Fermentation Chef Specialist

Responsibilities

• Manage the property's fermentation program
• Produce kombucha, kefir, kimchi, miso, lacto-fermented vegetables, tepache (fermented Mexican pineapple drink), vinegars
• Develop Tulum-specific ferments using local tropical ingredients — fermented mango, tropical fruit vinegars, local honey ferments
• Integrate fermented ingredients throughout the kitchen's menu
• Maintain fermentation temperature, pH, and sanitation standards
• Educate guests on fermentation through workshops and tastings

Requirements

• 3–5 years kitchen experience with fermentation specialization
• Scientific understanding of fermentation processes — LAB fermentation, acetic acid fermentation, koji
• Knowledge of tropical ingredient fermentation — different from temperate-climate ferments
• Patient and detail-oriented — fermentation cannot be rushed
• English helpful — Tulum wellness guests are international and curious

Benefits

• IMSS, Aguinaldo, vacation + premium
• On-site accommodation, fermented staff beverages
• Integration into Tulum's fermentation community — workshops, collaborations

Work environment

Dedicated fermentation kitchen or cellar at wellness property. Tulum's climate — warm and humid — creates specific fermentation challenges and opportunities. Tropical climate fermentation behaves differently than in temperate kitchens.

About the role

Living food. Every fermented product in your care is alive — a community of organisms transforming food into something more nutritionally complex than where it started. Managing that life is its own discipline. In Tulum's jungle, surrounded by Mayan ecological wisdom, this work feels ancient and contemporary simultaneously.