Meadow Lark Farm Dinners are a celebration of Colorado's farmers and food artisans. From June through September, we set our table in fields and pastures, barns and greenhouses, around Boulder County. Our menus are inspired by the morning's harvest, and are prepared on-site in our mobile kitchen and on our wood-burning grill. We are driven by the belief that the rituals of the table hold great potential for building communities. By cooking uncomplicated food on local farms, right beside the rows of crops, we strive to draw connections among taste and place and season.

Internship Description

We are seeking two to three interns to join Meadow Lark Farm Dinners for the 2010 season. Our paid internships require full-time employment. The work is physically demanding and dependent on exceptional teamwork and communication skills. Interns will be involved in all aspects of Meadow Lark Farm Dinners, as outlined below.

MLFD prepares two dinners every week. With preparations for dinner, post-dinner clean-up, and other administrative tasks, the work will consist of 40–60 hours a week, and will usually be spread out over six days. The bulk of the work falls on dinner days—work may begin as early as 7 a.m., and conclude as late as 1 a.m.. Our schedule varies from week to week: dinners could be held on Wednesday and Saturday one week, and Thursday and Sunday the next. Therefore, while interns will have at least one free day every week, this day-off will not always fall on the same day of the week.

Our major equipment consists of a mobile kitchen (a 24-foot school bus that has been converted into a kitchen and pantry), a wood-burning grill that has been built onto a trailer, and a truck for transportation of chairs and tables. All of this equipment must be maintained in excellent condition, and moved from farm to farm according to the dinner schedule.

A typical dinner entails the following tasks:

Pre-Dinner Day:

Preparation of Bus—restock bus pantry; restock fresh linens; fill water tanks; fill propane tanks; load drinking water; load wood for grill; purchase fuel for bus and generators.

Shopping—purchase additional groceries and supplies (at farmers’ market, grocery store, restaurant supply, hardware store, etc.).

Food Preparation—in some instances, some food preparation may have to be carried our ahead of time in the commissary kitchen.

Dinner Day:

Arrival—drive bus and trailers to farm.

Morning Set-Up—unload tables and chairs from trailer; set up outdoor staging area, including prep tables and tent; set up propane stove; unload and hook up generators; unload dinnerware and table ware; unload cooking equipment; prepare grill for cooking; set up hand-wash station by restroom facilities; set up drinking water station; display signs to direct guests to parking area and table; help with harvest of vegetables, as needed.

Lunch—help MLFD cooks prepare staff lunch; lunch break.

Afternoon Set-Up—set up dining table and chairs; lay linens and napkins; polish silverware and glassware; prepare flower vases; fill salt bowls for table; fill water carafes; set up tents over table, if necessary; prepare path lighting to restroom facilities and parking area; fill and set up citronella torches; set up fans for mosquito control, if needed.

Cooking  Assistance—assist MLFD cooks with washing and preparation of vegetables; assist with cooking on stove and grill; assist with plating during the meal.

Dinner—greet arriving guests and direct to table; prepare aperitifs and serve to guests; help MLFD cooks plate food; provide service to and from the table; discuss menu, wine, and farming practices with guests; wash dishes and cooking equipment in bus, as needed.

Staff Meal—MLFD staff has dinner after guests have left.

Break-Down—clear table; load used dishes into used dish boxes; store away leftover food and beverages; collect used table linens; break down tents, tables and chairs; load tents into bus; stack tables and chairs onto trailer and secure tarp; break down grill area; break-down stove, water station, hand-wash station; load generators, fans, etc. into bus; load used dish boxes into bus; collect MLFD signs and lighting ; pick up trash.

Departure—return bus and trailers to home base. Empty trash and compost and lock all equipment.

Post-Dinner Day:

Cleaning of Bus—take bus to commissary kitchen; assist dishwashers in unloading used dishes, glasses and cooking equipment; unload clean dish and glassware storage systems; repack clean dishes, glassware and cooking equipment; empty fridge; clean floors, fridge, cooking surfaces and sinks.

Cleaning of Linens—wash linens at laundromat; iron napkins.

Additional Tasks:

Interns will also participate in the following tasks throughout the week: assist MLFD cooks with menu planning; place produce orders with farmers; purchase supplies at Boulder County Farmers’ Market (Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings); communicate with farmers about details of dinners; communicate with guests about dinners; answer phone calls and emails of MLFD customers; run miscellaneous errands.

Internship Qualifications

We are looking for responsible, hardworking individuals who are capable of working independently as well as with others. An interest in local food, farming, and the relationship between food, environment and community is important.

MLFD interns will work closely with one another and MLFD staff throughout the season. In addition, interns will interact regularly with dinner guests. For this reason, excellent communication skills are paramount.

Interns must be willing to work long hours—in excess of 14 hours on dinner days—outdoors, in a wide range of weather conditions (summer temperatures in Boulder, Colorado, are regularly between 90°F and 100°F; by fall, nighttime temperatures can dip below 40°F).

All interns must possess a valid driver’s license, and be willing and able to drive a bus (24 ft) as well as a truck with trailer. In addition, interns must be willing and able to regularly lift heavy equipment (up to 50 pounds).

Experience in one or more of the following areas is helpful:

Commitment—Meadow Lark Farm Dinners take place from June through September. Strong preference will be given to applicants who can make a commitment for the entire season, arriving in Boulder in late May and working through the first weekend on October.

Housing & Transportation—Interns are expected to provide their own housing and transportation while in Boulder.

Compensation—Interns will receive $1,350 per month (compensation is subject to taxes) for full-time employment (six days a week; 40-60 hours a week; work days and times will vary).

Smoking—Smoking is not permitted in and around MLFD equipment, or on farms that host MLFD dinners. 

Application Process

To apply for a 2010 MLFD internship position, please send—as email attachments, or by post—a cover letter, resume, and a completed Internship Application (downloadable as a Word document by following the link below). Once we receive your application materials, we will notify you via email. If you do not hear from us within a week of sending your application materials, we may not have received them—please contact us.

We will contact applicants to schedule phone or on-site interviews shortly after the application deadline.

The application deadline is February 28, 2010.