Chef / Culinary Services Lead
Position: Chef / Culinary Services Lead
Location: Gorman / Lake Hughes, California
Setting: Residential Behavioral Health / Substance Use Disorder Treatment Property
Employment Type: Full-Time / Part-Time / Contract
Schedule: Monday-Friday Time: TBD
Compensation: $70,000-$80,000 annual salary
Reports To: Program Director / Operations Director
About the Role
We are seeking a reliable, experienced, and service-oriented Chef / Culinary Services Lead to oversee meal preparation and kitchen operations at our Gorman / Lake Hughes residential property.
This role is ideal for someone who takes pride in preparing nutritious, high-quality meals and understands the importance of consistency, cleanliness, and professionalism in a structured residential care environment.
The Chef will be responsible for planning, preparing, and serving balanced meals for residents and staff while maintaining a clean, organized, and compliant kitchen. The right candidate will be dependable, calm under pressure, respectful of client privacy, and comfortable working in a mission-driven behavioral health setting.
Key Responsibilities
- Prepare daily meals and snacks for residents in accordance with the property meal schedule.
- Develop rotating menus that are nutritious, practical, cost-conscious, and appropriate for a residential treatment environment.
- Accommodate common dietary needs, including:
- Allergies
- Vegetarian preferences
- Diabetic-friendly meals
- Low-sodium options
- Gluten-sensitive meals
- Other clinically or medically indicated dietary restrictions as directed.
- Maintain a clean, sanitary, and well-organized kitchen at all times.
- Follow proper food safety procedures, including:
- Food storage
- Labeling
- Temperature control
- Cross-contamination prevention
- Cleaning schedules
- Safe food handling practices
- Manage kitchen inventory, grocery ordering, receiving, stocking, and portion control.
- Monitor food quality, freshness, waste, and kitchen supply needs.
- Coordinate with leadership regarding menus, resident counts, dietary restrictions, budget, vendor orders, and special events.
- Maintain professionalism and appropriate boundaries with residents in a behavioral health treatment setting.
- Support a calm, respectful, and recovery-oriented environment through consistency, reliability, and care in meal service.
- Ensure the kitchen and dining areas are prepared, clean, and reset after meals.
- Follow all company policies related to confidentiality, safety, professionalism, and workplace conduct.
QualificationsRequired
- Prior experience as a chef, cook, kitchen manager, culinary lead, or similar food service role.
- Current California Food Handler Card required.
- Strong knowledge of kitchen sanitation, safe food handling, and basic nutrition.
- Ability to prepare meals for groups consistently and efficiently.
- Ability to follow menus, recipes, dietary instructions, and budget guidelines.
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Comfortable working independently in a structured residential environment.
- Professional, dependable, respectful, and emotionally mature.
- Ability to pass applicable background checks and meet facility employment requirements.
- Ability to lift, carry, bend, stand for extended periods, and perform routine kitchen duties.
Preferred
- Experience in residential treatment, healthcare, hospitality, retreat centers, senior living, school food service, sober living, or institutional food service.
- ServSafe Certification.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate understands that food is an important part of healing, structure, and stability in a residential care environment.
We are looking for someone who is not only skilled in the kitchen, but also dependable, discreet, and able to contribute positively to a therapeutic setting.
You should be comfortable working around individuals receiving behavioral health or substance use disorder treatment and should maintain appropriate boundaries, confidentiality, and professionalism at all times.
Work Environment
This position is based onsite at a residential property in the Gorman / Lake Hughes area.
The environment is structured, team-oriented, and focused on supporting residents in a safe and respectful setting. The Chef will work closely with operations and program leadership to ensure meal service is consistent, sanitary, and aligned with resident needs.
Benefits
Benefits may include:
- Health, dental, and vision insurance, with 50% of employee health insurance premiums covered by the company following successful completion of the applicable probationary period, subject to plan eligibility and company policy.
- Paid holidays.
- Five (5) paid sick days per year, in accordance with applicable company policy and California law.
- Paid Time Off (PTO) accrued at a rate of 0.03 hours for every hour worked.
- Meal privileges while on shift.
- Consistent schedule.
- Opportunities for growth as the program expands.
- Supportive, mission-driven work environment.
Equal Opportunity Employer
We are an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or any other protected status under applicable law.
Pay: $70,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Food provided
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
