Swan Lake Market & Garden – Vernon, BC
Full Time | Working Manager
PREPARED FOODS, MARKET MEALS & DELI PRODUCTION
Swan Lake Market & Garden is looking for a hands-on Food Production Manager to work as part of our deli team while leading the daily production and quality of our prepared-foods program.
This is a true working-manager position. On any given shift, the manager will operate a station—such as cook, sandwich preparation, prepared-food packaging or customer service—while also coordinating production lists, workflow, staff priorities and quality across the department.
Our production includes the Swan Lake Market Meals program, featuring prepared mains and sides, along with soups, salads, sandwiches, hot-case offerings and grab-and-go foods. Most products are prepared in planned batches for our retail cases and meal program rather than cooked to order.
We are looking for someone who understands how to work from recipes and production plans, organize batch quantities and timing, maintain consistent yields and quality, and keep the appropriate selection of food available throughout the day. They must be comfortable doing that while personally contributing to preparation, cooking, packaging or customer service.
The ideal candidate may come from supermarket prepared foods, a commissary or central kitchen, catering, institutional food service, or a high-volume restaurant environment where they personally worked a station while coordinating planned batch production and supervising others.
Management Accountability
Although this is a hands-on position, it is a genuine management role. The Food Production Manager is accountable for the overall performance of the deli, Market Meals and prepared-foods operation, including sales, margins, waste, inventory, labour deployment, product availability and staff performance.
The Administrative Manager prepares schedules, maintains system records and reporting, and supports ordering and administration. The Food Production Manager approves production staffing and schedules, establishes production procedures, approves PAR changes, participates in hiring and performance management, and makes operational program decisions.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Lead Daily Production
- Work alongside staff as a productive member of the team.
- Personally operate an assigned cook, prep, packaging or customer-service station.
- Coordinate batch cooking for soups, proteins, salads, vegetables, bowl components, Market Meals mains and sides, and other prepared foods.
- Organize daily production lists, workflow and station priorities.
- Adjust production based on staffing, product availability and customer demand.
- Ensure the department produces the right food in appropriate quantities and on schedule.
Support the Market Meals Program
- Coordinate the daily preparation of Market Meals mains and sides.
- Ensure meals are prepared consistently, presented properly and available when customers expect them.
- Adjust batch quantities and production timing to balance product availability, freshness and waste.
- Communicate production results, shortages and recommended PAR changes to the Administrative Manager.
Ensure Quality and Consistency
- Taste products and correct seasoning, texture or technique.
- Enforce recipes, portions, yields and clean-ingredient standards.
- Ensure Market Meals, hot-case, cold-case and grab-and-go products meet appearance, freshness and packaging expectations.
- Identify and correct inconsistent preparation or production practices.
Train and Coach Staff
- Train cooks, prep staff and packaging team members.
- Demonstrate proper preparation, cooking, portioning, packaging and station organization.
- Build a strong tasting culture and consistent food standards.
- Provide clear feedback, coaching and correction when required.
Manage Daily Operations
- Execute production plans and ensure products are completed on schedule.
- Coordinate packaging production at Station 5, including parfaits, snack packs, salads and bottled items.
- Reassign staff or adjust priorities when a station falls behind.
- Maintain required food-safety logs, sanitation standards and safe working practices.
Collaborate with the Administrative and Bakery Managers
- Communicate ingredient, packaging and production shortages.
- Work with the Administrative Manager on PAR adjustments, yields, ordering needs and production concerns.
- Collaborate with the Bakery Manager on crossover products and shared production requirements.
WHO YOU ARE
Hands-On
- Comfortable personally working a production or customer-service station.
- Willing to move between cooking, preparation, packaging and service as required.
- Leads through example and remains productive while supervising others.
Production-Minded
- Understands planned batch production, recipes, quantities, yields and timing.
- Able to organize multiple products and stations around a daily production plan.
- Notices production shortfalls, bottlenecks, inconsistent yields and unnecessary waste.
- Can adjust workflow without losing consistency or quality.
Quality-Focused
- Strong palate for seasoning and balance.
- Skilled in batch cooking and recipe execution.
- Passionate about whole foods, clean ingredients and well-prepared food.
Steady Team Leader
- Calm, clear and respectful communicator.
- Comfortable training, coaching and correcting staff.
- Reliable, organized and accountable.
- Low-ego, practical and solutions-oriented.
REQUIREMENTS
- Three or more years of experience in a food-production leadership, supervisory or management role.
- Experience personally working a station while coordinating planned batch production and supervising others.
- Strong understanding of recipes, batch quantities, yields, production timing and consistent execution.
- Experience training and directing cooks, prep staff or prepared-foods employees.
- Commitment to Swan Lake’s clean-ingredient standards.
- FoodSafe certification.
- Ability to lift 30–50 lbs and stand for extended periods.
Experience in supermarket prepared foods, commissary production, catering, institutional food service or another planned batch-production environment is strongly preferred.
Culinary school is an asset but not required.
WHY JOIN SWAN LAKE MARKET?
- A positive kitchen culture and clean-ingredient philosophy.
- A well-established local grocery and prepared-foods operation.
- Primarily daytime work without late-night restaurant hours.
- A working leadership role with direct influence over food quality and daily production.
- An opportunity to help strengthen and grow our Market Meals and prepared-foods programs.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $55,000.00-$65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Discounted or free food
- Extended health care
- Wellness program
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Vernon, BC V1B 3W6: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- Deli : 3 years (preferred)
- chef: 3 years (preferred)
- management: 3 years (preferred)
Licence/Certification:
- Food Safety Certification (required)
- Serving It Right (preferred)
Location:
- Vernon, BC V1B 3W6 (preferred)
Work Location: In person
