Ready to love hospitality again?
Help create the moments that bring people together.
Are you a Chef, Cook or Catering Hand/Assistant who’s tired of late nights, split shifts, and missing weekends, birthdays and Christmas with your family?
What if you could still work in hospitality, still cook great food, still be part of an awesome team… but actually have a life outside work?
At Emu Gully, we work hard, laugh a lot, and genuinely enjoy what we do. We serve hundreds of meals every week, but our kitchen is about far more than food.
Food isn’t just fuel.
It’s where tired kids unwind after a day of adventure.
It’s where friendships form.
It’s where stories get shared.
It’s where community happens.
Every meal helps shape the experience our participants will remember for years to come.
Why You’ll Love Working Here
This isn’t your typical hospitality job.
Here’s what life looks like at Emu Gully:
- Two consistent shift options:
5:00am – 1:30pm and 10:30am – 7:00pm
- No split shifts
- Regular evenings at home
- Weekend work is shared fairly across the team, so you’re not constantly rostered on
- School holidays are generally our quieter period
- Mandatory shutdown over Christmas and New Year, so you can actually enjoy the holidays
- Five weeks paid annual leave every year
- Meals provided while you’re working onsite
- A beautiful workplace at the base of the Toowoomba Range near Helidon
- A supportive, close-knit team that genuinely enjoys working together
We work hard.
We hold high standards.
And we have a lot of fun doing it.
Bring your personality, creativity and love of food. We’ll provide the purpose.
About Emu Gully
Emu Gully is a not-for-profit organisation with a vision of Shaping Great Australians.
Through adventure education, we help thousands of young Australians build courage, leadership, resilience and character every year. Every member of our team contributes to that mission, including the people in our kitchen.
The kitchen is the heartbeat of camp.
Every meal is another opportunity to care for people, create community and make someone’s day a little better.
What you’ll be doing
Working alongside our Chef and Catering Manager (and rest of the catering team), you’ll help keep the kitchen running smoothly while ensuring every group receives a great dining experience.
Your day may include:
- Food preparation including washing, chopping, portioning, assembling and plating meals
- Assisting with meal service
- Keeping the kitchen clean, organised and ready for the next service
- Following food safety and hygiene procedures
- Receiving deliveries and rotating stock
- Helping monitor stock levels and reporting shortages
- Creating a welcoming experience for participants, staff and guests
- Jumping in wherever the team needs support
No two days are exactly the same, and that’s part of what makes the role enjoyable.
Who We’re Looking For
Skills can be taught.
Reliability, attitude and genuinely caring about people are much harder to teach.
We’re looking for someone who brings:
- A positive, can-do attitude
- A strong work ethic
- Reliability and accountability
- Pride in cleanliness and attention to detail
- The ability to stay calm during busy services
- A team-first mindset
- A friendly and approachable personality
- A willingness to jump in wherever needed
Bonus Points If You Have
- Kitchen or hospitality experience
- Camp or large-group catering experience
- Any hospitality qualifications or training
Don’t worry if you don’t tick every box – we have alot of expereince in our kitchen currently so we are more interested in finding someone who fits our culture than someone with the perfect resume.
Why People Stay
The people who thrive at Emu Gully are people who enjoy working with great teammates, take pride in doing things well, and want their work to matter.
If you’re looking for just another kitchen job, this probably isn’t it.
But if you’re looking for a place where your teammates become mates, where you can go home knowing you’ve made a real difference, and where hospitality doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your family life……we’d love to meet you.
Interested? Please apply via SEEK with:
- Your resume
- A short cover letter telling us a bit about yourself and why you’d be a great fit
Hint: We’re much more interested in hearing about your personality, values and why this role genuinely interests you than reading a perfectly polished generic cover letter.
We read every application and genuinely appreciate the time people take to apply.
