WORK WITH US

Meaningful work rooted in nature, respect for the land, and good food.

Forest for Dinner is a wildcrafting company founded in 2015 by husband and wife Benjamin Patarin and Célia Auclair. We bring high-quality wild food products harvested from the wilderness of Vancouver Island into the retail space and local food and beverage industry. Our company is built upon a shared love of nature, wild food, and decades of experience foraging all over the world.

“We’re wild about foraging nourishing, world-changing foods.”

Assistant Processing Facility Manager

Location: Port Alberni, BC
Type: Temporary position (November to December)
Compensation: $18–$22/hour, depending on experience

About the Role:

We’re looking for a temporary assistant to help support production and logistics during our busiest season. This is a great opportunity for someone with experience in food production or strong organizational skills who wants to learn more about wild foods and small-batch processing.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Assist with production of preserved wild foods (jams, jellies, pickled mushrooms, teas, etc.)
  • Support labeling, batching, and inventory tracking
  • Follow food safety protocols (VIHA standards)
  • Help prepare orders and packaging for holiday sales
  • Maintain cleanliness and organization in the workspace
  • Support the Production Manager in daily tasks as needed

Qualifications:

  • Experience in food handling, kitchen work, or light manufacturing
  • Food Safe Level 1 preferred (or willingness to obtain)
  • Reliable, organized, and able to work independently
  • Comfortable working on your feet and lifting boxes up to 40 lbs
  • Interest in wild food, sustainability, or small-scale food production is a plus

Apply Now

Market Manager

Shipyards Christmas Market

Location: North Vancouver, BC
Type: Seasonal Contract (November 28 to December 22, 2024)
Compensation: $23–$28/hour + travel stipend if applicable

About the Role:

Forest for Dinner is attending the Shipyards Christmas Market in North Vancouver, and we’re hiring a Market Manager to lead the booth operations. You’ll be our brand ambassador onsite—engaging with customers, setting up and maintaining the booth, handling payments, and coordinating stock.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Manage daily booth operations for the full duration of the market
  • Set up and take down booth materials each day
  • Educate customers about our wild-foraged products
  • Track inventory, handle payments, and submit daily reports
  • Coordinate deliveries and restocking as needed
  • Represent Forest for Dinner with professionalism, friendliness, and product knowledge

Qualifications:

  • Experience with retail, markets, or customer-facing roles
  • Highly independent and reliable
  • Strong communication and sales skills
  • Physically able to handle set-up, lift boxes, and work on your feet
  • Passion for wild food and local products is a big plus
  • Must be available for full market schedule (mostly evenings and weekends)

Apply Now

Market Vendor

Shipyards Christmas Market

Location: North Vancouver, BC
Type: Part-time seasonal (shifts between Nov 28 and Dec 22, 2024)
Compensation: $18–$21/hour

About the Role:

We’re looking for a friendly, enthusiastic Market Vendor to help sell our wild-foraged products at the Shipyards Christmas Market. You’ll work under the Market Manager to create a welcoming, festive atmosphere and share the story behind Forest for Dinner’s handcrafted goods.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Greet customers and explain products clearly and warmly
  • Handle sales transactions and assist with booth upkeep
  • Restock items and assist with end-of-day clean-up
  • Share knowledge about our wild ingredients and foraging practices (training provided)

Qualifications:

  • Positive attitude and strong customer service skills
  • Experience in retail or markets is an asset
  • Reliable and punctual
  • Available for evening and weekend shifts throughout the market schedule
  • Passion for local food and wild products is a bonus

Apply Now

Our Core Values

E

High Quality + Hard Work

High quality is our signature. We carefully select only the very best wild foods and work hard to deliver the perfect products, each and every time.

E

Ethical + Trustworthy

Our ultimate aim is to be fair, loyal, and respectful toward our clients, our partners, and above all, the natural world.

E

Authenticity + Enthusiasm

We’re a small business working with local products. Being authentic and transparent is more than just words—we live it every day. We want to share our knowledge about plants and foraging with future generations.

Our Team

Benjamin Patarin
Co-Founder | CEO
“I’ve always been an avid forager. When I was two years old, I collected wild blueberries in the French Alps with my mother. Since then, everywhere I’ve been, I can’t help putting my hands on every edible fruit, plant, or mushroom I find.

After completing my master’s degree in agroforestry, I focused on wild edible food and Western Canada’s wild edible mushrooms in particular. Combined with a passion for cooking, I created my dream job with Forest for Dinner. We hope you love eating the delicacies we find in the forest as much as we enjoy picking them!”

Célia Auclair
Co-Founder | Managing Partner
“Coming from the French Alps, every summer we would harvest delicious and juicy myrtilles (wild mountain huckleberries). Those childhood memories resonate deeply in me now, as I pass on this knowledge to my own children and teach them how to forage wild delicacies in the forests and mountains of Vancouver Island.

With my bachelor’s degree in business administration in Quebec, I soon understood that business could be carried out in many ways. Forest for Dinner is a perfect combination of my love of nature, the Canadian wilderness, and my desire to run my own business. Now my office is in the wild, and my work feels in line with my values of preserving the ecosystem, educating people about ways we can do that, and transmitting food knowledge to future generations.”

The Foragers
Every year, we team up with many foragers from all over. They all share a passion for wild food, no matter their diverse backgrounds and origins. We feel honoured to partner with harvesters who share our core values. We offer a safe, respectful and inclusive work environment and invite all our collaborators to do the same.
If you’re interested in working and collaborating with us, please get in touch!

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