Prep Cook

Summary of Role:  

Prepare, cook, season, and serve adequate, attractive, nutritious, and balanced meals, including meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, fruit, soups, salads, desserts, breads, and pastries, as specified and scheduled by the menus. The person holding this position is delegated the responsibility for carrying out the assigned duties and responsibilities in accordance with current existing federal and state regulations and established company policies and procedures.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Position:

• Handle and prepare food that is palatable, appetizing, and attractive.
• Comply with meal schedules.
• Maintain and use equipment and supplies.
• Establish practice of serving hot food hot and cold food cold.
• Use initiative and judgment in setting up meals and utilizing leftovers to avoid waste.
• Follow standard recipes but make independent decisions in line with current experience.
• Cook a variety of foods in large quantities.
• Understand importance of proper food-handling techniques and hazards of improper food handling.
• Be familiar with seasoning and cooking time required.
• Be aware of cooking characteristics of various cuts of meats, fish and fowl.
• Estimate quantities of food required and apportion servings while monitoring portion-controlled guidelines for individual residents.
• Prepare foodstuffs for cooking: Peel, wash, trim, and cut vegetables and fruit; wash, cut, de-bone and trim meat, fish and fowl.
• Taste, smell, and observe food to ensure conformity with recipes and appearance.
• Serve food according to dietary guidelines, checking each tray for completeness and accuracy.
• Wash pots, pans, and other equipment as used.
• Responsible for the supervision of other food service employees in absence of Executive Chef.
• Cook food: Bake, roast, stew and steam-cook meats, fish and fowl, basting as necessary to retain flavor; make gravies, stocks, dressings, sauces and soups.
• Prepare cold meats, sandwiches, griddle cakes, cooked cereals, and beverages.

Job Qualifications:

• Continuing Education: Attend in-service educations within the community.
• Education: High school diploma preferred, but at the minimum the ability to read and write English.
• Experience: Previous experience in the dietary department of health care facility preferred.
• Job Knowledge: Ability to prepare and cook a variety of foods in large quantities; aware of special diets, seasoning requirements, cooking times, temperature controls; ability to estimate quantities of food required, limit waste, and utilize leftovers while serving attractive, appetizing meals.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

• Walking 3 hours per shift
• Standing 4-5 hours per shift while preparing and serving food
• Lifting 1#-20# frequently, 21#-35# occasionally, 36#-70# rarely
• Bending and reaching, squatting and kneeling, crawling and climbing
• Extreme hot and cold temperature changes
• Use of large and small kitchen equipment