Round the Bend Farm (RTB), a Center for Restorative Community, located in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, is a 115-acre working farm and educational non-profit.  We are a living laboratory that cultivates, educates, and empowers people of all ages.  We are devoted to the global paradigm shift toward hope and abundance by valuing diversity, modeling nature, and redefining wealth.  RTB is seeking a passionate and motivated individual to join our team as a full-time Sous Chef. We are accepting applications until the end of day on Friday, November 1, 2024.  Anticipated start date is mid-late December 2024 or early January 2025. 

 

JOB DESCRIPTION 

Our Sous Chef position requires a highly motivated and energetic individual; someone who is passionate about RTB’s mission, local food systems, and plant-based foods.  This teammate will participate in the overall mission of RTB, working directly with our Executive Chef & Kitchen Director to keep RTB’s commercial kitchen running smoothly, efficiently and safely, with an emphasis on supporting day to day management of the commercial kitchen space, along with supporting events, educational initiatives, and our new Manifest Love Food Truck. Tasks include (but are not limited to) assisting with harvesting, preparing, processing, organizing, and storing of various foods, supporting the Executive Chef & Kitchen Director in menu development and recipe preparations, and helping with the set-up and break-down duties for various events and our Manifest Love Food Truck.  The Sous Chef is expected to be a team player, yet able to work independently at times; this teammate needs to be extremely flexible in nature and able to keep kitchen work happening at an efficient pace, with an emphasis on tidiness and helping to maintain clean, safe spaces throughout.

 

QUALIFICATIONS

As an organization that strives to value diversity in all that we do (it’s even part of our mission!), we take care and place extra value in continuing to diversify our team. Candidate preferences include the following:  

  • At least 18 years of age with a MA (or other state) driver’s license;
  • At least one year of experience in kitchen-related work environment; Cooking experience preferably in a medium to high volume environment (requires a certain pace) and willingness to share and learn new skills (BS degree in Culinary Science or related certificate is a plus)
  • Physical ability to lift and move 50 lbs. 
  • Knowledge of & ability to conform to food service sanitations practices
  • ServSafe Manager Certification, Allergen Awareness Training, First Aid/CPR/AED (or comparable food handlers permit to fulfill state regulations & requirements) *may obtain certifications after hiring
  • Proficiency in the use of certain kitchen tools and cooking/processing equipment (i.e. Robot coupe, convection ovens, Vitamix, Excalibur dehydrator, etc…) and ability to use equipment properly and safely (training may be provided as needed)
  • Persevering work ethic and ability to work well under time constraints and be able to meet deadlines
  • Focused attention to detail and quality, with strong organizational skills and a positive attitude
  • Ability to communicate effectively (in a clear and concise manner) with our team and management, with the ability to accept direction and guidance and ask questions when unclear
  • Strong level of comfort with basic math skills, specific to scaling recipes as needed
  • Ability to stand for long periods of time and to work independently on repetitive tasks (i.e. slicing and prepping the harvest to be prepared/processed) for long periods of time
  • Ability to work both independently and in groups of diverse people
  • Commitment to working in the scope of RTB’s mission (preference may be given to those who have an active interest in environmental and social justice issues pertaining to both local and global food systems)
  • Passionate about creating and sharing healthy good food and helping provide healthy food access and education especially to marginalized communities
  • Desire to respect and care for the health of soil, plants, animals and humans
  • Personal maturity, mindful self-awareness, dependability, and flexibility

 

COMPENSATION

  • Full-time annual wages are $37,440. 00 (for 40 hours per week). Full-time benefits include worker’s compensation, 403(b) retirement plan, health & dental insurance, flexible spending account, life & disability insurance, paid vacation days (80 hours per year), paid wellness days (56 hours per year) and select paid holidays;
  • RTB may provide room & board and internet access.  Housing may include a private place to sleep (in a tiny house) and a shared kitchen/dining/library space with laundry facilities available.  (Please note:  This job is not contingent upon living on the farm.  Additional responsibilities to contribute to the community are required if a candidate decides to live on the farm.)
  • RTB supports healing, self-care and celebrations in a variety of ways, which may include bi-annual massages, use of RTB holistic medicinal practices (i.e. herbal tinctures and our BioMat), team birthday celebrations and sporadic local beach excursions;
  • Weekday team lunches crafted from delicious, vibrant, farm produce;
  • Hands-on learning environment focused on all aspects of sustainable living;
  • Buzzards Bay breezes and silky SouthCoast sunsets

 

HOW TO APPLY 

Please complete the RTB Candidate Questionnaire (https://forms.gle/eDsbtGmh2UyJhbwz9) and send a letter of interest telling us about yourself and detailing your motivations and qualifications for this position, along with a detailed resume and two professional references. Incomplete submissions will not be reviewed/considered. If you need reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know. Also, please feel free to note in your application which pronouns you use.

