Program Chef

Description

OUR CORE PURPOSE:

As an expression of God’s love in Southwest Florida, we are growing to ensure that no one experiencing hunger, homelessness or addiction is alone or without a pathway for their journey from crisis to contributor. Together with our partners and participants, we cultivate communities where people are progressively seen, accepted, challenged, and supported.  

GENERAL SUMMARY:

The Program Chef will serve as a manager responsible for overseeing all food production operations and execution at the St. Matthew’s House Immokalee Friendship House Shelter kitchen. This role includes supervising kitchen staff, coaching program residents and volunteers, preparing and serving meals, coordinating ordering and menu planning, and managing cleanup after meal services. As an experienced leader, the Program Chef will actively engage in cooking, teaching, and coaching, while continuously seeking ways to improve operations. Responsibilities also include but not limited to adhering to safe food handling standards, implementing new policies as needed, and ensuring excellence in meal organization and production. The Program Chef will be involved in holiday meal planning and execution, ongoing interactions with the Program Chef Manager, and managing in-house events, outreach meals, and partner organization needs. The role also involves participating in large functions and events within the St. Matthew’s culinary department and providing support at other locations within the organization when needed, under the direction of the Executive Chef and Program Chef Manager.

This position, like most hospitality positions, comes with the expectation of a 40–50-hour work week minimum – and may include evenings, weekends, and holidays as scheduled. 

ESSENTIAL LEADERSHIP FUNCTIONS

• Lead by example with a joyful attitude, demonstrating excellent organizational skills.
• Exhibit superb meal planning abilities, creativity, and effective stewardship of resources and food products.
• Identify and delegate duties to team members with varying skill levels to ensure objectives are met and excellent service is provided.
• Monitor outreach drop-offs and on-site services to ensure proper execution.
• Maintain high standards of food handling and processes, upholding the quality and charity of all operations.
• Interact effectively with the Department of Health, Fire Inspectors and any other official.
• Provide coaching and feedback to staff while assessing performance.
• Set up and stock stations with necessary supplies and prepare food for service, including chopping vegetables, meats, and sauces, and cooking menu items.
• Be familiar with food products, including types, names, and ingredients, to meet the needs of clients and guests.
• Communicate St. Matthews House’s mission and values, providing exceptional customer service.
• Assist with the cleaning, sanitation, and organization of equipment and dining areas, ensuring overall cleanliness.
• Perform additional responsibilities as requested by the Director of Hospitality, Executive Chef, Program Chef Manager, Shelter Director or Catering Manager.
• Strive to embody the organization’s core values: being helpful, healing, excellent, and God-honoring.
• Consistently review mission and meal operations to identify problems, concerns, and opportunities for improvement.
• Be willing to travel to different locations within the organization to assist with food production needs.
• Be available for major events and culinary demands for the Delicious by Design catering company.
• Coordinate with Harvest Run Drivers to maintain food procurement, safety rotation and delivery.
• Communication with other departments to ensure the operations standards.

Requirements

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

Experience: 4-years of kitchen management experience in a multi-level operation required food service experience to include menu planning, ordering and scheduling

Confidentiality: Works with confidential information 

Requirements:  Maintain a valid Florida Driver’s License 

Serve Safe Manager Certification (or gain soon after acceptance)

Mental/Visual Demands: Flow of work requires normal mental and visual capabilities.

Physical Demand: The employee is required to handle, feel and/or reach with hands 

and arms, squatting, bending, and constantly moving on a regular 

basis. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. 

Working Conditions: Working in different weather conditions outside is to be expected.

Must be willing to occasionally work non-standard work schedule 

including nights, weekends, holidays and other unusual hours due to business needs.

Skills/Aptitudes:  Professional communication skills are required and adept at 

and work calmly and effectively under pressure. Microsoft suite of 

programs. Ability to lead a team, problem solve, willingness and 

adaptability for changing responsibilities