Cook I

Please note: Per San Francisco's Health Order C19-07y, Project Open Hand employees are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination prior to working on-site and with others. 

TITLE: Cook I

DEPARTMENT: Kitchen Operations

REPORTS TO: Executive Chef

LOCATION: 730 Polk Street, San Francisco                            

BENEFITS: No               

STATUS: Union, On-Call, Non-Exempt

CLASSIFICATION: Service Workers

SUPERVISES: N/A
 

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Cook I is a support role and an essential part of our team of dedicated culinary professionals producing meals with love every day for seniors and vulnerable neighbors in the Bay Area. A Cook I works alongside more advanced cooks to learn all aspects of commercial meal production systems, including but not limited to, preparing ingredients to be used in nutritious recipes, packaging meals and keeping a well-maintained kitchen. This position is ideal for an ambitious, flexible cook looking to support all aspects of large-scale meal production in a professional and mission-driven team environment. 

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

• A commitment to Project Open Hand’s mission and operating principles 
• 6 months of professional commercial, industrial or production kitchen experience 
• Ability to adhere to kitchen department rules, policies and procedures 
• Ability and desire to work as a part of a cohesive team 
• Ability to take direction and responsibility for actions 
• Ability to speak, read and write in English to facilitate communications in the kitchen with volunteers, peers and leadership in a fast-paced kitchen environment
• Ability to apply basic mathematical principles and adhere to standardized recipes and directions, strict portion sizes, cooking methods & quality standards 
• Capable of safely using knives and other food preparation equipment  
• Knowledge of food safety and sanitation standards
• Ability to pass CA food handling certification 
• Must be flexible to work early mornings, weekends or holidays to meet demands

QUALIFICATIONS DESIRED:

• Formal culinary training or equivalent experience 
• Experience with high volume meal production
• Bilingual in Spanish or Tagalog  
• HACCP certification

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assists in all aspects of food production in accordance with standardized recipes and planned menus, including ingredient preparation and assembly, cooking, cooling, portioning, food packaging, labeling, and proper storage and inventory management 
• Completes assigned trainings in all aspects of kitchen production
• Complies with portion sizes and quality standards 
• Adheres to kitchen department rules, policies and procedures 
• Assists in preparation and distribution of staff and volunteer meals and food services
• Under supervision as needed, prepares and sets-up ingredients according to recipes and planned menu and executes recipe to completion
• Ensures products are labeled properly for storage
• Packs and packages food using packing line and other methods in accordance with program guidelines and department procedures 
• Assists with organizing meals for internal and external distribution
• Assists kitchen teams with meal inventory movement and storage to ensure FIFO and food quality standards 
• Properly fills out all food service and inventory logs with required information and signatures per HACCP guidelines 
• Assists senior staff and kitchen teams responsible for ordering supplies, printing labels, receiving product, inventory management or other tasks as assigned
• Works harmoniously with volunteers to complete the goals of the department 
• Maintains a clean work area and follows all local, state and federal health standard guidelines
• Attends kitchen trainings and agency meetings 
• Completes other kitchen tasks as assigned 

POH COMPETENCIES: 

• A Team player: Demonstrates cooperative spirit, respects professional boundaries and is successful at sharing responsibilities with others
• Self-Led: Knows and completes responsibilities in assigned timelines, asks for clarifications when needed
• Sensitive to the circumstances and needs of the critically ill and seniors, as well as people with mental health and substance abuse issues
• Customer oriented: Works well with all customers (internal staff and external contacts), promotes a positive image of the agency and works diligently to resolve customer issues
• Poised: able to maintain a calm, positive and constructive attitude during interactions with diverse populations, sometimes in challenging situations
• Ethical: Honest, accountable, maintains confidentiality
• Knowledgeable: Understands facets of job, keeps job knowledge current
• Well Organized: Information organized and accessible, maintains efficient work space, manages time well
• Takes Initiative: Takes action, seeks new opportunities, strives to see projects to completion

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT: The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

Physical demands: While performing duties of job, incumbent is occasionally required to stand for long periods of time and move; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. Employee must bend, stoop and lift and/or move up to 50 pounds unassisted on a regular basis. Employee must be able to move fully loaded carts from floor to floor for storage on a regular basis. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus

Work environment: The noise level in the work environment will consistently vary from moderate to loud. The work environment will be ever changing with volunteers and staff members all sharing limited space and working together in the Kitchen. The work environment will consistently have wet floors, temperature extremes, moving objects and loud noises

Project Open Hand offers a generous employee benefit and wellness package. Eligibility for different programs is determined by the role and employment statuses but may include:
 
 • Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage, and Flexible Spending Account
 • Long Term Disability, Life/AD&D, and Supplemental Life Insurance
 • Retirement Savings Plan 403(b), Commuter Check Subsidy
 • Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Financial Counseling, Cell Phone Discounts, and additional discounts
 • Holidays (11 per year), generous vacation and sick leave, and complimentary lunch
 
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and State and Federal laws, we will consider for employment qualified applicants arrest and conviction records.