Central Kitchen Cook

La Mesa-Spring Valley School District•Spring Valley, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Under the guidance of the Central Kitchen Manager, performs duties at an assigned central kitchen related to cooking, baking and preparing large quantities of food items for transport to multiple school sites. Verifies quantities and specifications of orders. Maintains kitchen facilities, equipment and utensils in a clean and sanitary condition. Trains, provides leadership and work guidance to assigned personnel in the performance of their job functions. This is a promotional-only recruitment, meaning only current, contracted employees of LMSVSD will be considered. These positions are 8 hours/day, 206 days/year. The eligibility list will be valid for 6 months or until exhausted. An examination process may include a written exam, performance and/or technical oral examination.

Requirements

Graduation from high school and two years increasingly responsible experience in the preparation of food in large quantities including one year performing cooking duties involving following and extending recipes.
Successful passage of the District's Job Related Proficiency Test.
Valid Food Safety Manager Certificate (ServSafe Certificate or its equivalent) - Qualified candidates can take merit exam without certificate but must be obtained prior to employment into the position.
Incumbents are required to adhere to the annual minimum required training hours for School Nutrition Managers per the USDA Guide to Professional Standards for School Nutritional Programs.

Responsibilities

Assists in performing cashiering duties as assigned; operates a Point-of-Sale (P.O.S.) machine as assigned; receives money for food and beverages sold; maintains records of meals and beverages served and monies accepted as assigned; assists with preparing deposits according to established procedures.
Assures availability of items required for meeting projected menu requirements; monitors inventory levels of food items, utensils and supplies; orders, receives, stores and rotates food items and supplies; conducts meal counts and inventories.
Communicates with personnel and various outside agencies to exchange information and resolve issues or concerns; monitors kitchen and cafeteria areas.
Cooks food from scratch for multiple student nutritional programs and catered events for the purpose of meeting mandated nutritional and projected meal requirements.
Determines appropriate quantity of food items for cooking and adjusts recipes; assures compliance with food quality standards including appearance and nutritional requirements; heats and cooks food according to standardized recipes to meet scheduled menu requirements and operating time lines.
Evaluates prepared food for flavor, appearance and temperature; presents items that will be accepted by students and/or staff.
Inspects food items for the purpose of verifying quantity, quality and specifications of orders to meet preparation requirements and complying with mandated health standards.
Leads and participates in large-quantity cooking and baking in the preparation of foods such as main dishes, vegetables, fruits and salads in a production kitchen environment; oversees the preparation and serving of food and beverage items.
Maintains a variety of records and reports related to daily food item distribution, inventory and assigned activities including parent notices, daily counts, free/reduced meal counts, fridge/freezer temperatures, food forecasting sheets, bank deposits, food/milk orders, inventory and supply lists, machine logs; processes and completes food transport sheets as required.
Maintains kitchen facilities and equipment in a clean and sanitary condition; cleans utensils, equipment, storage area, food preparation and serving areas and food service equipment; operates dish washers and wash trays, pots, pans, plates, utensils and other serving equipment as assigned.
Operates standard food service equipment such as slicers, ovens, can openers, food carts, mixers, choppers, stoves and warmers.
Oversees and participates in the measuring and weighing of ingredients; calculates, adjusts and extends recipes; estimates needed quantities of food and supplies; assembles, mixes and prepares a variety of ingredients and supplies; assures proper temperature of foods.
Performs functions of other nutritional services positions, as requested by supervisor to ensure adequate staff coverage within site nutritional services operations.
Prepares food items and utensils for distribution to school sites according to individual school needs as assigned; reviews and verifies quantities of outgoing shipments; loads hot and cold transport carts with specified food items and supplies for distribution to school sites.
Reports equipment malfunctions and/or facility repair/replacement needs of the kitchen for the purpose of maintaining equipment in safe working order.
Trains and provides leadership and work guidance to assigned personnel; reviews work to assure accuracy, completeness and compliance with established specifications; provides input concerning employee evaluations as requested.
Attends and participates in meeting, in-service trainings, workshops and conferences.
Performs related duties as assigned.