Cook

Major duties and responsibilities

• Prepares and cooks meals that require little or no processing, such as hot cereals, concentrated or dehydrated soups, sauces, and gravies.
• Follows menus, production sheets, and recipes to properly prepare items in the quantity needed.
• Grills eggs, meat patties, pancakes, and French toast; broils meats; makes cold sandwich fillings; and assembles a variety of sandwiches.
• Prepares fresh, canned, and frozen vegetables; bakes frozen potatoes, pre-made cookie dough, and muffin batters.
• Prepares and heats convenience items such as frozen hash browns, fish fillets, and chicken nuggets.
• Prepares puréed foods and adjusts consistency with thickeners.
• Washes, peels, and cuts fruits and vegetables; assembles and mixes salad ingredients and dessert items, including gelatin molds and fruit crisps.
• Weighs, measures, and assembles ingredients for regular and modified diets.
• Operates a variety of kitchen equipment and follows appropriate safety procedures.
• Follows sanitary food handling procedures.
• Disassembles and reassembles equipment for cleaning.
• Cleans and sanitizes work areas and performs deep cleaning tasks when needed.
• Operates dish machine.
• Performs other related duties.

Physical Requirements

• Subject to continuous standing, walking, frequent bending, reaching, pushing, and pulling.
• Lifts or moves objects weighing up to 40 lbs unassisted.
• Manipulates cumbersome and heavy objects, such as washing stainless steel mixing bowls, pushing heavy carts on casters, or operating heavy equipment.
• Manual dexterity needed to safely operate equipment and to handle sharp knives and blades.
• Hand-eye coordination and ability to concentrate and react quickly to serve food and operate equipment.

Work Schedule

Rotating days, various work schedules to meet the needs of the service.

Environmental Factors

• Performs work in areas of temperature extremes.
• Work is carried out in kitchen/dish room areas that are often hot, uncomfortable, and noisy.
• Exposure to extreme cold while working in walk-in refrigerators and freezers for extended periods of time to complete duties.
• Exposure to stems, cooking odors, and noise from equipment and conversation.
• Exposure to hazards of cuts, bruises, strains, burns, and falls in kitchen equipment.
• Strong cleaning and sanitizing solutions may be skin and respiratory irritants.
• Exposure to contagious disease.
• Contact with patients who demonstrate verbally and/or physically aggressive behavior.

Personal Protective Equipment

• Wear proper hair covering and clean uniform.
• Wear disposable gloves when handling food for service.
• Wear proper protective equipment when completing cleaning activities.