Kitchen Prep - Merchant | RNO HOSPITALITY

Job Description:

Kitchen Prep - Merchant - Madison, WI

Merchant, located at 121 S. Pinckney St. in Madison, WI, is seeking an elite crew of prep cooks to join our team.

Rule No. One Hospitality Group opened Merchant in late 2010 as a café, a shop, and a late night craft cocktail bar specializing in no-nonsense, modestly priced, seasonal fare that reflects the ingredients and burgeoning culture of Madison, Wisconsin. Here we celebrate our neighborhood, the First Settlement District, steeped in history, quality, authenticity, style, and entertainment. The idea has flourished as Merchant has become a Madison institution and a stage for showcasing some of the best bartending and culinary talent in the city with a distinctive menu steeped in the classic American repertoire. Now, in 2022, we are rebuilding and reimagining Merchant for the new decade with a state-of-the-art renovation featuring aviation-style windows, new finishes and wraparound seating. This will be an opportunity to rebuild not only with new decor and menu, but a culture that celebrates our hospitality group's mission to create spaces for treating each other and ourselves well. You will be working with a chef team led by some of Madison's top talent, including Chef Matt Schieble who has spent time in multiple Michelin-starred kitchens and General Manager Maggie Roovers, a 2019 James Beard Award semi-finalist.

The Prep Cook position is the engine behind the scenes in the restaurant providing critical operational support for the kitchen team, with an orientation to the guest and our mission. Responsibilities include:

Complete opening and closing checklists.
Refer to the Daily Prep List at the start of each shift for assigned duties.
Prepares a variety of meats, seafood, poultry, vegetables and other food items for cooking in broilers, ovens, grills, fryers and a variety of other kitchen equipment.
Understands and complies consistently with our standard portion sizes, cooking methods, quality standards and kitchen rules, policies and procedures.
Portions food products prior to cooking according to standard portion sizes and recipe specifications.
Maintains a clean and sanitary work station area including tables, shelves, walls, grills, broilers, fryers, pasta cookers, sauté burners, convection oven, flat top range and refrigeration equipment.
Closes the kitchen properly and follows the closing checklist for kitchen stations. Assists others in closing the kitchen.
Attends all scheduled employee meetings and brings suggestions for improvement.
Promptly reports equipment and food quality problems to the Executive Chef.
Inform the Executive Chef immediately of product shortages.
Uses our Standard Recipe Card for preparing all products. Do not rely on the memory of yourself or other employees.
Performs other related duties as assigned by the Kitchen Manager or manager-on-duty.

Reporting:

The role will report directly to the Line Cooks, Sous Chef, Executive Sous Chef, and the Executive Chef of Merchant.

Benefits:

Competitive wages
A flexible and predictable schedule that is posted two weeks in advance
50% dining discount for you and your friends and family
A free and healthy GF Vegetarian or Regular staff meal
50% off all food and beverage, 15% off retail items
Access to Merchant's online classroom with training materials, recipes, and checklists. After full orientation, we offer weekly paid training opportunities to taste wine, spirits and food with industry experts
Our mission is centered around treating each other and ourselves well through our love of food, drink, and community.
Sustainability must be possible and attainable in our industry!
All employees are offered health, dental and vision insurance
Paid time off
401k contribution
The chance to work in a brand new clean facility with state of the art new equipment
The chance to contribute to one of the most dynamic restaurant groups in the region

Our ideal Prep Cook has the following attributes:

Has 1+ years of cooking experience in a professional kitchen
Calm, confident, and focused
Able to thrive in a team environment as a reliable and trustworthy player.
Awareness and communication are key. Be vocal and communicative, communicating to managers and the kitchen team.
Be impeccably clean, neat and tidy in their personal appearance and also in their working habits. Must adhere to the uniform policy outlined upon hire
Also maintain the highest standards of hygiene in their workplace. Sanitation is a vital aspect of working in the kitchen, equal to the ability to prep and cook.
Self motivated and respectful. Respect across the kitchen team, FOH and bar, with caring for not only the employees but also the food and the process.
Embody the organizational mission and caring, inclusive, and authentic values in terms of who we are and what we believe (outlined below).
Hustle. Moving faster on your feet makes everything get done quicker. If everything gets done quicker than you are ahead and can have more fun.
Learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Prep Cooks are future Line Cooks. The kitchen team will work and teach you about products, recipes, and cooking techniques.

Our Values:

Inclusivity. We will establish a culturally diverse and inclusive environment, one that specifically supports minorities, all genders, and those historically underrepresented in our industry.
Humility. We are modest about capabilities, admit mistakes, and create the space for others to contribute.
Effective Collaboration. We are a team centered around positivity, that stands for one message which involves empowering others, empathizing with each other, and uplifting others as a collective.
Respect and Justice / Health and Well-Being. All team members need to be treated respectfully and fairly. This pertains to equity in pay, and specific attention to physical/mental health, well-being and safety.
Positivity and Love of Food and Community. Cooking and serving others is a powerful act of caring and love for one another. Let us work together to bring our community together through the power of food and drink

Pay Rate: $17-21/hr, inclusive of tip-out

Merchant is an equal opportunity employer, with a mission to support women, Black, LGBTQ+ applicants. As an organization, we support a minimum wage of $16/hour.

RNO is a mission-driven lifestyle company dedicated to creating spaces for celebrating and treating each other and ourselves well. We seek to provide warm, fun and an endlessly interesting mix of inspired programming that challenges, invigorates and delights our guests by celebrating our craft, who we are, what we do and what we believe. As a community-driven hospitality management organization, we are active in social causes supporting women, Black, LGBTQ+, and Indigenous communities everywhere. Cook It Forward is a non-profit advocacy arm of Rule No One Hospitality, Inc. with a mission to address ongoing inequities in our food systems. We are all working collectively on social entrepreneurship, social equity, and social justice-- one meal at a time.

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