Seasonal Kitchen Assistant (Sur La Table)

Position Overview

As a Seasonal Kitchen Assistant at Sur La Table, you play a key role in inspiring customers throughout every stage of their culinary experience. With a passion for cooking, hospitality, and teamwork, the Seasonal Kitchen Assistant supports the chefs to ensure smooth class operations and a #bestincenter experience, a company-wide standard for excellence in service. You’ll help bring culinary dreams to life by supporting our chefs, engaging with guests, and ensuring a clean, well-organized kitchen environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Represent Sur La Table’s brand and culture by creating memorable, educational experiences that inspire repeat visits and customer loyalty.
• Maintain expertise by staying current on products, actively engaging in available training, and independently seeking out additional resources.
• Ensure exceptional customer experience by leading a customer-focused, Guest Obsessed culture in both the kitchen and retail sales floor.
• Assist chefs with class execution that drives repeat visits and positive customer feedback.
• Deliver class revenue goals by ensuring high enrollment, positive reviews, and guest return rates.
• Consistently meet or exceed monthly sales goals, contributing to overall store revenue. Performance is measured by key KPIs such as individual sales volume, average transaction value, and customer conversion rates.
• Assist in setting up and breakdown of classes including organizing mise en place, prepping ingredients, and cleaning workstations.
• Clean and sanitize dishes and equipment promptly to ensure smooth kitchen operations.
• Assist with restocking, organizing, and maintaining kitchen supplies and tools to support overall store readiness.
• Ensure compliance with food safety standards, local health codes, and sanitation regulations.
• Properly handle all tools, ingredients, and kitchen equipment to maintain a safe and efficient work environment.
• Maintain accurate inventory levels, minimize shrink, and control supply and culinary expenses.
• May handle liquor, wine, and beer in compliance with state and location alcohol regulations, company policies, including enforcing age restrictions.
• Ensure store safety and cleanliness, addressing any maintenance needs promptly.
• Adhere to applicable wage and hour laws.
• Accurately records time worked according to SLT Policy.
• Model and ensure consistent adherence to all Sur La Table policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Physical Requirements

• Ability to communicate verbally and work cooperatively with associates and customers.
• Ability to remain standing for up to 4 hours at a time.
• Ability to move about the store directing class participants while selling to customers and retrieving merchandise from stockroom or sales floor.
• Capability to accurately perceive and differentiate variations in intensity or quality of flavors or odors, or to identify specific tastes or scents using the tongue or nose.
• Ability to grab, reach, push, pull, bend, stoop, kneel and crouch to demonstrate, retrieve and/or replenish merchandise and/or cooking equipment.
• Ability to use hands to seize, hold, grasp, turn, or otherwise to chop, whisk, slice, stir, juice and/or demonstrate other techniques.
• Ability to lift and/or move merchandise weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to ascend/descend ladders to retrieve and/or move merchandise.
• Ability to operate a computer, POS system, keyboards, merchandise scanners and mouse to accomplish work.
• Available to work between 12 and 16 hours per week, with a flexible schedule, including nights, weekends, and holidays. While this is the minimum availability, scheduled hours may differ based on business needs.
• Regular and predictable attendance with the flexibility to adjust class assignments based on demand.
• Ability to work in a variable kitchen environment included but not limited to open flames, hot surfaces, temperature variations, various food allergens both physical and airborne.

Qualifications & Experience

• Must be 16 years of age or older at the time of employment.
• 1 year retail sales experience, preferred.
• 1 year food prep and/or kitchen operations experience, preferred.
• Valid Food Handlers Certification.
• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Passion for community engagement and providing exceptional customer experiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and retail systems preferred.