Cook (Dining Services III) - Veterans Community Living Center Fitzsimons - Aurora, CO

State of Colorado • Denver, CO

9h • Onsite

About The Position

The work unit exists to provide quality care to residents by meeting or exceeding the standards as prescribed by the Veterans Administration and the Colorado Department of Public Health. This work unit exists to provide full dining services for 180 nursing home residents, catering, and staff meals. Responsible for three balanced, nutritious meals daily, meeting all dietary needs of all residents as per physician orders, ensuring meals are served timely at the correct temperature, and accurately maintaining diet cards, within state and federal regulations. Additionally, the work unit maintains a sanitary and safe work environment. This position functions independently in performing a full range of responsibilities that include but are not limited to cooking meals in the main and satellite kitchens, serving residents, cleaning, sanitation, and related tasks. This includes following generally accepted and facility food service standards. This position performs a variety of heavy manual labor food service duties, including, but not limited to, cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen, the kitchen equipment, utensils, dishes, pots, and pans. The position requires heavy lifting, manual labor, long periods of standing and walking, which includes delivering the food to the satellite kitchens. This position helps to stock and maintain par levels in the storeroom, coolers, and freezers. Additionally, as a Dining Services III (Cook) you can expect to:
Provide excellent customer service to all internal and external customers.
Communicate immediately and directly with the food service director regarding any department concerns.
Main kitchen sanitation.
Cleans each piece of equipment after each use, and cleans the kitchen, equipment, and floors at the end of each shift.
Washes and sanitizes pots and pans wash down walls, racks, and floors in walk-in refrigerators.
Cleans and sanitizes all kitchen food service equipment.
Cleans dining room tables and sanitizes, cleans chairs, washes dishes and silverware, and puts them away
Collects and disposes of trash and maintains the dumpster trash area.
Follows standardized recipes to prepare meals to appropriate temperatures and textures: pureed, mechanical, regular, hot, and cold items.
Prepares all aspects of meals to food safety standards, visual appeal, and palatability for residents.
Prepare enough of all menu items for residents and prepare enough therapeutic diets in the appropriate texture and temperature.
Follows the therapeutic worksheets for correct portion sizes and texture.
Monitors all food temperatures and records on proper form while food is removed from the oven/ cooling unit before the items leave the main kitchens and provides solutions to aid(s) for discrepancies in food temps.
Prepare and serve residents in private dining rooms as needed and on special occasions, and deliver food as required to the proper units
Monitors the aides when they clean and sanitize the satellite kitchens and unit areas.
Assist the food service supervisor in inventorying supplies and foods (perishables and non-perishables), freezer, and storeroom.
Monitors temperatures of the main kitchen, satellites, and other appropriate areas where food is served, and maintains daily records.
Check all storage areas for labels and dates, check all leftover food in refrigerators for expiration dates, and discard all outdated food and snacks as required by policies and procedures.
Attend scheduled in-services, trainings, and meetings, train new employees on the functions of the job, and provide feedback to the food service Manager on the proficiency of the new employee
Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Two (2) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position.
• Must be willing to test for Tuberculosis (TB) test.
• Shift work, including days, evenings, weekends, or holidays.
• CBI name check and fingerprint check.
• ICON Colorado court database.
• Medicare fraud database.
• Reference Checks.
• Professional License verification (licensure requirements).
• Drug Screen.
• PREA (Division of Youth Services).
• Trails check (direct contact with children).
• CAPS (direct contact with adults – Mental Health Institutes, Regional Centers, Veterans Community Living Centers).

Nice To Haves

• Experience in food service.
• Certification of ServSafe Class.
• Experience working in a hospital or living center.
• Knowledge of health operational requirements, hazards, and precautionary measures taken within a food service unit.
• Knowledge of institutional food service procedures and practices.
• Knowledge of weights, measures (e.g., food scales, measuring cups, and spoons), and food measurement techniques.
• Knowledge of techniques used in mixing food (e.g., gelatin, pancake batter, salad dressing, scrambled eggs, etc.).
• Knowledge of meat and vegetable preparation methods (clean, cut, cube, grind, peel, dice, grate, slice, chop, and tenderize).
• Knowledge of cooking methods (e.g., frying, deep-fat frying, boiling, or baking).
• Knowledge of the use of kitchen utensils in serving or portioning meals.
• Knowledge of food safety related to handling and storing cooked foods, serving and storing temperatures, or reading food thermometers.
• Ability to read English at the level necessary for interpreting, understanding, and scaling written recipes, menus, nourishment labels, diet slips, portioning sheets, and policies and procedures.
• Ability to understand and execute oral and written instructions.
• Ability to use and operate a gas, rotary, or convection oven safely and effectively.
• Interpersonal skills and teamwork skills.
• Relevant years of state service experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide excellent customer service to all internal and external customers.
• Communicate immediately and directly with the food service director regarding any department concerns.
• Maintain kitchen sanitation.
• Clean each piece of equipment after each use, and clean the kitchen, equipment, and floors at the end of each shift.
• Wash and sanitize pots and pans, wash down walls, racks, and floors in walk-in refrigerators.
• Clean and sanitize all kitchen food service equipment.
• Clean dining room tables and sanitize, clean chairs, wash dishes and silverware, and put them away.
• Collect and dispose of trash and maintain the dumpster trash area.
• Follow standardized recipes to prepare meals to appropriate temperatures and textures: pureed, mechanical, regular, hot, and cold items.
• Prepare all aspects of meals to food safety standards, visual appeal, and palatability for residents.
• Prepare enough of all menu items for residents and prepare enough therapeutic diets in the appropriate texture and temperature.
• Follow the therapeutic worksheets for correct portion sizes and texture.
• Monitor all food temperatures and record on proper form while food is removed from the oven/cooling unit before the items leave the main kitchens and provide solutions to aid(s) for discrepancies in food temps.
• Prepare and serve residents in private dining rooms as needed and on special occasions, and deliver food as required to the proper units.
• Monitor the aides when they clean and sanitize the satellite kitchens and unit areas.
• Assist the food service supervisor in inventorying supplies and foods (perishables and non-perishables), freezer, and storeroom.
• Monitor temperatures of the main kitchen, satellites, and other appropriate areas where food is served, and maintain daily records.
• Check all storage areas for labels and dates, check all leftover food in refrigerators for expiration dates, and discard all outdated food and snacks as required by policies and procedures.
• Attend scheduled in-services, trainings, and meetings, train new employees on the functions of the job, and provide feedback to the food service Manager on the proficiency of the new employee.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits, including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus 401(k) and 457 plans
• Medical and dental health plans
• Employer-supplemented Health Savings Account
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• 11 paid holidays per year, plus vacation and sick leave
• State of Colorado Employee BenefitHub Resource Center
• Employee Wellness program
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training, and more
• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed