Nepenthe is looking to fill a full time Food & Beverage Purchaser position.

After consideration of the following job description, if you are qualified and interested, please send your resume along with a cover letter expressing:

1) why are you interested,
2) what makes you qualified, and
3) your wage requirements.
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Food & Beverage Purchaser Job Description:

General Position Summary:
Responsible for ordering food and beverages (including beer, wine, and spirits), food supplies, and equipment. Manage receiving, storage, and rotation of all perishables (food and beverage), beverages, and food service supplies and equipment. Conduct monthly physical inventory process for food and beverages. Maintain monthly theoretical and actual cost of goods analysis and various food and beverage information reports. Support and assist food production line staff as necessary. Assist Executive Chef in ensuring safe and sanitary food production and storage practices and working conditions.

Essential Functions/Major Responsibilities:
• Act as a leader, implementer, and as a professional.
• Communicate with all employees, guests, supervisors, and vendors in a respectful, timely, and professional manner.
• Manage employee relations by ensuring staff communicates with each other and guests in an appropriate and respectful manner at all times.
• Maximize the day-to-day and long-term profitability and productivity of the food production/service operations.
• Manage ordering, receiving, and stocking functions of food, wine, beer, liquor, linen, equipment and supplies.
• Process and properly document general ledger coding for all invoices associated with food, beverage, and food supplies and equipment vendors.
• Conduct monthly physical inventory of food and beverages and process data entry of results to develop appropriate inventory reports.
• Ensure that monthly inventory and cost of goods analysis is completed in a consistent, accurate, and timely manner.
• Conduct purchasing functions in manner that ensures highest quality goods at most competitive pricing.
• Ensure that all menu items are properly analyzed for cost and profitability and that theoretical cost of goods worksheets are updated to reflect new menu additions and changes in existing items (price, portion size, etc.)
• Ensure that food, prepared items, supplies, and equipment meet established specifications and quality standards.
• Manage food production capital assets in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
• Evaluate and recommend equipment replacement and upgrades based on need, suitability, and budget.
• Assist Executive Chef with safety and emergency training for all food production employees independently and in coordination with Human Resources Coordinator.
• Pursue continuing food and beverage operations education for own position and subordinate positions in areas that allow for growth and increased productivity.

Secondary Functions:
• Assist Executive Chef in ensuring that all food production employees are properly trained to work in a safe and sanitary manner.
• Assist Executive Chef and Kitchen Management team with regular safety training for all food production staff.
• Ensure that all equipment is in serviceable condition and is being operated in a safe manner.

Regular Job Tasks:

Daily –
• Conduct on-hand inventories of food, wine, beer, liquor, equipment and supplies for ordering purposes.
• Inspect sanitation in all food production areas. Direct cleaning and repairs as necessary.
• Review and process intra-company requisitions.
• Organize Wine storage, maintain, up to date inventory sheets. Slot and organize new wines in EuroCaves.

Weekly –
• Assist with and conduct, as necessary, weekly safety meetings with line staff.
• Meet with Executive Chef, Sous Chef, and Kitchen Supervisors to review safety and sanitation, food quality, menu development, and personnel issues.
• Update and coordinate inventory, point of sale, and menu databases and forms when menu items are added, deleted, or subject to cost/price changes.
• Coordinate with Wine and Service Directors on current wine by the glass offerings and weekly wine orders.

Monthly –
• Conduct physical inventories of food and beverage products and input data to generate appropriate inventory analysis reports.
• Develop and analyze intra-company requisition reports.
• Maintain and update theoretical cost of goods and actual cost of goods reports.
• Update and analyze labor cost for food production staff.
• Analyze new menu items in terms of gross margins, sales volume, and guest and staff feedback.
• Meet with line staff, Executive Chef, Kitchen Management team, and Nepenthe Restaurant/Café Kevah manager to review monthly sales, cost of goods, and labor cost performance.

Periodic –
• Develop and analyze gross margin, profit-loss, efficiency, labor cost and sales mix reports as necessary.
• Support line staff with on-going training to ensure safe and sanitary, correct, and efficient food handling practices.
• Assist in development, coordination, and execution of menus for special events.

Critical Achievements:
• All food production and storage areas to be maintained in safe and sanitary manner.
• Manage food costs efficiently in relation to theoretical cost and in regard to Company goals.
• Inventory of perishables and supplies at minimum level necessary to meet forecasted business levels.
• Intra company requisitions completed in accurate and timely manner.

