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About the MARSH Chef and Organizer Residency
Imagine you are the lead chef/cook/baker for a 30-seat restaurant and a natural foods grocery with a selection of prepared foods and baked goods. You have access to a full licensed kitchen outfitted with up-to-date equipment. You use ingredients from the attached grocery and seasonal fruits and vegetables from local organic gardens (one of which is on-site). Menus are oriented around seasonality, deliciousness, nutrition, and low-waste. The full food system–diner, grocery, gardens, CSA–is managed cooperatively with other worker-owners, members, and volunteers. The organization as a whole models climate resilience, labor equity, bioethical strategies, and integration of food systems with social justice…
About MARSH
MARSH (Materializing & Activating Radical Social Habitus) is a biocultural laboratory. Legally, our not-for-profit structure combines consumer, worker, and producer cooperatives. The organization itself is explicitly anti-capitalist and works to directly practice solidarity economics, mutual aid, bioethics, and more habitable relations between humans and Earth. We are located at 6917 S Broadway in the Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis, MO, USA. On a day-to-day basis, MARSH currently involves:
- A sliding scale grocery store where you can find baked goods + meals, bulk items, and a range of whole and natural foods at low (to no) cost
- A network of organic gardens in the immediate Carondelet neighborhood
- A gathering space with programs & events, band shows, outdoor BBQs, and more
- Individual projects that design, test, experiment with, and model organizing strategies
- Relationships with many other local organizations and community groups
- 3 residency apartments upstairs above the diner and grocery
Over the course of the next year, MARSH plans to open our diner space to the public and host a series of gatherings that will culminate in late Fall, 2023 in a Community Climate Symposium.
Overview of the Residency
We are seeking an individual who is passionate about delicious and sustainable dishes, food access, reducing food waste, and cooperative labor practices. The right person is experienced with cooking in and managing a commercial kitchen, and can adapt their skills to this unique situation.
Valuable Skills, Qualifications, and Experiences
- Experience with nutrient-dense, natural, plant-based cooking methods, willingness to develop new recipes, adapt and use existing recipes, and serve a community with diverse dietary and culinary needs
- Experience with baking, and balancing food service with pre-prepared production
- Creativity and flexibility in use of a rotating list of ingredients based on seasonal availability through the garden and grocery store
- Passion for reducing food waste and providing food access to the community
- Dependable, organized, and communicative
- Excellent at time management and meeting deadlines
- Interested in cooperative management and structures and enjoy collaborating with others
- Excited about working with a team of people who identify as women, nonbinary, trans, queer, and/or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
- Able to delegate to and support a diverse group of member-owners and volunteers with a wide range of capabilities. An ability to communicate clearly and respectfully with diverse individuals with different backgrounds
- Self-directed and self-motivated, looking for more in life than just working a job for money
What We’re Offering
- Housing and related costs (utilities, internet, etc.) for 6 to 8 months
- Food
- Monthly stipend of $1,500
Start Date
March – May 2023 (depending on if you are local or would be moving to St. Louis)
MARSH 
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