Child and Youth Program Cook

About the role

The purpose of the Child and Youth Program (CYP) Cook position is to perform a variety of food preparation and food service tasks for the CYP. This position is located in a child Development Center (CDC) but may assist with food preparation for the School Age Care (SAC) Program.

Responsibilities

• Prepares all types of meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, fruit sauces, and gravies for menus.
• Cook, season, and portion food for all meals by following standardized recipes at different levels of difficulty and plan, regulate, and schedule cooking procedures so that numerous completed food products are ready at the appropriate temperature and time.
• Plan and prepare or coordinate the preparation of an entire meal, including preparing menu items using special or difficult recipes that require numerous interrelated steps, many ingredients, and lengthy preparation time.
• Designs, implements, and maintains specialized and general office kitchen maintenance tasks, such as cleaning serving carts, food preparation areas, cupboards, drawers, and dishwashing areas; set up and operate a mechanical dishwasher; scrapes, soaks, scours, and scrubs the heavier cooking utensils such as mixing bowls and pots; performs heavy-duty cleaning tasks throughout the food service and related areas, such as cleaning ceilings; cleaning exhaust hoods; cleaning spaces under and behind kitchen equipment, including moving the equipment; washing floors and walls with powered cleaning equipment; cleaning walk-in refrigerators and freezers; and sanitizing garbage room.
• Maintains work area in a clean and orderly manner, adhering to NAVMED P5010 and all local policies and procedures.
• Labels and dates all items in refrigerators and freezers and stores leftovers in accordance with sanitation and health standards.
• Stores canned, boxed, and/or frozen items in food storage area.
• May unload food and supplies from delivery trucks.

Requirements

• Must obtain and maintain a valid food handlers' card.
• Must successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of employment.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical, provide evidence of immunization, be free of all communicable diseases, and obtain appropriate immunization against communicable diseases.
• Able to complete required training certificates, and maintain certifications or credentials required by Federal, State, and/or national accreditation institutions used as part of DoD's Child and Youth Programs.
• Satisfactorily complete all background checks in accordance with PL 101-647 to include National Agency Check with Written Inquiries (NACI).
• Participation in Direct Deposit/Electronic Fund Transfer within the first 30 days of employment is required.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen to obtain and maintain a Secret Security clearance.

Qualifications

A qualified candidate possesses the following:

• Knowledge and understanding of food handling techniques, personal hygiene standards, and safe work procedures.
• Thorough knowledge of the full range of food preparation principles including the techniques and procedures necessary to develop new or revise current recipes and to prepare and cook food in large quantities.
• Working knowledge of sanitation standards and procedures to prevent contamination, such as the need to clean equipment previously used for raw food before further use and the need to use a chemical sanitizer or maintain proper water temperature when cleaning dishes.
• Skill to perform tasks involving several procedures to prepare and cook food in large quantities.
• Ability to overcome practical production problems, evaluate final food products, and initiate corrective action when an item does not meet established quality standards.
• Ability to develop standardized recipes for quantity cooking; able to expand and modify recipes according to the capacity of the equipment in the kitchen as well and in response to adjustments in the number of servings required.
• Ability to manage various cooking processes so that food items are served at their peak taste, texture, and appearance with minimum holding periods and so that safe and critical temperature and time control points are met.
• Ability to coordinate a full range of food preparation activities involving quantity food production where a number of items are cooked simultaneously and require varied cooking methods, timing requirements, many ingredients, and numerous interrelated steps.
• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both orally and in writing, and possess strong interpersonal communication skills.

Education and Training

• High School Diploma or Equivalent
• Proof of education/training: if applicable, provide a copy of your awarded/conferred college transcript(s), if degree hasn't been conferred provide copy of HS Diploma, GED, or equivalent