 

Please send materials via email (preferred) to heather@roundthebendfarm.org or via snail mail at:

Round the Bend Farm 

92 Allens Neck Road

South Dartmouth, MA  02748

Attn: Heather Zine

 

*ROUND THE BEND FARM (RTB) IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY/

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER*

RTB values a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. RTB is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.

By Laura Killingbeck

There’s no better way to celebrate fall than with some delicious dried apples!

Dehydration is the simple yet magical process of removing water from cells. When you dehydrate a fruit, you’re left with a tightly condensed package of flavor, nutrition, natural sugars, and aroma. Dried fruits are the world’s original candies! 

Dried apples are portable, healthy, and easy to make. You can snack on them throughout the day, rehydrate them for baked goods or granola, or keep them in your car, purse, or bike panniers to munch on when you travel. These snacks are so tasty that we hand them out on Halloween as treats. 

Dried Apples

Ingredients:

Apples

Instructions:

Core the apples and cut them in thin slices or rounds. Lay them flat on the tray of a food dehydrator* and dehydrate at 135 F for 12 hours or until done. 

For short term storage (less than one month), I dehydrate apples until they’re dry but still flexible. For longer term storage, I dehydrate them until they’re crisp like apple chips. Fully dried, crisp, apples can last up to a year or more in storage.

Optional variations:

Some people drizzle lemon juice over their apple slices to preserve the color. I’ve done this and it works. However, the difference is so minimal that I no longer bother. 

Try sprinkling your apples with spices before you dry them. Remember that your apples will reduce in volume as you dry them, so a little spice goes a long way! Some good spice variations:  

Chile Apples

Cinnamon Apples

Apple Pie Apples (Cinnamon, Allspice, Nutmeg)

*You can often find dehydrators at thrift stores or yard sales. I use a nine tray Excalibur Dehydrator. In some climates, homemade solar dehydrators are also very functional. Other people use an oven turned to low. 

By Laura Killingbeck

 

Our friend Jennifer Snyder has lots of fun food tricks up her sleeves. This spring when she stayed on the farm, she made us these wonderful crackers.  I call them “Infinity” Seed Crackers because you can use infinite combinations of seeds, fermented vegetables, and fresh herbs.  We ate them with fresh goat cheese and pesto, and they were an instant hit. 

 

These crackers are live-culture, raw, vegan, and delightfully crispy and flavorful.  Jen’s inspiration for this recipe came from https://www.saveur.com/seed-crackers-lacto-fermented-brine-recipe/.

 

Infinity Seed Crackers 

Makes 4-6 servings. 

 

Ingredients:

¾ cup whole flax seeds

⅓ cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup chia seeds

½ cup sesame seeds

2-3 tbs pumpkin seeds

1 cup sauerkraut or other fermented vegetables

½ cup sauerkraut brine, or other live culture brine

¼ cup chopped white onion

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 ¼ cup mixed fresh herbs (dill, oregano, cilantro, parsley, sage, thyme, chives, etc)

1 tsp salt

Instructions:

  1. Pulse half the flax seeds in a spice mill until powdered.
  2. Put the powdered flax seeds in a bowl and mix with all the other seeds.
  3. In a food processor, mix the sauerkraut, brine, onion, garlic, herbs, and salt and blend until smooth. 
  4. Mix all the ingredients together. 
  5. Press the mixture in a thin layer (about 1/8 inch thick) on a silicone sheet or wax paper, and put it in a dehydrator. 
  6. Dehydrate at 105 F for about eight hours or until crispy. 
  7. Break the crackers into pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week. 

By Laura Killingbeck

Spring is a time of wild obsessions. The sun starts to shine brighter and flowers pop up out of nothingness.  The color, fragrance, and flavors of fresh spring herbs capture our attention with a new intensity. It’s a delight to walk through the farm and see life springing forward. 

This year we had an enormous abundance of obsession-worthy chives. These were planted years ago on the old Sid Wainer Farm which we purchased in 2020 and now call Everbearing Farm.  By late April, the chive leaves were full and tender, with a delicately piquant flavor. We chopped them into salads, blended them into dressings, and sprinkled them over food as a dried spice. We also ate them by the gallon as pesto. 

The muse for this pesto is the chives themselves—full of sweet sunshine, and a fleeting, fragrant, sharpness. It makes a great incentive to grow more chives!

So far in 2021, Round the Bend has donated 175 pounds of chives to The Westport Food Bank and over 800 pounds to the Daily Table.

Spring Obsession Chive Pesto

Ingredients:

6-8 cups chives, rough chopped

½ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

½ cup lemon juice

1 cup safflower oil

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp powdered garlic

Instructions:

Put all the ingredients except the chives in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the chives and continue to blend 1-2 minutes, or until fully incorporated. Store in a glass jar and refrigerate. Keeps about one week.

We use this chive pesto on just about everything! It’s great as a sandwich spread, mixed with pasta, as a veggie or chip dip, or added as a topping to egg dishes or casseroles. Some people say it’s addictive! 

Variations:

Double the quantity of toasted pumpkin seeds to give this pesto a creamy, spreadable consistency and richer flavor.