Lead the camp kitchen, manage staff and menus, and deliver quality meals while creating a welcoming dining experience for campers.
Camp Description
Nestled in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Lake, Camp Oakes is a YMCA camp surrounded by towering pines and fresh mountain air. The camp provides a welcoming environment where guests, youth, and families can connect with nature, build community, and create lasting memories through outdoor experiences and adventure.
Job Description
This position is responsible for providing high quality food service for a significant number of guests within budgeted guidelines. Responsible for the purchase of food, menu design, meal preparation, use of proper food preparation procedures and management of the staff. Must meet applicable American Camp Association standards and county health regulations for food service. Reports to the Camp Executive Director and will be responsible for the food budget during the fiscal year. The Food Service Director must create an atmosphere where attending groups feel welcome and well taken care of through food presentation and exemplary service.
Qualifications
- A State of California Food Service Manager Certificate.
- Minimum 2 years of experience in food service, dealing with large group cafeteria and family-style service. Prefer 3 to 5 years.
- Candidate must have experience with menu development, product ordering, inventory management, portion control, raw product preparation, and staff scheduling.
- Candidate must be experienced with kitchen best practices and be able to train staff to these standards and adjust systems for maximum efficiency.
- Ability to create and follow multi-week menu cycles with updates and options depending on food costs, group size, tiered pricing and other circumstances.
- Must have, or be in the process of obtaining, Serve Safe Certification.
- Excellent customer service skills are a must.
- Must display a positive attitude towards customers and staff, willingness to help others and good communication skills.
- Able to work a flexible work schedule, adapting to the needs of YMCA programs. Weekend and evening work will be required at times.
- Knowledge of and experience in food preparation, cooking and serving food (valid food handler's card).
Essential Functions
- Ensure quality meals are served adequately and on schedule.
- Highly organized, detailed oriented with strong problem-solving skills.
- Ability to prioritize work load.
- Must have excellent customer service skills.
- Able to motivate subordinates and develop a team environment.
- Create and modify menus as needed.
- Ability to identify and respond to critical incidents and properly deal with emergency situation.
- Must be able to set up work schedule that will support the kitchen seven days per week.
- Plan, direct, and coordinate food prep. activities of cooks and workers engaged in food preparation, cooking, garnishing, and presentation of food.
- Coordinate planning, budgeting, and purchasing of all food operations.
- Recruit and hire staff, including cooks and other kitchen workers.
- Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow all standards and regulations.
- Analyze recipes to determine costs; estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
- Inspect supplies (quantity and quality), equipment, and work areas to ensure conformance to established standards; arrange for equipment purchases and repairs.
- Meet with sales representatives in order to negotiate prices and order supplies.
- Oversee the preparation of all types of meals on a regular basis and for special guests or functions.
- Collaborate with other personnel to plan and develop recipes and menus, considering such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients and the number of customers.
- Check the quality of raw and cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
- Manage the entire process; spot problems and address them quickly and efficiently.
- Delegate responsibilities and maximize the productivity of the entire operation.
- Other duties as assigned.
Cause-Driven Leadership Competencies
- Mission Advancement: Models and teaches the Y’s values. Ensures a high level of service with a commitment to changing lives. Provides volunteers with orientation, training, development, and recognition. Cultivates relationships to support fund-raising.
- Collaboration: Champions inclusion activities, strategies, and initiatives. Builds relationships to cream small communities. Empathetically listens and communicates for understanding when negotiating and dealing with conflict. Effectively tailors communications to the appropriate audience. Provides staff with feedback, coaching, guidance and support.
- Operational Effectiveness: Provides others frameworks for making decisions. Conducts prototypes to support the launching of programs and activities. Develops plans and manages best practices through engagement of team. Effectively creates and manages budgets. Holds staff accountable for high-quality results using formal process to measure progress.
- Personal Growth: Shares new insights. Facilitates change; models adaptability and an awareness of the impact of change. Utilizes non-threatening methods to address sensitive issues and inappropriate behavior or performance. Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills required to perform well; uses best practices and demonstrates up-to-date knowledge and skills in technology.