Kitchen Workers

Three times a day, you will feed lots of hungry campers and counselors. For the Guadalupe Camp we feed about 500 people and for the Cypress Lake camp we feed about 250 people. Almost all of the work will be prep work (cutting onions, cutting salad, dicing tomatoes, finishing cakes, etc) as well as serving the food. Mystic prides itself on its delicious food, served fresh, and in abundance! Our goal is always to keep everyone happy and well-fed!

Here is a sample of the kitchen worker schedule:

7:00 AM – Show up at kitchen and prepare for breakfast. Sometimes have to come earlier, sometimes can come later, but 7:00 is the normal/average time.
8:00-8:30 – Serve Breakfast
8:30-9:00 – Staff eats Breakfast
9:00 – 11:30 – Morning Prep Time. During this time, we prepare everything we can for lunch and dinner. It will be things like cutting salad, chopping onions, dicing ham, peeling potatoes, making fruit salad, breading fish, cracking eggs, etc. It is basic kitchen prep that doesn’t require previous experience. Once everything on our prep list is done, the staff can go on break. Sometimes we get done as early as 10:15, sometimes as late as 12:00. The break time is determined by what has to be done that day, and the speed & efficiency of the staff.
12:15-12:45 – Finish getting lunch ready
12:45 – Serve Lunch
1:15-1:45 – Staff eats Lunch
1:45-2:00 – Clean Up
2:00-5:00 – Afternoon Break. 5:00pm is the normal/average time that we come back from break. Some days we come back later, and sometimes we have to come back earlier.
5:00-6:30 – Finish getting dinner ready. Also, we prepare anything we need to for the next morning.
6:30 – Serve Dinner
7:00-7:30 – Staff eats Dinner
7:30-8:00 – Clean up & go home

The typical amount of hours you will work per week is around 50 hours. As all the cooks learn their routines, meal preparation will get shorter, and longer breaks will occur. It is important to remember that we must all work as a team so that everyone finishes their job at the same time. If you see something that needs to be done, do it instead of waiting to be asked!

Cleaner/Camp Store Worker

The cleaner/camp store position is very different from the kitchen position. You are responsible for keeping many of the camp buildings clean and restocked with supplies. In the mornings, the campers will clean their cabins and then go to their activities. You will go around and inspect the cabins and grade them on their performance. For the camp store, you will help with the mail, clean, restock and organize in the mornings. In the afternoons, you will help the snacks.

Here is a sample of the cleaning/camp store schedule:

7:00-8:00 AM – Clean the Office and Rec Hall
8:30 – Staff Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30 – Inspection & Restocking of Supplies in the Cabins
10:30 – 12:00 – Commissary – Clean, Sort Mail, Organize, Restock
12:00- 1:00 – Clean various Camp Buildings and Bathrooms
1:00 – Staff Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 – Rest Period/Break
3:00 – 4:30 – Camp Store – Prepare Snacks, Pass out Snacks, Restock Supplies, Clean
4:30 – 6:00 – Clean and Restock Infirmary & Check all Bathrooms
7:00 – Staff Dinner

Guadalupe River Dining Hall Worker

At Guadalupe River, we have 5 men whose work is mainly about keeping the dining hall clean and set up for the next meal.

Here is a sample of the dining hall schedule:

7:00 AM – Show up at the dining hall and get plates and silverware on the tables for breakfast. Get coffee station ready. Bring in cereals from the storeroom.
7:55 – 8:00 – Help the kitchen staff serve the food to the waitresses.
8:00 – 8:25 – Dining Hall Staff eats Breakfast
8:25 – 10:30 – Help sort dirty dishes that the waitresses bring in right after breakfast. Wipe down tables. Sweep dining hall. Sweep porches. Mop main walking area, and mop entire dining hall 3 times a week. – Set tables with plates and silverware. Help put away any deliveries. Restock tables with sugars, jellies, ketchups, etc. Take out trash cans. Make Gatorade for lunch.
Morning Break
12:15 – 12:45 – Help the kitchen staff serve the food to the waitresses.
12:45 – 1:10 – Dining Hall Staff eats Lunch.
1:10 – 2:30 – Help scoop ice cream or help sort dirty dishes that the waitresses bring in right after lunch. Wipe down tables. Sweep dining hall. Mop main walking area. Take out trash cans.
Afternoon Break
5:30 – 6:30 – Set tables with plates and silverware. Make Lemonade (or tea). Help get any dinner stuff served.
6:30 – 6:55 – Dining Hall Staff eats Dinner.
6:55 – 8:30 – Help sort dirty dishes that the waitresses bring in right after dinner. Wipe down tables. Sweep dining hall. Sweep porches. Mop main walking area. Take out trash cans.

Cypress Lake Dishwasher/Dining Hall Worker

At Cypress Lake, we have 5 men who split the work of keeping the dishes, pots and pans clean and keeping the dining hall clean and set up for the next meal. At the Guadalupe River camp we have 3 full time dishwashers and 5 full time dining hall workers, but since the Cypress Lake Camp has half the number of campers and counselors, we divide the work between 5 men.

Here is a sample of the dishwashing/dining hall schedule:

7:00 AM – Show up at the dining hall and get plates and silverware on the tables for breakfast. Get coffee station ready. Bring in cereals from the storeroom. Clean the pots and pans in the 3-pot sink and get the dishwasher area ready for after breakfast.
7:55 – 8:00 – Help the kitchen staff serve the food to the waitresses.
8:00 – 8:25 – Dishwashing/Dining Hall Staff eats Breakfast
8:25 – 10:30 – Clean the pots and pans in the 3-pot sink. Help sort dirty dishes that the waitresses bring in right after breakfast. Two people wash the plates, serving containers, and silverware through the dishwashing machine. Wipe down tables. Sweep dining hall. Sweep porches. Mop main walking area, and mop entire dining hall 3 times a week. Set tables with plates and silverware. Help put away any deliveries. Restock tables with sugars, jellies, ketchups, etc. Take out trash cans. Make Gatorade for lunch.
Morning Break
12:15 – 12:45 – Clean the pots and pans in the 3-pot sink. Help the kitchen staff serve the food to the waitresses.
12:45 – 1:10 – Dishwashing/Dining Hall Staff eats Lunch.
1:10 – 2:30 – Help scoop ice cream or help sort dirty dishes that the waitresses bring in right after lunch. Clean the pots and pans in the 3-pot sink. Two people wash the plates, serving containers, and silverware through the dishwashing machine. Wipe down tables. Sweep dining hall. Mop main walking area. Take out trash cans.
Afternoon Break
5:30 – 6:30 – Clean the pots and pans in the 3-pot sink. Set tables with plates and silverware. Make Lemonade (or tea). Help get any dinner stuff served.
6:30 – 6:55 – Dishwashing/Dining Hall Staff eats Dinner.
6:55 – 8:30 – Help sort dirty dishes that the waitresses bring in right after dinner. Clean the pots and pans in the 3-pot sink. Two people wash the plates, serving containers, and silverware through the dishwashing machine. Wipe down tables. Sweep dining hall. Sweep porches. Mop main walking area. Take out trash cans.