Retreat Chef – Medicine Kitchen

The Opportunity:

Inviting a Chef/Retreat Cook to support our kitchen team. You will work as part of the Medicine Kitchen team to deliver amazing food experiences across 42 Acres.  We have a strong Food Philosophy that follows the concept of Soil to Gut, local, seasonal and organic food grown on the farm and sourced locally. Home-grown and foraged ingredients are key to our menu and as part of your role you will spend time working alongside our gardening and foraging team. In this role you will develop an understanding of deeply nutritional, wholesome food and communicate our values and food philosophy to guests while they stay.  This role could be ideal for someone at the start of their career in food.  

About 42 Acres

42 Acres is a growing Regenerative Estate and Wellbeing Retreat.  Our accommodation, experiences and events all share one vision: to promote living in harmony with nature, self and others. Currently operating in the UK, we are home to a stunning farmhouse estate alongside an experimental, organic working farm in Somerset.  We have a clear philosophy, focused on  biodiversity, inner work, and collaboration, in service of human and planetary wellbeing.

It is a place where food is grown and foraged onsite, and its suppliers are almost exclusively local and ethical. With a strong philosophy to deliver unforgettable experiences for every guest, 42 Acres runs almost exclusively on renewable energy and much of the almost 200-acre setting is dedicated to nature restoration and wildlife.

How you would make an impact

This role is within the kitchen and guest-experience function of the operation.  Key accountabilities include:

1. Food preparation and production

• Work as part of the Medicine Kitchen team to deliver amazing food experiences ranging from fire cooking in our woodland kitchen to foraging experiences and working in the open kitchen in our beautiful farmhouse
• producing dishes to the highest standards
• supporting the team to ensure an optimal guest experience 
• engaging with the land and food teams to utilise all products within the food offering
• Share our food philosophy with guests
• Arrange ingredients and deliveries keeping the food and storage areas organised 
• Remove rubbish and waste each shift  maintaining the cleanliness of the kitchen as required

• Working as part of the kitchen team at events external to 42 Acres throughout the year; these may be in the form of a small team in our Food Trailer or as part of a larger offering at Festivals and Speciality Food Shows. 
• Ensuring all policies and procedures are adhered to
• Supporting with administrative duties as and when required

2.Design, Deliver, Develop

• supporting the creation of seasonal menus and new recipes, in line with our food philosophy
• ensuring consistent delivery of our seasonal menus to world-class standards
• ensuring all policies and procedures are adhered to for best practice and safety standards

3. Quality Standards

• Supporting the Head Chef & Sous Chef in sourcing food from aligned suppliers and markets, with the goal of only locally grown produce
• documenting all data in-line with our HACCP policy
• ensuring all policies and procedures are adhered to for best practice and safety standards
• maintaining hygiene safety standards at all times, through deep cleans and maintenance
• participating in training days and certification programmes, where required

4. Formal Training

• Food Hygiene Training
• Allergen Training

5. Guest Experience

42 Acres core vision centres around supporting others to connect to nature, themselves and each other. These beliefs are at the heart of the offering at 42 Acres – we weave together opportunities for  deepening connection and this is also  at the heart of our culture here.  

We encourage fluid working to foster these connections and support one another to deliver an unforgettable guest experience.  In reality this means you will at times be required to  support the production team, gardens team and  guest experience team with housekeeping, production, working retreats, whole self service activities, fire cooking events and other events that enable you to support the team, immerse yourself in 42 Acres and connect with nature!

• maintaining the highest standards of hospitality in the presence of all guests and visitors
• communicating and presenting our food philosophy to guests at every opportunity
• supporting the design and delivery of workshops and experiences around our food philosophy

About you (great to haves)

• professional culinary training, with Food Hygiene Level 2 certification (desirable)
• a minimum 1 years experience as a chef in a professional kitchen (desirable)
• a deep understanding of raw ingredients and alternative menus  (desirable)
• Interest in Soil to Gut philosophy, farming and ingredients (essential)
• Although we have a strong plant based focus mainly, we do cook with the well sourced meat and dairy produce and therefore we are looking for someone who is willing and able to cook with these ingredients (essential)
• Ability to work using recipes and pre-planned menu (essential)
• Knowledge or willingness to learn about catering for bespoke dietary requirements such as paleo, vegan, and gluten free (essential)
• Understanding of Health & Safety in the kitchen (essential)
• Ability to work with speed and efficiency with a high level of organisation (essential)
• Excellent time management, planning,and decision-making skills (essential)
• Proven problem-solving capabilities (essential)
• Experience in a similar role (essential)
• an excellent command of written and spoken English (essential)
• experience within a similar industry (desirable)
• clear confident and effective communicator (essential)
• agile and resilient – able to respond to changes in internal and external environment (essential)
• able to manage workload of competing priorities (essential)
• Strong sense of teamwork (essential)
• Strong communication and collaboration skills (essential) 
• Due to the nature of hospitality you must be able to work Monday – Sunday according to team rotas (essential)

What we offer

• Regular  team lunches  and full team gatherings
• Access to 173 Acres of land including lake, forest and woodland sauna
• Staff fridge, regularly stocked with beautiful produce from our biodynamic gardens
• Access to personal development and training fund and opportunity to work with an experienced and passionate team
• Opportunity to attend retreats and 42 Acres hosted events
• Contact with the industry’s leading practitioners, facilitators, and thought leaders
• Free weekly Yoga
• Discounted on-site massage
• Healthcare Cash Plan scheme
• ‘My Wellness’ Employee Assistance Programme including counselling support, GP helpline and health & lifestyle analysis
• Opportunity to learn about sustainable food, farming, foraging and improving your wellbeing
• Discounted accommodation and food produce

Application Process: