Weekend Cook

Weekend Cook – Home-Style Meals | $350/Weekend

Camp Gencheff | Stratford, PEI

Part-Time | 3 Weekends per Month | September–June

$350 per Respite Weekend | Approx. 15–20 Hours

Love cooking for a crowd?

Camp Gencheff is looking for a dependable, resourceful Weekend Respite Cook who enjoys making good, familiar, home-cooked food.

You do not need to be a chef or have formal culinary training. If you’re a confident home cook who can make a great roast dinner, a big pot of soup, breakfast for a crowd, or turn what’s already in the fridge into a meal, we’d love to hear from you.

Our respite program supports children, teens, and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities approximately 2–3 weekends per month from September through June.

What does the job look like?

We intentionally keep our weekend meals simple, familiar, and practical. You’ll generally be preparing food for approximately 20–30 campers and staff.

A typical weekend includes a hot Saturday breakfast, a simple lunch, a home-cooked Saturday supper, snacks, and simple Sunday breakfast and lunch options.

Think pancakes and eggs, soup and sandwiches, roast chicken, shepherd’s pie, spaghetti, stew, cereal, toast, fruit, and other familiar favourites.

This is home-style cooking for a crowd, not restaurant service.

You’ll be provided with the dietary and food-related information you need for each respite weekend, including allergies, dietary restrictions, texture needs, and sensory-related food preferences, so you can plan safely and confidently.

What you’ll be responsible for:

• Planning and preparing weekend meals
• Grocery shopping and staying within an established food budget
• Managing fridge, freezer, and pantry inventory
• Making good use of food already on hand and reducing unnecessary waste
• Safely storing, labeling, freezing, and reusing appropriate leftovers
• Adapting meals when numbers, ingredients, or plans change
• Safely accommodating allergies, dietary restrictions, texture needs, and sensory-related food preferences
• Keeping the kitchen clean, organized, and food-safe
• Helping us improve how our kitchen and food-storage areas are organized
• Communicating grocery, equipment, supply, or kitchen concerns to the Program Manager
• You’ll have independence and ownership of the kitchen, while still being part of a supportive respite team.

You might be a great fit if you:

• Are a confident home cook or have experience cooking for larger families or groups
• Enjoy familiar, home-style cooking
• Know how to shop economically and stretch a grocery budget
• Are resourceful and can make a meal work when plans change
• Are organized and comfortable managing groceries and inventory independently
• Take food allergies and safe food preparation seriously
• Are dependable, flexible, and comfortable working around people with disabilities
• Take pride in keeping a clean, organized kitchen
• Experience in camps, community programs, healthcare, childcare, catering, or professional kitchens is welcome, but it is not required.

Experience working with people with disabilities is also an asset, but not required. Our respite staff provide direct camper support. We’re looking for someone who is comfortable being part of the camp environment and treats everyone with dignity and respect.

Schedule & Pay

• Respite typically operates 3 weekends per month from September through June.
• The position pays $350 per respite weekend for approximately 15–20 hours of work, including grocery shopping, meal preparation, inventory, and kitchen organization.

Requirements

• A Food Handler’s Certificate is required for the role, but you do not need to already have one to apply. We’re happy to work with the right candidate to have this completed as part of onboarding.
• A Vulnerable Sector Check is required as a condition of employment.
• Most importantly, we’re looking for someone who is reliable, comfortable taking ownership of the kitchen, and genuinely enjoys cooking for others.

Interested?

• If you enjoy feeding people, making good use of what’s already in the kitchen, and the idea of having a space you can organize and take pride in, we’d love to hear from you.
• Formal culinary experience is not required. A great home cook could be exactly who we’re looking for.

Essential Skills:

• Oral Communication
• Problem Solving
• Working with Others

Soft Skills:

• Adaptability
• Dependability
• Resourcefulness
• Time Management

Hard Skills:

• Budgeting
• Food Handling
• Food Safety
• Inventory Management

Certifications:

• Basic Food Safety Certification

Languages:

• English