Job Scope:
Perform duties with little direction given, operating from established directions and instructions. Decisions are made within general company policy constraints but often require independent decision making.

Mistakes/errors might result in a loss of employee morale and/or satisfaction in the food and beverage department, loss of guest satisfaction resulting in loss of guests or poor guest relations, the underutilization or abuse of capital assets, and the financial impact of increased expenses and/or reduced revenues.

Supervisory Responsibility:
As a member of the leadership team, provides, by example and leadership, motivation and direction to all Nepenthe employees and as may be directed by the Executive Chef.

Interpersonal Contacts:
Have regular contacts with others both inside and outside the organization. The most common contacts are with own department staff and own supervisor. The most frequent external contacts are with employees and vendors. Internal and external interactions involve information exchange, problem solving, and negotiation.

Many of the contacts are made at the initiative of employees, vendors, and guests, with the majority of contacts made by phone and email. Internal contacts frequently contain some discussion about confidential/sensitive matters.

Meet regularly with Executive Chef and Kitchen Management team to review back house operational goals and performance.

Specific Job Skills:
• Minimum of 2 years culinary leadership experience with restaurants with comparable business volume (up to 600 meals per day in peak periods and scale to 100 off peak).
• Possesses current certification in food safety and handling as required under the California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law, or attains certification within 60 days of employment.
• Excellent supervision/managerial skills required.
• Excellent communication skills (including listening, writing, speaking) required.
• Ability to read, write, speak, and understand English with effective skills to speak and understand conversational Spanish.
• Training/development skills required.
• Physical and mental ability to run all of the equipment within the food and beverage operations (ovens, slicers, mixers, ranges, blenders, coffee makers, espresso machines, computers, point of sales systems, etc.).
• This position requires the physical ability to bend, twist, lift up to 50 pounds regularly, finger small items, see and hear.
• Mental ability to conduct on-going interpersonal interactions and to analyze and solve problems is essential.
• Ability to actively participate in team development and team-oriented processes and motivate others to do the same required.
• Physical and mental ability to use computer hardware/software required, including email, word processing, and spreadsheet programs.
• Possess a valid driver’s license, acceptable driving record and proof of current vehicle insurance.

Job Conditions:
This position requires the employee to work in an environment where there may be regular exposure to fumes, building temperature fluctuations, dust, noise, chemicals, odors, and outside weather. Other working conditions may include frequent interruptions, working alone, evening work, working long hours during peak periods, and exposure to computer CRT’s. This position is physically demanding and requires walking up and down stairs and ramps between multiple levels throughout each working day.

Critical Success Traits Summary:
• Excellent leadership and supervision skills.
• Respects and demonstrates our core values of communicating with guests, employees, and vendors in a respectful and appropriate manner at all times.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and at a minimum is fully fluent with conversational Spanish.
• Passion for high quality food that is simple, healthy, nutritious, and is presented in a beautiful manner.
• Competent in use of contemporary technologies, such as basic computer skills and programs including email, word processing, spreadsheets, and Franklin Planner type time management/documentation tools.
• Strong organization skills (Understands and ensures that there is “A place for everything and everything is in its place” in a kitchen)
• Experience with kitchens in terms of comparable facility size and equipment.
• Customer (guest/employee) service focused.
• Positive attitude and pleasant disposition.
• Ability to work under pressure – a skilled problem solver.
• Has high integrity, accountability, dedication, moral and ethical standards, and encourages the same of others – motivated from within.
• Highly detailed and thorough.
• A creative/original thinker – who is comfortable with a casual menu of standard core items to maintain and/or improve upon while exercising creative latitude for daily specials and events such as winemaker dinners and other special events.
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Nepenthe provides competitive wages and excellent benefits that include; health insurance, Profit Sharing/401k, food and merchandise discounts and paid vacation time off.

Nepenthe/Phoenix Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Situated in the world-renowned beauty of the Big Sur coast line, Nepenthe was founded in 1949 and is still operated by the children and grandchildren of the founders, who are carrying on the traditions of family hospitality - a hallmark of the business. The Nepenthe Restaurant, Cafe Kevah and Phoenix gift shop are all located on the same property 30 miles south of Carmel overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Nepenthe/Phoenix Corp.

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