and decision‑making abilities.
• Passion for community engagement and providing exceptional customer experiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and retail systems preferred.

This job description represents a summary of the job, not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, and duties. Responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the jobholder might differ from those outlined in the job description and other duties, as assigned, may be part of the job. This job description is not an employment agreement or contract. Sur La Table has the exclusive right to alter this job description at any time without notice.