Kitchen Manager

The Kitchen Manager (KM) holds primary accountability for all aspects of food service at Spirit Rock including the residential retreat center as well as our Community Meditation Center (CMC), special events and catered meetings. The KM supervises all kitchen staff including the Assistant Kitchen Manager (AKM) and Cooks. This role supervises the day-to-day operations of the kitchen while the AKM handles all of the supplies and food purchases.

The KM is responsible for personnel management, menu planning, recipe development and quality control of all food served by the Spirit Rock kitchen.

The KM fulfills all administrative needs of the kitchen including budget forecasting and expense management. The KM functions as liaison between the kitchen staff and all other departments of Spirit Rock, keeping the mission and values of the organization in mind. The KM is responsible for adapting and innovating the systems of the kitchen to meet the growing food service needs of Spirit Rock including future plans that call for a two-retreat center campus and the design and construction of a new kitchen and dining hall.

Direct Reports:
Assistant Kitchen Manager (1), Cooks (6) and Extra Hire Cooks (2-4)

• Creates, updates and drives timelines for project plans related to campus wide food requirements.
• Collaborates with and supervises the AKM through weekly meetings and ongoing check-ins regarding food purchases, team needs, planning, and problem-solving.
• Develop the annual kitchen budget. Reviews and analyzes expense variances on a monthly basis.

• Communicates with retreat teachers, staff and administration around scheduling needs and other concerns related to residential retreats; troubleshoots and resolves problems.
• Communicates with retreatants to plan for special needs and dietary restrictions, prior to and throughout retreat; transmits relevant information to kitchen and Spirit Rock staff.
• Interfaces with retreat operations staff, teachers, and facilities staff to ensure smooth operations in the kitchen.

Expand and operationalize the culinary needs for Spirit Rock as we move towards our vision for a new dining hall and kitchen including:

• Consulting on the design/build of a new kitchen and dining hall bringing knowledge of efficiency in layout and equipment needs.
• Further refinement and implementation of CMC food-service/catering within the current kitchen structures.

• Oversees administrative aspects of recruiting and hiring all kitchen staff with support from the Department of People and Culture.
• Develops ongoing training protocols and ensures safe food-handling for kitchen staff; reviews/refines as needed.
• Conducts annual performance evaluations for all direct reports.
• Available to all kitchen staff for support, guidance, and coaching on interpersonal communication skills; mediates staff disputes as needed.
• Reviews and submits kitchen staff timesheets to payroll, ensuring accuracy of time logged and categorization of work hours.

• Ensures the overall quality of meals prepared by Cooks.
• Designs cost-appropriate vegetarian menus for retreats, special events, and meetings using nourishing, balanced whole foods.
• Creates and updates daily prep lists and task lists for kitchen staff.
• Develops new recipes and updates database by utilizing cookbook-management software and staying abreast of food trends. Adds relevant information to the database to support the workflow of team members.
• Works in on-going collaboration with other Managers in Retreat Operations and Facilities to ensure smooth program operations.
• Teams with the Development Department on food elements for all fund-raising programs including the bi-annual donor residential retreat and CMC donor recognition events.
• Partners with Facilities Manager on an ongoing basis to ensure cleanliness standards and equipment maintenance are met.
• collaborates with marketing staff to profile recipes for monthly newsletters and other promotional materials.
• Collaborates with marketing and external publishers on the…