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SalaryJob Title: Culinary & Front of House Associate
Job Type: 4-month Contract, Starting May 2023
# of Positions Available: 2
Company: Wild Lot Farm Distillery
Location: 1990 Fry Road, Picton, ON, K0K 2T0
Work Location: On Site (not remote)
Schedule: Weds through Sunday 12pm - 6pm (or 8pm on weekends). Long weekend Mondays.
Salary: $18-20/hour + tip out
About Wild Lot:
Wild Lot Farm Distillery is an exciting new venture set on 35 acres of farmland in beautiful Prince Edward County. Our state-of-the-art distillation facility is housed in a converted 1500 square foot metal barn sitting proudly beside a restored 2500 square foot 100 year old barn containing a retail shop, tasting room, and event space, formerly operating as a dairy farm. The facility also houses two health inspected kitchens (indoor prep & catering kitchen, outdoor grill & fryer kitchen). As the business enters its second summer, this culinary role will help improve and expand our already established on-site food program. This includes managing day to day food-service operations, inventory/procurement, superior customer service, and new product development. This is a Hybrid Role whereby the individual will gain experience with Front of House and retail activities when the kitchen is not busy.
Wild Lot has ambitious plans to craft one of Canada’s most innovative beverage companies. We like to think uncomfortably big and to do things wildly different. Our company is 100% LGBTQ+ founded and we embrace individuals from diverse backgrounds and identity factors including ethnicity, race, religion, age, disability, gender, geography, culture, income, sexual orientation, sex and language. We value ambition, leadership, grit, authenticity, bravery, and kindness.
The Role:
This individual will be expected to take leadership in building and perfecting Wild Lot’s culinary program in partnership with the founder & culinary lead including managing day to day operations of our outdoor food kitchen, assisting in planning and organizing special culinary events (brunches, catering events, off hour events), and commercializing packaged food products to be sold at the distillery’s retail shop (sandwich sauces, hot sauce, salsas, hummus, bar syrups/tonics, etc). This is a Hybrid Role whereby the individual will gain experience with Front of House and retail activities when the kitchen is not busy. You will be fully supported and mentored by one of our founders, a trained chef and culinary arts graduate from George Brown College. As a new start-up company, this individual must be comfortable with ambiguity, resourcefulness, speed and change.
Responsibilities:
Outdoor Kitchen Management (70%):
- Prepare and serve consistent and reliable meals and snacks to patrons, demonstrating excellent customer service skills.
- Oversee all food and ingredient preparation ahead of service.
- Practice safe food handling and food safety principles as it relates to ingredient handling, food preparation, food storage, food service, clean up, and wash down.
- Ensure all food ingredients and serving utensils are tracked, inventoried, and stored safety, efficiently, flagging any risks where appropriate (expiration dates, excess inventory, short stocks).
- Take orders through POS system and prioritize customer orders accordingly.
- Ensure the food service space is safe, clean, and accessible for customers at all times.
- Perform full clean and wash down of facilities as end of work day, disposing of or storing any remaining ingredients and food components appropriately.
- Ensure that all signage, pricing, menus, and customer touch points are accurate and up to date.
- Collaborating with management when there are staffing gaps and challenges that need to be addressed.
- Establish a fun food service culture amongst employees and customers that leads to high quality results memorable experiences.
- Complete daily food/stock inventory and form/manage relationships with local meat, produce, dairy and dry goods suppliers
Front of House / Taproom / Bar Service (20% - during off peak food service hours)
- Oversee all Front of House / retail store operations ensuring a welcoming, positive, and memorable beverage for all patrons.
- Pour cold drinks on draught, replace empty kegs, wash/rinse/put away glasses, refill shelves with clean glasses, wipe down bar-top and bar area.
- Refill take-away drinks fridge with fresh stock as required, front facing product where applicable.
- Ensure the taproom is clean, well kept, and regularly inspected to deliver the highest customer experience. Flagging issues to management team where action is required (full kegs, clean keg lines, POS system in working order, POS system stocked with receipt paper, bathrooms in working order and hygienic, etc.)
- Regularly inspect and clean up premises for empty glasses, garbage, and remains from guests who have left.
- Sweep / mop floors if required
- Regular inspections of washroom facilities when required.
- Ensure all retail products are well stocked and merchandised, communicating any out of stocks or demand fluctuations to management.
- Recommend areas to increase efficiency, improved product quality, streamline cost structure, and drive continuous improvement.
Innovation & New Product Development (10%)
- Collaborate with management on new menu innovation + menu improvements
- Development of packaged products to sell in retail store (i.e., condiments, spices, bar products, prepared meals, snack products etc.)
- Food grade commercialization of packaged products where required (i.e., batch producing, packaging, and pasteurizing at our licensed food grade facility)
- Make recommendations on improving efficiency, product quality, cost-structure, product offerings, process flow, etc.)
- Build out a culinary pipeline of ideas (i.e., farm to table events, private culinary events, catering, new packaged products, partnerships/collaborations, etc.)
Knowledge, Skills, and Experience Required:
Must Have:
- Degree or Diploma in Culinary Arts/Management from an accredited institution
(or working towards completion of program).
- Experience working as a cook, in the culinary industry, or in the hospitality industry required.
- Very comfortable working within a fast-paced, team oriented environment.
- Able to be on-site during taproom operating hours (Roughly Weds-Sun 12-8pm)
- An exceptional communicator who enjoys working with others and serving customers.
- A self-starter who is comfortable working in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment.
- Strong attention to detail and highly organized.
- Able to lead, motivate, and influence others to achieve positive results.
- Candidates must have the ability to work on their feet for the majority of their work day
- Ability to lift up to 25kg (50lbs)
Nice to Have:
- Previous experience working with a POS system an asset.
- Smart Serve Certified an asset.
- Safe Food Handling Certifications an asset but not required.
Job Types: Full-time, Temporary, Fixed term contract, Seasonal
Salary: $18.00-$20.00 per hour
Expected hours: 24 – 35 per week
Benefits:
- On-site parking
- Store discount
Day range:
- Holidays
- Monday to Friday
- Weekends as needed
Work Location: In person
Expected start date: 2024-05-01
