Head Chef

Job DetailsJob Location: Corporate Headquarters - Nashville, TN 37209Position Summary 

Thistle Farms is a nonprofit justice enterprise dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction. We do this by providing a safe place to live, meaningful jobs, and a lifelong sisterhood of support.   

The Head Chef at The Café at Thistle Farms is more than a traditional kitchen or food preparation role.  This role combines culinary leadership and operational excellence with a commitment to provide culinary training and workforce development to our community. 

The Head Chef is responsible for leading the creation, execution, and continuous improvement of all food and beverage offerings at the Café at Thistle Farms, including daily Café service, catering, events, and afternoon tea. Reporting to the General Manager, this role ensures that all offerings reflect high standards of quality, consistency, and care while aligning with the mission and values of Thistle Farms. 

This role is ideal for a trained chef or experienced food and beverage professional who is passionate about both craft and community. The Head Chef plays a key role in training and developing a team largely made up of individuals in recovery, creating a kitchen culture that is structured, supportive, and rooted in dignity, skill-building, and growth. 

Position Responsibilities 

Essential Responsibilities 

Food & Beverage Leadership + Execution 

Oversees all food and beverage production for Café service, catering, events, and special programs (including afternoon tea). 

Provides immediate supervision and daily oversight for the back-of-house staff to include hiring, training, performance management, and scheduling. 

Ensures consistent quality, presentation, and execution across all offerings. 

Maintains clear recipes, prep standards, and systems to support consistency and scalability. 

Leads daily kitchen operations, including prep, service flow, and cleanliness. 

Trains and coaches team members on kitchen skills, food safety, and professional standards. 

Creates a structured, supportive learning environment that builds confidence and transferable skills. 

Adapts training approaches to meet individual learning styles and needs. 

Models consistency, patience, and accountability in a trauma-informed environment. 

Menu Development + Product Innovation 

Develops and evolves menus in partnership with the General Manager to reflect seasonality, customer preferences, and brand alignment. 

Balances creativity with operational feasibility and expense management. 

Ensures offerings are fresh, approachable, and reflective of the Café’s role as a welcoming community space.  

Supports the creation and development of catering and event menus that drive revenue and enhance guest experiences.  

Inventory, Cost Control + Financial Performance 

Manages food and beverage inventory, ordering, and vendor relationships. 

Monitors and controls food costs, waste, and portioning. 

Contributes to budgeting and financial reporting related to food and beverage operations. 

Identifies opportunities to improve margins while maintaining quality. 

Compliance + Safety 

Ensures full compliance with all food safety, sanitation, and health regulations. 

Maintains a clean, organized, and safe kitchen environment. 

Ensures all team members are trained and adhering to safety standards. 

Collaboration + Community Engagement 

Partners with the General Manager and broader team on Café strategy, programming, and events. 

Collaborates with local suppliers and community partners to source ingredients and support local artisans, when possible. 

Additional Responsibilities 

Supports the Café’s role as a “third place” by contributing to a warm, welcoming, and mission-aligned experience. 
Models core values, policies and operational procedures for team members.  
Completes required training, as assigned.  
Attends meetings, as assigned.  
Performs other duties, as assigned. 

QualificationsEducation and Experience 

Position requires culinary training or certification, 3+ years of professional experience as a restaurant or banquet chef, and ServSafe certification.  Experience working in nonprofit, social enterprise, or mission-driven environments strongly preferred. Requires 3+ years of experience with menu development, food costing, food safety leadership, and inventory management.  

Physical Requirements 

Performing the duties of this position requires regular standing, bending, stooping, twisting; lifting up to 25 lbs., the ability to move throughout facilities, including moving up and down stairs; the ability to hear, speak, write and type. 

Performing the duties of this position requires the ability to stand for extended periods, complete repetitive movements using fine and gross motor skills. Performing the duties of this position requires the ability to work with kitchen equipment, including hot and cold environments. 

Skill Competencies  

Demonstrate a strong understanding of kitchen operations, food safety, and service standards.  

Demonstrates the ability to train and develop team members with varying levels of experience.  

Demonstrates strong organizational and time management skills.  

Demonstrates the ability to work in a fast-paced environment while maintaining attention to detail.  

Demonstrates excellent communication and collaboration skills.  

Demonstrates an awareness and understanding of trauma-informed care (or willingness to learn).  

Demonstrates patience, adaptability and a steady, supportive leadership style. 

Demonstrates a commitment to the mission and core values of Thistle Farms.  

Thistle Farms provides equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, genetic information, service in the military, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Equal employment opportunities apply to all terms and conditions of employment. Thistle Farms reserves the rights to modify, interpret, or apply this job description in any way the organization desires. This job description in no way implies that these are the only duties, including essential duties, to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to reasonably accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities. This job description is not an employment contract, implied or otherwise. The employment relationship remains “At-Will.”