Per Diem Ranch Chef Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Year-round Head Chef. Mountain kitchen. The off-season is yours to build.

We bought Sundance Trail Ranch to run it for a long time. Which means the chef seat isn't a six-month contract that punts you in October — it's the same kitchen, same paycheck, same mountains, every month of the year.

Most ranches don't offer that. We do. And we're looking to build our year-round team.

We're 138 acres at 8,000 ft, with Roosevelt National Forest as the back fence. Fort Collins is 45 minutes down the road for the days you want a 'city' and Denver's about two hours away.

I want to be clear, this isn't a vacation gig. It's for a chef who's done time in hotel kitchens, big-box brigades, or the chain-resort grind, and is ready to cook real food again — properly, with people who actually care.

A few things make this unusual.

Year-round work. Same paycheck through October, November, February. Most ranch chef jobs will only host you for half the year. This one doesn't.

The off-season is yours to build. Dude ranch summer is set, but the rest of the year is wide open — destination dinners pulling the drivecation crowd up from Fort Collins and Denver for a mini-ranch stay, afternoon tea for day riders coming off the mountain, lodge buyouts for destination weddings and company retreats. That food program hasn't been built yet. We have our food philosophy however we want to hire the chef who wants to build it with us.

And everyone eats your food. Team, guests, owners, same table, same meals. We don't run a cheap-staff line as we believe our team is the most important part of the ranch.

About the money.

$20-30/hr (dependant on skills) + tips, year-round, hourly. On paper that's not the top chef rate you'll see on this site. Read this part before you scroll.

• Private room on-ranch, year-round (shared apartment off-season, two housemates max)

• Three meals a day, every day, the same food the guests eat

• Lodging and meals provided per IRC §119, untaxed

• HFWA paid sick leave and FAMLI

• No rent, no grocery bill, no commute

A Denver chef pulling a similar hourly rate is often netting less than you will here once rent, groceries, and commuting costs are factored in. The chefs who’ve made this kind of move and actually run the numbers usually come out ahead. That math is part of the point of this offer — look at it twice.

You'll thrive here if:

• You've led a kitchen 3+ years, OR you're a strong senior sous ready to step up

• Calm under pressure, generous with your team, ruthless on standards

• Confident across modes — family-style, plated, casual restaurant, tea, occasional event

• You run a kitchen as a P&L, not a hobby — own ordering, food cost, inventory

• You believe whole food, scratch cooking, and clean eating actually matter

• You actually want to live in the mountains. This isn't a job you commute to.

You won't if:

• You think hospitality is theater instead of care

• You need a 25-cook brigade to feel like a chef

• "From scratch" means defrosting it yourself

• You think staff should eat differently than guests

• The dishroom on a Tuesday night feels beneath you

What you'd be cooking.

Whole food. From scratch. Clean. We don't open bags. Stocks from bones, bread from flour, the land sets the menu. Our food philosophy sits closer to a wellness retreat than a standard ranch kitchen — organic where it matters, seasonal, non-processed, food-as-medicine. That's not a marketing line, it's how we actually eat.

Dude ranch season is the heart of the work. Family-style breakfasts that fuel a day on horseback. Trail lunches that hold up at the top of a ridge. Dinners that bring 24 guests around one big table, plus up to 15 staff eating the same food. One plated adult-only dinner mid-week — the night the parents booked the trip for. Built around a weekly arc, not a static menu.

What you'd own.

You report to the Head of Hospitality and sit at the leadership table, not in the back of the kitchen. Menu, ordering, food cost, inventory, your kitchen team. We trust you to run it well. That's why we're paying for a chef who can.

The place, real talk.

8,000 ft. Tobacco-free (no chewing or smoking), drug-free, random screening. WiFi limited, cell signal patchy, by design. Chef uniform in the kitchen, western when you step out. Uniform can be provided. Full ranch access on days off — riding, hiking, jacuzzi, disc golf, shooting range, miles of forest out the back gate.

It's beautiful here. It's also remote, weather-dependent, and physical. Some weeks will stretch you. That's part of the work.

Who you'd work with.

Jade and Monty — partners in life, in business, and in this ranch.

Monty spent 25 years in the ski industry, working with some of the most iconic mountain resorts in North America. He's now part-time CFO for boutique destination, cat, and heli-skiing operations across British Columbia and Colorado, including Silverton Mountain. He stepped out of the corporate noise to live closer to the mountains. The bar he holds for guest experience is high.

Jade has spent two decades coaching companies to build high-performance, human-centered organizations across Australia, the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. STR is the most direct expression of her work she's ever built. You'll get real mentorship — career and life, not just kitchen feedback. The kind most chefs never get.

Wiil you join us?