This is a hands-on position in a fast-paced commercial kitchen and food-manufacturing environment. The ideal candidate is reliable, detail-oriented, comfortable performing physical work, and committed to producing safe, consistent, high-quality products.
Position Summary
The Kitchen / Production Employee assists with all stages of food production, including ingredient preparation, weighing and measuring, cooking, filling containers, labeling, packaging, cleaning, and maintaining production records.
Employees must carefully follow recipes, batch instructions, food-safety procedures, and company policies. Accuracy, cleanliness, teamwork, and dependable attendance are essential.
Responsibilities
- Prepare ingredients according to approved recipes and production instructions.
- Accurately weigh and measure liquids, spices, powders, and other ingredients.
- Assist with mixing, cooking, and processing sauces, salsas, condiments, and spice blends.
- Safely operate steam-jacketed kettles, mixers, pumps, filling equipment, scales, and other production tools after training.
- Fill bottles, jars, jugs, and other containers according to established procedures.
- Apply labels, date codes, lot codes, caps, and tamper-evident seals.
- Inspect finished products for proper fill level, container integrity, label placement, and overall quality.
- Pack finished products into cases and prepare them for storage or shipment.
- Follow allergen-control, sanitation, traceability, and cross-contamination-prevention procedures.
- Record ingredient lot numbers, batch information, temperatures, pH readings, yields, and other required production information.
- Clean and sanitize kettles, utensils, production equipment, tables, floors, and work areas.
- Follow Good Manufacturing Practices, standard operating procedures, and all applicable food-safety requirements.
- Assist with receiving ingredients and packaging materials and rotating inventory using first-in, first-out procedures.
- Report damaged equipment, product-quality concerns, incorrect ingredients, safety hazards, or production errors immediately.
- Assist in other production, packaging, warehouse, or cleaning duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- Dependable attendance and the ability to arrive on time for scheduled shifts.
- Ability to read, understand, and follow recipes, batch sheets, labels, and written instructions.
- Basic math skills, including weighing, measuring, counting, and recording quantities.
- Strong attention to detail and willingness to follow procedures exactly.
- Ability to work cooperatively as part of a production team.
- Ability to maintain a clean, organized, and sanitary work area.
- Willingness to work around food ingredients, spices, vinegar, strong aromas, heat, steam, and production noise.
- Ability to follow workplace safety and food-safety requirements.
- Previous commercial kitchen, food-production, manufacturing, packaging, or warehouse experience is helpful but not required.
Physical Requirements
- Ability to stand and walk for most of the shift.
- Ability to regularly lift and carry up to 50 pounds.
- Ability to bend, reach, push, pull, twist, and perform repetitive tasks.
- Ability to work in a warm production environment near cooking kettles and hot-fill equipment.
- Ability to wear required protective equipment, including hair restraints, beard restraints when applicable, gloves, aprons, and slip-resistant footwear.
- Ability to safely handle ingredients, cases, containers, utensils, and production equipment.
Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals with disabilities.
Food-Safety and Workplace Expectations
All employees are expected to:
- Follow Good Manufacturing Practices and company sanitation procedures.
- Wash hands and wear required protective equipment.
- Follow allergen and cross-contact controls.
- Accurately complete production and traceability records.
- Keep personal belongings, food, drinks, and prohibited items out of production areas.
- Report illness, injury, contamination concerns, and unsafe conditions immediately.
- Maintain professional and respectful conduct with coworkers, customers, vendors, and visitors.
- Protect confidential customer recipes, formulas, processes, and business information.
What We Offer
- On-the-job training.
- Consistent daytime production schedule.
- Opportunities to learn commercial food manufacturing and co-packing operations.
- Supportive, team-oriented, family-owned workplace.
- Employee product discounts.
- How to Apply
Please submit your résumé or a brief description of your work experience. Applicants should include their availability and a reliable phone number or email address.
Flavor and Fire is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, performance, business needs, and applicable law.