Lakeway Cooking Connection - Culinary Selling Specialist - Part time

Responsibilities

• Sales / Customer Service: Follows the customer service and hospitality model to connect with Customers, building a sense of community and driving loyalty
• Engages Customers by creating a hub of food experiences through knowledge of multiple ingredients, beverage recommendations, and cooking techniques to drive customer engagement and sales
• Welcomes / approaches Customers with the mindset of a host, catering to the needs of the Customer to ensure they feel welcomed, invited, and appreciated
• Offers advice for menu / meal planning; scales recipes in size and skill level depending on customer needs
• Conducts cooking method and recipe preparation demonstrations; executes food prep methods with high efficiency to maximize Customer interactions
• Offers engaging, consistent, and relevant culinary conversations on the microphone to attract Customers
• Suggests distinctive alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage pairings
• Develops and maintains relationships with Customers by recalling Customers' dietary needs / restrictions and wine preferences to tailor future visits
• Contributes culinary insights, food trends, local trends, and Customer insights to in-Store cooking events
• Affords assistance in Cooking classes, Wine education, and Dinner Series execution when applicable
• May conduct Connections floor demos
• Merchandising: Ensures A+ standards at the Connections kitchen including maintaining and cleaning fixtures, stocking conditions, plan-o-gram integrity, daily beginning, mid-day, and end-shift recovery, and perpetual inventory
• Affords assistance in building / maintaining merchandising displays; uses appropriate signs, tags, and branding for all events
• Affords assistance in ensuring Customer signage for the daily menu and daily sampling hours is updated and on display
• Affords assistance in ensuring backstock is worked
• Food Safety / Sanitation: Ensures compliance with federal, state, and H-E-B food safety regulations / standards
• Completes all required food safety and related trainings
• Maintains a professional, clean, healthy, and safe work environment
• Ensures proper equipment use; cleans and sanitizes the kitchen, equipment, and counter tops per the A+ Standards
• Operates under 5-S guidelines set by department leader
• Preps products for use in demonstrations, sampling, and production, using the mise-en-place method
• Uses proper personal protection equipment during operation of the department and during required tasks

Qualifications & Key Requirements

• Age Requirement: 21+
• Work Experience: 2+ years of experience related to food and cooking or experience in sales, product demonstrations, or cooking in a professional environment
• Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: Comprehensive knowledge of displayed products to guide customers in multiple uses
• Knowledge of or aptitude to learn H-E-B systems and processes (e.g., systems related to scheduling, recipe authoring, product ordering, display planning, MS Office, internal websites, H-E-B mobile apps)
• Advanced communication skills
• Strong customer service skills; passion for hospitality
• Merchandising skills
• Skills in basic cooking techniques (grill, sauté, roast, fry, etc.)
• Ability to read and interpret documents (e.g., safety rules, maintenance instructions, procedure manuals)
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and shift focus between projects
• Ability and willingness to work flexible hours
• Education: Degree in culinary arts, nutrition, home economics - Preferred
• Licenses/Certifications: Completion of / ability to complete H-E-B Wine selling certification or similar experience - Required
• Completion of / ability to complete TABC Certification - Required