FIRST COOK BANQUET

The Pueblo of Sandia is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in the state of New Mexico. It operates various enterprises including hospitality and foodservice operations that aim to provide exceptional experiences for its community members and guests. The organization is rooted in core values of integrity, fairness, collaboration, communication, and recognition for performance excellence, all of which guide its operations and workforce culture. The Pueblo of Sandia is committed to attracting and retaining a qualified workforce, supporting career development, and contributing to the long-term success and sustainability of the Pueblo today and into the future.

The Culinary Lead role within the Pueblo of Sandia is a key position responsible for managing culinary operations at food venues under limited supervision. This leadership role requires ensuring high-quality food preparation, strict adherence to culinary standards, proper display, and storage of food items, as well as delivering exceptional guest experiences consistently. The Lead works closely with Sous Chefs and Banquet Chefs to train kitchen staff, prepare schedules, coordinate food production based on forecasted covers, and maintain inventory to par levels. This leadership position is essential in upholding sanitary and safety standards in the kitchen, as well as ensuring that food quality, taste, and presentation meet or exceed expectations.

The Culinary Lead is tasked with supervising kitchen workstations maintaining cleanliness and orderliness, overseeing food preparation processes to uphold consistency and standards, and managing kitchen staff to promote cooperation between culinary and service teams. Additionally, the Lead monitors temperature requirements and safety measures, investigates and resolves guest complaints regarding food quality and service, and ensures that food production is efficient and minimizes waste. This role also involves opening and closing kitchen operations as needed and collaborating in a professional and respectful manner to nurture a positive workplace culture built on mutual respect, honesty, and integrity.

Beyond technical culinary skills, the position requires strong leadership abilities, effective communication skills, and organizational talents needed to coordinate banquet events from menu planning through execution. The Culinary Lead must be adaptable to a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and a diverse clientele, demonstrating flexibility and sound personnel management practices. This role demands knowledge of food handling regulations at the tribal, federal, state, and local levels, as well as compliance with casino purchasing requirements, enhancing the ability to maintain regulatory standards.

The position also requires compliance with physical demands including crouching, bending, lifting up to 50 pounds, pushing, pulling, and extended periods of standing and walking. Work environment conditions include exposure to indoor and outdoor settings with temperature extremes, noise, odors, and potential hazards. The successful candidate must complete the New Mexico Food Handlers course, pass a stringent background investigation, and adhere to attendance policies including work on weekends and holidays with flexible scheduling and overtime as necessary.