High Volume Prep Cook - Seasonal

Job Summary

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ridgecrest Conference Center impacts lives for God's glory through purposeful hospitality. As a Prep Cook, you will prepare and produce high-quality meals for conferences, meetings, and special events. This role requires ensuring meals are prepared in a timely manner and meet the highest standards of quality and presentation.

Job Specific Highlights

• Bulk Food Processing: Wash, peel, chop, slice, and portion hundreds of pounds of produce, meats, and poultry daily according to strict recipe yields.
• Commercial Equipment Operation: Safely operate large-scale kitchen machinery, including commercial food processors (Robot Coupe), cutters, and industrial mixers.
• Batch Production: Prepare massive batches of foundational menu items, including stocks, sauces, dressings, marinades, soups, and grain bases.
• Assembly-Line Set-Up: Organize, load, and transport heavy-duty prep carts to various kitchen stations or banquet holding areas ahead of scheduled services.
• High-Capacity Inventory Care: May be required to assist and unpack massive supplier shipments. Correctly store pallets of goods using the First-In, First-Out (FIFO) method.
• Industrial Safety & Sanitation: Keep prep bays clean and sanitized. Adhere strictly to Health codes, plans, and log cooling temperatures accurately.
• Waste Mitigation: Maintain meticulous portion control and document any food waste or spoilage on tracking sheets.

Requirements

• High-Volume Experience: Experience prepping in a high-capacity environment (e.g., hotels, cruise ships, universities, hospital kitchens, or large catering firms) is preferred but not required.
• Heavy Physical Stamina: Ability to stand and walk on hard surfaces for 8+ hour shifts, work inside large walk-in freezers and coolers.
• Team Synchronization: Ability to work seamlessly as a team member in a large culinary team, taking clear directions from Chefs, Shift Leads, and experienced cooks.
• Rigorous Safety Mindset: Deep understanding of cross-contamination prevention, allergen separation, and proper cooling/holding temperatures.
• Certifications: Active ServSafe Food Handler or Food Manager certification is preferred but not required.
• Physical Requirements: Ability to carry or deliver items around various areas of our campus with varying degrees of steepness, lift weights up to 50 pounds, use manual dexterity to use kitchen utensils and equipment, stand for long periods, stoop, squat, and climb as necessary, walk and stand on hard floors for long periods of time, work in environments with varying temperatures, including hot conditions in the kitchen (due to ovens, stoves, and grills) and cold conditions in refrigeration units, freezers, or cold storage areas.

Qualifications

• Highschool Diploma or GED - required

Pay

Starting pay $16.00 per hour (increases BOE)

Schedule

Early mornings, weekends, and holiday rotations depending on the event calendar and business demands.