Kitchen Support

Make lives meaningful through making.

Who We Are

Penland School of Craft is an international center for craft education offering residential workshops, residencies, community education programs, and exhibitions. Located on 420 acres in the NC Mountains, Penland has 16 teaching studios and 60 historic and contemporary buildings. We are an equal-opportunity employer with a staff of 50+. Penland operates with a $54 million endowment and an annual operating budget of $8.4 million. We are located about an hour northeast of Asheville, NC. 

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Penland School of Craft welcomes everyone and believes that equity, inclusion, diversity, and antiracism are essential to our mission. We want the Penland experience to benefit from varied ideas, world views, and personal experiences. We stand against all forms of discrimination and are committed to creating an environment grounded in our equity values.

Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian, and other people who identify as people of color or BIPOC individuals are encouraged to apply, as are people holding other marginalized identities related to gender, sexual orientation, ability, and class background.

Reports to: Head Chef Department: Operations Employment Status: Seasonal Full-time  Up to 40 hours per week  (Friday - Tuesday - 12-8 pm)  with 4/30 - 5/22 and 8/12 - 9/15 possibly off or working an alternative schedule

FLSA Status: Non-exempt - Hourly Start & End Date: February 24 - November 4, 2025 Last Updated: January 30, 2025

Position Summary

The Kitchen Support position will work with our food services departments to support weekend change-over and kitchen and dining hall needs.  This is a great position for someone looking to get into food services and kitchen work or someone interested in working weekends. This position is a full-time, seasonal, hourly position.

Primary Responsibilities

• Supports Penland’s food service ( Friday - Tuesday) by working in The Pines dining hall and/or kitchen, setting up for meal service, washing dishes, keeping the dining hall clean, and helping to prepare and serve meals.
• Work with the cook(s) on duty to ensure support for meal service and dining room and dishroom cleanliness.
• Collects dirty dishes and pots from the Penland kitchen and dining hall, washes and sanitizes them, and returns them for their next use. At the end of each shift, clean and sanitize the entire dishwashing area per our local health code.
• Communicate clearly and regularly with the head chef, dining hall coordinator, and weekend cooks on menu preparation and expectations.
• Helps coordinate, organize, and prepare the breakfast cart and salad cart.
• Plans and executes breakfast salads, special salads, salad dressings, and pickling.
• Maintains the inventory of dining hall supplies such as coffee, tea, cleaning, and paper products.
• Ensures a high standard of cleanliness in the dining room to meet health code standards.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• To accomplish the job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the responsibilities discussed above satisfactorily while meeting all appropriate food safety standards.
• Must be able to work consistently in a busy food service environment while maintaining a high level of professionalism, friendly service, and good relationships with coworkers.
• Must be flexible between identified dates for no or alternative work options.
• Demonstrate a commitment to uphold and implement Penland’s mission, educational philosophy, and diversity & inclusivity statement.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand for long periods of time and walk. The employee is required to use hands to handle or touch objects, tools, or controls, talk fluently, and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move objects weighing up to 75 pounds. The specific vision required by this job is close vision.

Benefits

We take care of our staff through a wide range of benefits. For your wellness, we offer multiple medical plans, vision, dental, long-term disability, life insurance, retirement, and an EAP program. Benefits include generous vacation, sick, extended sick, floating holiday leave programs, access to studios, free classes, meals during programming, and other discounts.  This is a new position with the possible opportunity to continue in the position annually and bridge benefits over the winter months when there is no work. We have other generous benefits that we can explore more during the interview process. 

Compensation

This is a seasonal, full-time, benefits-eligible position that works from late February through early November annually.  This position will work 40 hours per week, totaling 1560 hours annually. The starting wage for this non-exempt position is negotiable within the range of $16.40 - $17.70, based on the applicant’s skills and experience they bring to the position.   Employees at Penland enjoy competitive pay, attractive benefits, and a lively, creative work environment. 

To Apply
The position will remain open until filled.