Culinary Associate II

The John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, WI) offers a unique culinary role with predictable daytime hours, minimal evening shifts, and closures on most holidays, providing real work-life balance in a creative and supportive kitchen environment.

About the Role

The Culinary Associate II will provide patrons with a positive, memorable experience while they view galleries, learn about artists, shop, and enjoy food and beverages. This role involves working directly in the Café kitchen, prepping and preparing lunch for patrons and staff members. The successful candidate will have broad kitchen experience and will work within the Café and Culinary Art Car, occasionally overseeing Café management when working alone.

Work Hours: Full-time daytime hours Monday – Friday, with occasional weekends to meet staffing or event needs. This position may require commuting between locations.

Responsibilities

• Assist with operations and food preparation within the Café, Café Catering, and Culinary Art Car for daily service and events.
• Maintain the highest standards of sanitation and kitchen safety, ensuring all equipment is in proper working order.
• Ensure all food served meets quality standards by inspecting taste, temperature, and visual appeal.
• Assist with menu planning and recipe development for all outlets, including catering and the Culinary Art Car.
• Place weekly orders through food and beverage purveyors.
• Develop innovative menu items with consideration to cost and inventory control.
• Conduct monthly inventory checks to ensure proper storage and rotation of stock.
• Provide clear direction to staff responsible for food production by creating prep lists.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

• Creative, energetic, and innovative.
• Strong commitment to teamwork.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Knowledge of dietary restrictions.
• Proactive self-starter.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, and Excel.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED.
• Two years’ experience in the culinary field (preferred).
• Two years’ experience in customer service.
• Valid Driver’s License required.
• Must obtain/maintain a WI bartender’s license.
• Must obtain/maintain ServSafe Certification.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those required to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities.

• Occasionally sit; continuously use hands to finger, handle, or touch objects; and talk or hear.
• Continuously stand, walk, climb, or balance, and use the sense of smell.
• Lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Able to read and interpret documents, write routine correspondence, and speak effectively with others.
• Able to perform basic arithmetic operations using whole numbers.
• Able to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed written or oral instructions.
• Able to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standard situations.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

• Primarily café/retail/art gallery-based with a usually moderate noise level.
• May occasionally work outside at events where the noise level could be moderate to loud.