Founding Team Prep Cook

Haven•Blowing Rock, NC

13d•Onsite

About The Position

Haven is a chef-driven restaurant opening in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, seeking founding kitchen team members. Backed by Chetola Resort, Haven offers the excitement of a new restaurant with the stability of an established hospitality destination. The restaurant focuses on Appalachian cuisine using hyper-seasonal ingredients from local farms and producers, presented through small plates and tasting menus with global influences and modern techniques. This role is more than a typical prep cook position; it's an opportunity to shape the restaurant's standards, systems, culture, and identity from the ground up. The ideal candidate takes pride in meticulous preparation, understanding that exceptional mise en place is the foundation of a great restaurant. Curiosity, discipline, humility, attention to detail, and a desire for continuous improvement are essential.

Requirements

Previous prep cook, line cook, culinary, or scratch-kitchen experience preferred.
Basic to strong knife skills and a desire to continue improving.
Ability to follow recipes, specifications, and instructions accurately.
Strong attention to detail and consistency.
Ability to stay organized and manage multiple prep priorities.
A sense of urgency without sacrificing quality or care.
Pride in maintaining a clean and disciplined workspace.
Respect for exceptional ingredients and the people who grow, raise, forage, and produce them.
A positive attitude, strong work ethic, and willingness to learn.
Reliability, accountability, and respect for teammates.
Curiosity about food, technique, seasonality, and regional ingredients.

Nice To Haves

Experience in fine dining, tasting menu, farm-to-table, or other chef-driven restaurants is a plus.
Candidates who are earlier in their culinary careers and eager to build strong fundamentals in a serious, learning-focused kitchen are welcome.

Responsibilities

Prepare ingredients and components with consistency, precision, and care.
Execute daily prep lists efficiently while maintaining high standards of quality.
Wash, trim, peel, cut, portion, and process produce, proteins, and other ingredients according to established specifications.
Prepare sauces, stocks, dressings, marinades, purees, garnishes, and other foundational components.
Follow recipes accurately while developing a deeper understanding of technique, flavor, and ingredient function.
Support whole-product utilization and thoughtful approaches to minimizing food waste.
Properly label, date, store, rotate, and organize ingredients and prepared items.
Maintain accurate portioning and consistency across batches.
Work collaboratively with chefs, line cooks, and fellow prep team members to ensure the kitchen is ready for service.
Communicate proactively about prep levels, product quality, shortages, and production needs.
Maintain a clean, organized, efficient, and professional workstation.
Care for ingredients, tools, and equipment with attention and respect.
Participate in pre-opening training, menu tastings, and ongoing culinary education opportunities.
Help test and refine recipes, prep systems, storage standards, and kitchen workflows.
Uphold the highest standards of food quality, sanitation, safety, and organization.

Benefits

Founding Team bonus opportunities for eligible employees who join during the opening phase.
Performance and retention bonus opportunities.
Opportunities for advancement as the restaurant grows.
Access to exceptional local and regional products and ingredients.
A professional kitchen focused on quality, learning, discipline, and teamwork.
Meaningful input into the systems and culture we build together.
Ongoing opportunities to sharpen your craft and expand your culinary knowledge.
The opportunity to learn alongside an opening culinary team.
Scheduling practices designed to support work-life balance whenever operationally possible.
The opportunity to be part of a new restaurant from the very beginning.