I'm looking for an intern!

photo by aya brackett

Job Description

Samin Nosrat is offering a three month long internship to a student or recent graduate wishing to gain one-on-one hands-on experience in the wonderful, unpredictable world of good food entrepreneurship.

This is an unpaid opportunity to be fully immersed in Samin’s many projects, including Pop-Up General Store, Tartine Afterhours, Home Ec Cooking Classes, and everything else she does! The intern will work very closely with Samin on correspondence, scheduling and social media. There will also be interaction with Samin’s many wonderful collaborators, including folks at Chez Panisse, Pizzaiolo, Tartine Bakery, OPEN restaurant, various local farmers and journalists, and, well, you get the point—lots of good people. Opportunities to work in the kitchen alongside Samin are also a possibility.

(Ok, I’m sick of writing in the third person.)

The internship takes place with me. Wherever I go, you go. I live in North Berkeley and do about half of my work from home. For events, classes, and special projects I hit the road, and I’d take you along with me. I’ll provide delicious meals and plenty of unexpected perks as well as opportunities for paid work. You’ll be expected to work roughly from 9am – 1pm two days a week, as well as helping out on site at events 3-4 times a month.

Though it may look like my work is predominantly about food, it’s not. More than anything, it’s about people. I care deeply about people and have cultivated a really strong community of friends and colleagues over the past decade that I can welcome you into. I need you to help get my day-to-day stuff done, and if you’re smart and resourceful, you can pick up a lot of other info, connections, and skills along the way.

Though I’ve had mentees, helpers and employees in the past, this is the first time I’ll have ever had a personal intern dedicated to working with me on all of my various endeavors, so we’re gonna figure things out together as we go along. I promise I’ll never make you do any crappy task I wouldn’t do myself, and the boring to fun task ratio will always be 1 to 1. Sound good?

In my dream universe, you:

• are extremely detail-oriented
• have a great sense of humor and have an extraordinary ability to roll with the punches
• are really organized 
• are proficient with Microsoft Excel and Word (Photoshop and In Design a plus) 
• are well versed with social media including Facebook, Twitter 
• know your way around a digital camera and are able to take lovely photos 
• have very good writing abilities 
• approach exciting/cool tasks and boring/gross tasks (like washing dishes in the bathtub, a sad reality here in my world) with equal enthusiasm because you understand that you can’t really have one without the other 
• have a strong interest in gastronomy from an ecological, agricultural and cultural perspective 

Regular Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Checking and responding to e-mail and other professional correspondence 
• Assisting with scheduling 
• Filing 
• Assisting with special events 
• Assisting with social media, including upkeep of Facebook pages, twitter stream, and blog 
• Documenting events and projects with lovely photos 
• If you’re interested and so inclined, helping to redesign the handbooks I write for Home Ec classes so they don’t look like a 5th grader designed them 
• Documenting and testing recipes 

About Samin Nosrat (back to third person):

Samin's life has been molded by skillful teachers, beginning with her mother, grandmothers and aunts who made a home for her in the Persian kitchen.

Her love of the written word was fostered at UC Berkeley, where Stephen Booth offered steadfast mentorship. Subsequent study with Michael Pollan made Samin appreciate the craft of writing from a journalistic perspective. A natural storyteller, she draws her inspiration from culture, tradition, and history, and seeks in her writing to connect these influences to issues of community and sustainability.

Creating community around food is at the heart of all of Samin's varied endeavors, from Pop-Up General Store to Tartine Afterhours. She brings a sense of humor and joy with her into the kitchen, where she cooks simple, honest food rooted in tradition and seasonality. With her Home Ec series of hands-on cooking classes, Samin empowers her students in the kitchen, inspiring them to reconnect with our food, with those who grow it, and with those gathered around the table.

Over the past decade, her culinary philosophy has been shaped by the Chez Panisse family, especially Alice Waters, Christopher Lee, Cal Peternell and David Tanis. Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini and farmer extraordinaire Bob Cannard have provided counterpoints on how tradition and nature intersect with the food we put on our tables.

Samin lives in Berkeley, CA.

To apply:

Start dates are flexible, but I'm hoping to get started with you sometime in September. To apply, please send a cover letter and résumé to ciao {at} saminnosrat {dot} com.