Child Care Center Cook

Child Care of the Berkshires Inc • North Adams, MA

1h • $20 - $22 • Onsite

About The Position

SEEKING: We are seeking a Cook for our Monument Square Early Childhood and School-Age Center in North Adams MA.

RESPONSIBLE TO: Monument Square Program Director

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
The Monument Square Early Childhood Center provides care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children in a renovated elementary school in North Adams. The Center is licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care for 82 children.

BASIC FUNCTION:
The Child Care Center Cook is responsible for planning, preparing, and serving high quality and tasty nutritious meals and snacks for children ages 6 months to 11 years old.

In addition, the Child Care Center Cook plays an important role in supporting children’s health, wellness, and daily learning by ensuring all meals meet CACFP and state nutritional guidelines and food safety standards.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Basic understanding of professional cooking and knife handling skills. Previous prep or line cook experience extremely helpful.
• Basic understanding of good nutrition and CACFP meal patterns, including Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Pyramid.
• Must have Certification in Allergen Awareness and Serve Safe, or commitment to become certified and an understanding and knowledge of safety, sanitation and food handling procedures.
• Basic understanding of creditable and non-creditable food items.
• Ability to plan and problem solve.
• Ability to complete simple arithmetic and functionally literate.
• Must demonstrate enjoyment of children.
• Ability to communicate clearly with children and staff, both orally and in written form.
• Must pass an EEC fingerprint background check and meet Massachusetts EEC health/safety requirements.

Responsibilities

• Plan, prepare, and serve breakfast and lunch daily according to the center’s schedule, collaborating with child care staff to ensure mealtimes run smoothly and positively.
• Plans menus, follows recipes, variety, portion controls and presentation specifications as set by CACFP guidelines. Meals reflect creativity, imagination, and variety with minimal reliance on convenience or prepackaged items. Introduces new food items on occasion.
• Cleans, organizes, and maintains kitchen area (counter tops, stove, and all kitchen surfaces including walls) and storeroom, practicing good safety, sanitation, and ensuring the safety of the children around the kitchen area.
• Has understanding and knowledge to properly use and maintain all equipment in kitchen. Ensure that facilities or equipment meet regulatory compliance (i.e. temperature of refrigerator). Arrange for equipment purchases and repairs.
• Meet with sales representatives in order to negotiate prices and order supplies.
• Responsible for record keeping as assigned, including but not limited to, the Bureau of Nutrition records, meal counts, and inventory of food and supplies.
• Attends monthly staff meetings, workshops, conferences, and in-service training, a minimum of 6 hours in nutrition annually; responsible for documenting training in file.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Benefits include medical, vision and dental insurance, sick and vacation time, as well as paid holidays, paid closure days and retirement plan, and child care reimbursement.
• Some evening work may be needed to attend training sessions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED