Head Chef

🕒 4 min read

School Healthy Hot Lunch Program

Cook for a purpose. Lead a kitchen where the hours make sense and the work actually matters.

Start: July 2026 | Type: Full-time | Salary: $78,000–$84,500/year | Hours: 7:30am–2:30pm, Monday–Friday

The school & the mission

Pear Tree School exists to transform education so young people can live happy, fulfilling lives and become positive agents of change. We believe that what students eat is part of how they learn—nutrition fuels focus, energy, and wellbeing.

Our hot lunch program is a core part of the Pear Tree experience. We serve fresh, healthy food daily across two campuses, and we’re looking for a Head Chef who can lead the kitchen with the same care and professionalism we bring to everything else.

The role

You will lead our school lunch and snack program across both campuses (Kitsilano and Yaletown). This means designing menus, cooking daily meals, managing procurement, supervising kitchen staff, and building the systems so the program runs smoothly—whether or not you’re in the kitchen that day.

This is not a “hero chef” role where everything depends on you. It’s a leadership role for someone who can design, document, and train so the program works reliably regardless of who’s on shift.

The deal

We offer something rare in culinary work: reasonable hours (7:30am–2:30pm), weekends off, school holidays, and meaningful work feeding kids who actually appreciate it. In return, we expect professional standards, clear documentation, and a willingness to build systems that outlast any one person.

Your salary includes cooking during school programs like Pro-D Camps, Spring Camps, and Summer Camps. These aren’t extras—they’re part of the role.

How decisions work here

The lunch program is a school program. Our Operations Manager sets the program requirements—portion standards, budget parameters, allergy rules, service expectations. Your job is to execute those requirements with excellence, and you have full discretion over how: recipes, workflow, prep systems, team coordination.

If a requirement seems impractical, you raise it, propose an alternative, and explain the trade-offs. Disagreement doesn’t suspend implementation—you execute while the conversation continues. Unresolved issues get escalated and decided.

If you’re looking for complete autonomy with no oversight, this won’t be the right fit. If you’re comfortable with clear accountability and want the freedom to lead within a defined scope, you’ll do well here.

Why chefs stay

• Daytime hours. 7:30am–2:30pm. No nights, no weekends, no split shifts.
• School calendar. Winter break, spring break, and summer (with scheduled camp weeks).
• Autonomy in execution. You decide how the kitchen runs—recipes, workflow, prep systems.
• A team to lead. You’ll supervise an assistant chef in Kitsilano and chef at our Yaletown campus.
• Work that matters. You’re not feeding anonymous customers—you’re feeding kids who know your name.

What you’ll do

• Plan & cook: Design monthly menus and prepare daily hot lunches and snacks for students across both campuses.
• Accommodate needs: Manage allergies, dietary restrictions, and age-appropriate portions with clear systems.
• Procure & budget: Source ingredients, manage inventory, and operate within budget guardrails.
• Lead your team: Train and supervise kitchen staff so coverage runs smoothly when you’re away.
• Document everything: Build recipe cards, portion standards, prep checklists, and procedures that any trained chef could follow.
• Stay compliant: Maintain food safety standards, cleanliness routines, and all required certifications.

Who you are

You’ll thrive here if you are:

• A systems thinker: You believe quality shouldn’t depend on one person’s memory. You document, you train, you build for consistency.
• Professional under pressure: You communicate respectfully, even when you disagree. No yelling, no drama.
• Comfortable with oversight: You’ll execute within program requirements set by Operations—and flag concerns constructively rather than ignoring them.
• Warm and approachable: Students find you friendly; parents find you trustworthy. You fit in a school environment.
• Driven by meaningful work: You’d rather feed kids well than chase fine-dining prestige.

Qualifications

Required

• Culinary degree or certification (Red Seal an asset)
• Food Safe Certification (Level 2 required; Level 1 minimum to start)
• Experience planning and executing healthy menus for groups
• Experience managing food budgets and procurement
• Valid driver’s license
• Ability to pass a criminal record check
• Legal authorization to work in Canada

Preferred

• Experience cooking for children or in a school/institutional setting
• Experience supervising kitchen staff
• Familiarity with allergen management and dietary accommodations

Compensation & benefits

• Salary: $78,000–$84,500 per year, depending on experience and demonstrated ability to lead a scalable, documented, two-campus program
• Benefits: Extended health, dental, life insurance, long-term disability, and AD&D coverage
• Paid leave: 5 paid sick days + 3 paid personal days annually
• Work-life balance: School calendar with significant vacation time during breaks

How to apply

Submit your resume and a brief cover letter (PDF) via Hiring Steps.

In your cover letter, briefly address:

• What draws you to cooking in a school environment (vs. restaurants or other settings)?
• Describe a time you built a system or documentation that helped your kitchen run better without you.

Shortlisted candidates can expect an initial response within 5 business days.

We value diversity and inclusion and encourage all qualified people to apply. If we can make this easier through accommodation in the recruitment process, please let us know.

Paul Romani, M.Ed.

Paul is the co-founder and director of Pear Tree School. He designed the Pear Tree Method after teaching across multiple countries and studying what actually produces lasting learning. He writes about education, parenting, and what it takes to prepare kids for a world that keeps changing.