Job Seekers: View Jobs | Search Jobs | Job E-mail List | Post Resumes
Employers: Post New Job | Amend/Delete Job Listing

View Record

Job ID #1292

Mount Carmel Ministries
Location	Alexandria, Minnesota (USA)
Submitted	August 27, 2026
Position
Title	Food Service Director
Responsibilities	Food Service Manager Mount Carmel Ministries, Alexandria, Minnesota Full-time, year-round, salaried. $40,000 to $60,000 a year depending on fit, skills, benefits and experience. Start date flexible. About Mount Carmel Mount Carmel Ministries is a Christian Bible and Retreat Center on the shore of Lake Carlos in Alexandria, MN. We’ve been here since 1938! Every summer, families come for a week of Family Camp: Bible teaching, worship, the lake, and three meals a day together in the Lodge dining room. From September to May the campus hosts marriage retreats, women’s retreats, young adult retreats, church groups, a hymn festival, an ice fishing weekend, and dozens of other gatherings. We are also home to The Awaken Project, a gap-year discipleship program for young adults, and to the Mount Carmel Preschool. Our core values are Christian Community, Joy, Hospitality and Christ Centeredness. The kitchen is where all four show up three times a day. Why this job matters Feeding people is ministry at Mount Carmel. It is how we welcome a family that has driven hours, how we care for a couple on a marriage retreat, and how a church group decides whether they will come back. In 2026 our campers rated the food 4.54 out of 5 and our kitchen staff 4.82 out of 5. That is the standard you would inherit. The kitchen is also one of the main places young people are formed here. Awaken Project students, summer staff and volunteers work alongside the Food Service Manager every week. We are looking for someone who wants to mentor them, not just schedule them, and who sees every guest, churched or not, as someone God has given us the chance to serve. Who we are looking for Three things are essential. Everything else can be learned or hired around. A committed Christian whose life is consistent with our mission, and whose sense of worth rests in Christ rather than in performance. You will lead people who have little to no exposure to Christ. A mentor and missionary at heart. You want young people in your kitchen. You are comfortable praying with a crew before a big meal, and comfortable with a guest who has never been inside a church. A systems builder. You see what a season needs and build the plan for it: menus, orders, schedules, allergen procedures, written down so they survive a change of staff. You recruit, hire and mentor the staff who make the plan work. On top of that, we need a capable volume cook who can lead a team. What you will do Summer (June to August) Plan and deliver about 22,700 meals across preseason, seven weeks of Family Camp and the August groups: breakfast, lunch and supper daily, Sunday brunch, plated evening service and a weekly picnic. Meet each week’s dietary list (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut allergies, vegetarian and individual needs) without cross-contamination. Cook or work a station at high-demand meals. This is a working manager’s job. Lead a kitchen team of up to ten food service staff and students, including lead cooks, through a seven-day camp rhythm. Fall, winter and spring (September to May) Lead food service for more than 30 retreats and group events a year, most of them weekends, feeding 25 to 60 people from Friday supper through Sunday brunch. You will cook most of these yourself with a small bench of part-time help. Plan breakfast and lunch for a small group of preschoolers Monday to Thursday during the school year. You will not cook all of the preschool meals, but you will be responsible for their planning and execution. Turn the retreat team’s headcounts and dietary needs into meals for every group. Year-round Plan menus within budget and place weekly orders with Sysco and other suppliers; manage inventory, rotation and waste. Build and work to a real food service budget with the Executive Director and Office Administrator. Own the written allergen and cross-contamination procedure and train every kitchen worker on it. Keep the kitchen in compliance with Minnesota Department of Health standards. Recruit, hire, train, schedule and supervise seasonal and year-round kitchen staff. Schedule Awaken Project students on kitchen shifts and mentor them while they are there. Depending on group size, serve as the on-site host for smaller groups: greet them, answer the small questions (linens, lockouts, meal times), and make them feel expected. For the right person, help in the office during the quieter months with front desk, registrations and thank-you letters. By the end of your first year, have the kitchen’s systems in writing: allergen procedure, menu bank with costings, ordering guide, schedule templates and a food service budget. Schedule Summer: the kitchen runs seven days a week. Your regular time off is Friday evening and Saturday morning, and there is a short, defined break in July with the Operations Manager covering the kitchen. September to May: five days a week on average. Retreat weekends are part of the job, and a weekend worked is balanced by time off in the surrounding weeks, scheduled ahead rather than owed. September and October are the busiest off-season months; December and March are the quietest. A winter start puts you in the quietest weeks of the year, with time to learn the campus, write the allergen procedure with the Operations Manager, and hire your summer crew before the season begins. Qualifications Required A personal Christian faith and a life consistent with Mount Carmel’s mission and values. Experience cooking for groups and leading a kitchen team. ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification (or equivalent) and Minnesota Certified Food Protection Manager registration, held at start or earned within 90 days. Strong food safety and allergen practice. Able to work the summer rhythm and retreat weekends described above, on your feet in a hot kitchen, in and out of walk-in freezers, with lifting. Preferred Experience cooking at volume (130 to 200 covers). Camp, retreat center, school or church kitchen experience. Experience mentoring young adults or supervising student workers. Experience ordering from a broadline supplier and managing food cost. Menu planning across a full year, not just a week. Pay and benefits $40,000 to $60,000 a year depending on fit, skills, benefits and experience. Health insurance (high-deductible plan, partially employer paid). Paid time off. Simple IRA with employer match after two years of service. Details as set out in the Mount Carmel Ministries Employee Handbook. Reporting You report to the Operations Manager, who ran this kitchen from 2023 to 2026 and will hand it over with past menus, budgets and schedules, then stay available for advice and emergencies. The kitchen will be yours to run. How to apply Send a resume, a cover letter, and a short account of why you want to serve in a Christian ministry to David Blackstad, Executive Director, david@mountcarmelministries.com, and to Derek Smith, Operations Manager, derek@mountcarmelministries.com. Applications are reviewed as they arrive. Start date is flexible. Mount Carmel Ministries is a Christian religious organization. As permitted by law for religious employers, we require employees to share our Christian faith and to live in a manner consistent with it. Mount Carmel Ministries, 800 Mount Carmel Drive NE, Alexandria, MN 56308
Pay	40,000-60,000
Timeline	Year Round
Other Information
Accepting	Christian Applicants Only
This business is	A Christian business
Contact Information
Contact	Derek Smith
Contact E-mail	derek@mountcarmelministries.com

Employer: Edit/Update/Delete This Job