Position Summary: Prepares, cooks and delivers quality meals per facility-approved menu. Maintains kitchen work standards created and put into place by the Director of Food and Nutrition Services including the strict use of approved recipes. Delivers a quality and creative restaurant-style dining experience to all residents and guests.

Essential Functions

• Follows proper work standards for food handling, processing and preparation, cooking, thawing, cooling, reheating, and sanitation.
• Follows best practices for tracking temperatures of food during preparation and delivery, refrigeration and freezing.
• Performs shift cooking and serving duties while delegating work to kitchen assistant(s).
• Cooks main course dishes, e.g., meat, fish, poultry for current meal and future shift inventory.
• Prepares sauces and soups; sides dishes, pastries, appetizers, snacks, and desserts for current meal and inventory for next shift(s).
• Ensures that assistants are adequately and timely prepping and/or cooking food for current meal and inventory for next shift.
• Responsible for shift management of Food and Nutrition Services Assistant(s) and Maitre D’.
• Effectively delegates tasks to department staff.
• Ensures that foods are prepared per schedules, approved menus, and standardized recipes.
• Adheres to food storage and rotation program to prevent spoilage.
• Tracks current inventories of food and supplies and reports same to Director of Food and Nutrition Services to avoid any shortages or system failures.
• Advises Director of Food and Nutrition Services of any problems with utensils or cooking or storage equipment.
• At shift’s end, sees to the proper cleaning and sanitizing of all equipment, utensils, appliances, surfaces, containers, floors and disposal of trash.
• Assists Director of Food and Nutrition Services to ensure compliance with federal, state, local and company health, safety, and sanitation standards.
• Supports ongoing training efforts for food service workers in best use of kitchen utensils, equipment, personal safety, personal hygiene, sanitary handling of food and equipment, and the highest level of safety and sanitation for the overall kitchen and dining premises.
• Reports to Director of Food and Nutrition Services any kitchen or serving performance issues noticed during shift.
• Wears professional attire daily, which includes department uniform.
• Attends all required training and meetings.
• Attends all required in-services as directed.
• Takes part in employee orientation as directed.
• Complies with the company’s employee safety prevention and accident reporting program.
• Participates in conducting fire drills and other safety drills.
• Cooperates and problem-solves with other departments and staff, residents, families, vendors, and others to support the residents’ needs.
• Timely response and follow through on all communications.
• Protects the confidential nature of resident information and adheres to resident rights.
• Follows all company policies and procedures.
• Works flexible and, at times, uncertain work hours including early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays, as needed and performs duties of other positions as needed.
• This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice.

NOTE: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Qualifications

• Lead Cook experience in restaurant environment.
• Currently recognized as ServSafe Certified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)- Conference for Food Protection (CFP).
• Must have food handler certification or ability to complete when hired.
• Excellent skills in all types of cooking including stove-top, baking, grilling, boiling, poaching and frying.
• Competency in cooking a multitude of dishes from main course to soups and sauces to desserts and side dishes, etc.
• Experienced in hands-on food preparation activities for current meal and building inventory for next shift(s).
• Proven track record of cooking multiple foods in a cooperative kitchen team environment.
• Ability to ensure on-demand meal delivery in a restaurant environment.
• Skilled at delegating preparation and stocking work among kitchen workers.
• Ability to observe work habits of shift staff and provide necessary correction and training regarding food processing and storage, personal safety, personal hygiene, and the sanitary handling of food, equipment and overall kitchen and dining premises.
• Must be known for displaying a commitment to excellence in food preparation and delivery.
• History of ethical conduct.
• Ability to communicate effectively with individuals at all levels of life experiences.
• Able and willing to take direction from management.
• Ability to work under pressure and deal with stressful situations during busy periods.
• Works extra hours when necessary and performs duties of other positions as needed.
• Self-directed organizational skills that enhance the ability to manage numerous priorities.
• Patience and acceptance of constant change in own work environment.
• Reads, writes, speaks, and understands the English language.

Preferred Education or Experience

• Formal culinary class completion in nutrition, food safety, or sanitation.
• Experience cooking for those with restricted dietary requirements.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. They include:

• Regularly required to stand for long periods of time, use hands to finger, feel, handle controls, talk, walk, hear, reach out and up with hands and arms, stoop and kneel.
• Must be able to easily lift, carry, and otherwise move at least 50 pounds.
• Ability to work with and manipulate industrial cooking equipment and machinery.
• Must be able to tolerate changing temperatures within a kitchen environment from hot to cold and freezing.
• Requires physical contact with residents.

Work Environment

The work environment is a professional healthcare environment. Employee could be exposed to:

• Noise levels range from moderate to loud.
• Contact with a wide variety of food products and aromas occur regularly.
• Workers can sustain injuries such as bumps and bruises, cuts or burns.
• Walking in and out of a food freezer is routine.
• Cleaning agents and other chemicals for sanitation purposes are present.
• Work gloves made of Latex or other materials are required to be used.
• Dermatitis from frequent hand-washing.
• Contagious or infectious diseases.
• Bio-hazardous waste.
• While performing administrative duties, the work environment includes standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Travel

• Employee must be able to travel by automobile.