Organization: Opal Creek
Point of Contact at Opal Creek: Cortney Hartman
Season: April 3–October 13, 2023
Location: Silver Falls State Park, Sublimity, Oregon (60 miles from Portland, Oregon)
Compensation: $3,300 average monthly salary (about $18/hour); 7 days PTO
Perks: Meals provided while working/Basic housing on site/Staff housing in greater Portland/Salem area for subsidized rate (optional)
Program: Opal Creek Outdoor School (spring/fall); YMCA Camp Silver Creek Camp (summer)
Work schedule: ODS: Mondays-Fridays; YMCA: Sundays-Fridays: 2 weeks on, 1 week off (always Saturdays off); averaging 8 hrs/day
The Opportunity
As a Lodge Cook, you execute buffet-style meals in our renowned Opal Creek Kitchen. We believe it’s the most delicious food you’ll ever find in a camp
facility: seasonal, hearty, kid- and adult-friendly fare. As a semi-open kitchen, you frequently greet and interact with students, campers, and staff in the dining hall. Your backdrop will be the forests, creeks, and waterfalls of Silver Falls State Park, Oregon’s most beloved and largest state park and the ancestral home of the Kalapuya and Molalla Tribes.
You’ll join a team that prepares meals for on average 100 people and as many as 160 people. Throughout your shift you’ll execute a full meal from start to finish: prepping, cooking, serving, and dishwashing, you will cater meals to guests’ dietary restrictions and allergies, and you’ll promote a fun and hospitable environment for coworkers and guests. After a three-year hiatus, the Opal Creek Kitchen is relaunching in a new setting; through your collaboration, and ideas, you’ll play a key role in shaping the food service experience for students, campers, and staff for years to come!
Qualifications, Skills, and Experiences
A successful candidate will possess these minimum qualifications. We are less interested in the titles you’ve held and more interested in what you’ve actually done and who you are.
- 1+ years in a high-volume, commercial, or camp-like kitchen
- Previous experience with from-scratch cooking and baking
- Strong hospitality skills
- Strong communication skills
- Proven improviser, in general and specific to kitchen equipment use and recipe interpretation
- Previous experience integrating equity, inclusion, and cultural relevance into food service and the workplace
- COVID-19 vaccine (by time of employment)
- Safe food handling practices
- Able to pass a criminal background check
We are committed to having an applicant pool that reflects the diversity of the students we work with, and we highly encourage Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to apply.
How to Apply & Timeline
Please submit an application by visiting the employment page of our website. The application includes a series of questions and asks you to upload a detailed resume in PDF format. Be sure to include any relevant experience and certifications, both professional and personal experience. Priority will be given to applications received by February 24, 2023, and on a rolling basis onward. There are two rounds of interviews for this position conducted in early March, and the start date is April 3, 2023. Please contact [email protected] with any questions and to request any accommodations needed during this hiring process. We’ll do our best to respond to all queries and to keep all applicants up to date on how the process unfolds.
About Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center
Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center was formed in 1988 to advocate for the protection of the Opal Creek area. In 1996, legislation established the Opal Creek Wilderness Area and instituted our unique role and responsibility as stewards, educators, and in-holders within the protected area. Our base of operations has been in the historic mining town of Jawbone Flats, situated in the stunning temperate rainforest of the Opal Creek Wilderness and surrounded by 5,000-foot peaks. This region is ancestral lands of the Molalla and Kalapuya Tribes, who are now part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
In September 2020, a wildfire swept down the Opal Creek watershed, burned much of the old growth forest in the Wilderness Area, and destroyed almost all of the historic buildings of Jawbone Flats. Our post-fire strategy for Jawbone Flats is focused tightly on recovery and cleanup. We are designing a new site plan that is in harmony with the land and will support the amazing education programs we continue to offer.
Our mission is to provide transformative wilderness experiences that grow a community of environmental advocates. All our work is based around one simple idea: people protect what they care about, and care about what they know. Through our outdoor school and backpacking expedition programs, we bring youth and adults face-to-face with the outdoor places that make Oregon great—pristine mountain streams, uncut vistas, and old-growth forests—because nature is the best classroom.