This all-day bakery, café and Burmese restaurant opened in January 2022 in the heart of downtown Ojai, and is housed in an historic building on the site of the town’s first bakery. It’s an “everything place” that captures the spirit of Ojai’s farmers and artisans, and is a fun eclectic collaboration amongst friends and family—Zoe, Josh, Baker Kelsey Brito and Chef Saw Naing. Daytime features great coffee and tea from local purveyors, rustic breads and pastries, comforting egg dishes, fresh salads and seasonal sandwiches. Nighttime shifts into an energetic restaurant featuring Burmese fare, as a celebration of Saw’s heritage. Sommelier Emily Johnston curates a list of small production wines focused on grapes farmed in an ecologically-responsible way, alongside the team’s farmers’ market-driven classic cocktails and mocktails, and regional craft beers. Everything is crafted from beautiful ingredients, with the majority coming from within 50 miles, including Zoe and Josh’s 50/50 Farms and other farms focused on soil health. 

Job Description:

The bakery team is responsible for executing a wide range of products on their respective station(s) to Bakery Management’s standards and in accordance with provided station lists, timelines, and recipes. Bakers should have a fundamental knowledge of essential baking techniques, equipment, and methods. They should take pride in their craft, possess an eagerness to learn, and positively contribute to the overall atmosphere & spirit of The Dutchess. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

As a Baker, your job responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Be a team player. Contribute to a positive environment by working & communicating respectfully and professionally with all coworkers.
• Proactively communicate issues, challenges, unprofessional behavior, or concerns with the management team - We have an open door policy!
• Keep your work space & communal work spaces (walk ins, dry storage, flour storage, etc.) neat, clean, and organized and produce all components & products to health code.
• Maintain your person in accordance with health department standards and regulations including having clean short nails free of nail polish, proper attire, and having the proper hair restraints at all times.
• Execute all products with care and attention to detail according to your training and to the standard of the Restaurant. Follow the station lists, recipes & techniques, bake times & temperatures, and work efficiently with the allotted amount of time for each task. Communicate any issues or desired changes to workflow to the Management team for troubleshooting. All items on your station should be plated or trayed in the proper place for service by the designated time.
• Safely and properly operate all restaurant machines such as mixers, ovens, food processor, ice cream maker, blenders, slicers, sheeter and any other machines as needed. Safely and carefully handle and stow hot items. Let your manager know if you need training on how to properly operate, clean or stow any restaurant/kitchen machines before using them. Follow general kitchen safety regulations, notify a manager immediately if you are injured, if you witness any unsafe practices or hazardous conditions. Communicate any maintenance problems you encounter to your manager.
• Properly cool, wrap, label and store any products you make or use in accordance with Health Department standards. Ask your manager for further training if you are uncertain.

• Follow the company time and attendance policy, including clocking in/out for your shift and your break on time. Arrive for your scheduled shift on time and ready to work and adhere to parking and personal belonging storage rules. At the end of your shift, check out with your immediate manager.
• Follow company policy (as outlined in the handbook) when calling out or requesting time off.
• Leave the station properly set up for the next day’s production with all tools, recipe scaling, mise en place, and necessary product left in the designated places. Communicate any details about the status of your station to the other baker sharing that station via a note left for the handoff to the next day.
• Ensure no product is wasted, all product is rotated properly and used before it goes bad. Communicate any product shortages, surpluses, or issues with ingredients to your manager.
• Review and stay on top of all party/special event/catering menus and pars pertaining to your station. Ensure any and all catering is prepped in advance to the restaurant’s standard by the designated order time. Communicate any challenges related to parties or events/catering to your manager well in advance of the designated order time.
• Assist with training new employees by sharing knowledge and clearly conveying the correct procedures, workflow and skills to the new employee. Provide the new employee with all the resources available to the station. Convey any training difficulties or additional training needed to your manager.
• Complete weekly deep cleaning tasks according to your station list or your manager’s instruction.
• Communicate any surplus time to your manager so your station list can be adjusted or so that you may contribute to the overall bakery workload.

Requirements