Food-Farm Program Coordinator

The Farm-Food Program Coordinator is a new position designed to significantly increase our ability to grow more of the food we serve at the Refuge, provide meaningful interpretation and interaction between guests and our gardens, create more value added products for the table and the farm stand, and increase our capacity in the kitchen to raise the bar on our food program.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Being the liaison between kitchen and farm staff in terms of planning what produce will be available when and replanting succession plantings of quick-growing crops; being responsible for harvesting the right quantities of fresh produce for the kitchen.
• In partnership with the Retreat Chef, sourcing local food to fit the menu and picking up from other farms as well as shopping in bulk from coops and wholesalers.
• Processing and preserving food from the gardens for later retreats, such as canning, pesto, sauces, drying herbs, freezing berries, etc.
• Preparing special offerings for sale to the public, making value added products like jams, etc. Helping with farm to table dinners.
• Taking a breakfast and lunch rotation along with Assistant Retreat Managers. Retreat Chef helps make sure breakfast and lunches are staged well to be efficient and quality control is at highest, but this shift is responsible for cooking, plating, arranging, labelling and helping to clear the meals.
• At all times be a friendly, informative, enthusiastic presence about our food program and the farm, and be willing to offer suggestions or take initiative to make things better in terms of presentation, delivery, quality, etc.

Experience needed:

The person who will thrive in this position is flexible, easy-going but willing to work hard and focus on a task, has great attention to detail and a positive attitude. Our guests at Knoll Farm come from all across the country and all kinds of backgrounds. Our intent is that everyone has the best experience possible and is embraced by our hospitality and genuine care, so also its important to enjoy people and be open-minded and tolerant. A sense of humor is always important!

Vegetarian and whole foods cooking experience is necessary, as well as solid skills in gardening and food preserving.