Kitchen Staff - Cook

About the Role

The Cooks Helper provides support to food service activities at assigned locations, focusing on cooking food items that meet mandated nutritional requirements and the requests of students and school personnel. This role involves verifying order quantities and specifications, and maintaining facilities in a safe and sanitary condition. The Cooks Helper reports to the Head Cook.

Responsibilities

• Attend meetings, in-service training, and workshops to gather or convey job-related information.
• Clean utensils, equipment, storage areas, food preparation, and serving areas to maintain sanitary conditions.
• Cook food, both prepared and from scratch, to meet mandated nutritional and projected meal requirements.
• Estimate food preparation amounts and adjust recipes to meet projected meal requirements and minimize waste.
• Evaluate prepared foods for flavor, appearance, and temperature to ensure acceptance by students and staff.
• Inspect food items to verify quantity, quality, and specifications of orders, complying with mandated health standards.
• Maintain equipment, storage, food preparation, and serving areas in a sanitary condition to comply with health standards.
• Monitor kitchen and cafeteria areas to ensure a safe and sanitary working environment.
• Report equipment malfunctions to maintain safe working order.
• Serve food items to meet mandated nutritional requirements and requests of students and school personnel.
• Stock food, condiments, and supplies to maintain adequate quantities and security of items.
• Perform other related duties as assigned to ensure the efficient functioning of the work unit.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Job-related experience is required.
• Serve-Safe Certification.
• Criminal Background Clearance and Drug Test required.

Skills

• Skills: Ability to perform single, technical tasks in a commercial kitchen, including operating kitchen equipment and using pertinent software applications. Must adhere to safety practices.
• Knowledge: Ability to perform basic math (fractions, percents, ratios), understand written procedures, write routine documents, and solve practical problems. Knowledge of safety practices, food quantification, and sanitation practices is required.
• Abilities: Ability to schedule activities, gather and classify data, and work with a diversity of individuals and data. Flexibility to work in varied circumstances, handle interruptions, and set priorities. Must work well as part of a team.

Work Environment

The role involves significant physical demands, including lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and fine finger dexterity. The job requires 5% sitting, 50% walking, and 45% standing. Work is performed under some temperature extremes and conditions with exposure to risk of injury and/or illness.