Cook - Philadelphia

The Yay Company•Durham, NC

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Cook is the engine of the Yay kitchen. You’re the first one in and the person the team looks to when production gets moving. This is a hands-on cooking role — you’re at the line, in the prep, making sure every meal that goes to students is on spec and on time. You also help keep the kitchen organized and set the standard for how the team works. This is the right role if you love to cook, take pride in consistency, and want to be trusted to run the kitchen when it matters.

Requirements

Current Food Handler certification (required)
Experience in a high-volume kitchen (school food service, catering, or similar)
Strong knife skills
Comfort with both hot line and cold prep
Detail-oriented (follow recipes, label correctly, do not cut corners)
Reliable, on time, and ready to work hard

Nice To Haves

ServSafe certification

Responsibilities

Hot Food Production: Cook from recipe cards, portion correctly, spot check portions, verify temperatures, and keep production on schedule.
Cold Batch Production: Produce cold items (fruit cups, veggie packs, snack packs, wraps, salads) on set batch days, ensuring completion on time, correct portioning, immediate labeling with prep and use-by dates, and proper storage at or below 41°F. Enforce FEFO (First-Expired, First-Out) at all times. No cold items produced outside the schedule without Ops Manager direction. Refer to the cold item shelf life guide for use-by standards.
Kitchen Pars & Inventory: Conduct full inventory counts weekly. Order based on counts and batch schedule. Enforce FEFO across all storage. Receive deliveries personally, verify against invoice, and flag issues. Log all waste daily, review patterns weekly, and flag discrepancies.
Team Development: Ensure Kitchen & Service Assistants know their roles, specs, and standards. Brief them at the start of every shift with clear assignments. On batch day, ensure everyone knows their role in cold production. Debrief at least twice a week. Address performance issues directly and document them.
Sales & School Happiness: Act as the face of Yay at the school. Communicate proactively with school administration about menu changes, service updates, or anything affecting their day. Collect feedback from students and staff and relay it.
Complete food safety logs daily (temperatures at opening, during cooking, during holding, and at close).
Keep station and shared kitchen spaces clean and organized.
Log waste accurately and flag anything that seems off.
Help receive deliveries and verify product against invoices when needed.
Set the pace and standard for the kitchen team during your shift.
Support and lead team members, demonstrating correct procedures and identifying areas where support is needed.