Senior Cook

About the role

As a Senior Cook, you will play a vital role in delivering high-quality food service within our kitchen operations. You will lead daily food production efforts across assigned areas, ensuring all meals are prepared with precision and consistency, from standardized recipes to catering requests. Beyond your culinary expertise, you will serve as a resource and leader for fellow kitchen staff, sharing your knowledge and skills to uphold the highest standards of food safety, quality, and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Plans daily food production for assigned areas and produces all food items based on production sheets, café menus, catering requests, and other approved sources.
• Prepares all food items according to standardized recipes and adjusts recipe quantities for correct yields.
• Notifies supervisor of any problems relating to production.
• Plans food production timing and quantities in accordance with daily orders, menu tally sheets, and production assignments.
• In the event of shortage, determines menu substitutions for regular and café menus; consults with diet tech or dietician for special diet needs.
• Minimizes food waste with appropriate planning and tracking; records food shortages and excess quantities.
• Checks and logs food and equipment temperatures; reports any problems to the supervisor.
• Maintains par levels of food and supplies in assigned areas; orders and/or restocks items; rotates food stocks; checks freshness dates.
• Keeps assigned work areas clean and orderly; reports needed equipment repair.
• May receive and check in deliveries from vendors and assist in menu planning.
• Provides leadership and knowledge in cooking and food preparation skills to other kitchen staff.
• May interact with external customers in café or catering assignments.

Requirements

• High school diploma/GED or equivalent working knowledge.
• Two or more years of similar work experience in production cooking.
• Solid understanding of cooking principles, menu substitutions, and modified recipes for commonly prescribed diets.
• Skills and demonstrated abilities in hot food production and use of all required commercial kitchen equipment.
• Ability to learn and follow established policies and procedures, read and understand written and verbal instructions, communicate effectively, and perform math calculations for recipe weights and production amounts.
• Ability to learn food handling regulations and pass certification tests as required.
• Ability to perform tasks within limited time frames and follow production and cleaning schedules.
• Ability to use chemicals safely.
• For Banner Staffing Services (BSS) team members, a food handlers' card is required within 30 days of hire (not required in Tucson and Colorado).
• Employees working at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital must possess an Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card at the time of hire and maintain it for the duration of employment; an Arizona Criminal History Affidavit must be signed upon hire.

This position works under general supervision and has primarily inter-department responsibility.