Cook

Veterans Health Administration • Togus, ME

6h • Onsite

About The Position

This full-time Cook position is in Nutrition and Food Service at the VA Maine Healthcare System in Augusta, Maine, and is scheduled for 40 hours per week. The Cook prepares and coordinates meals and menu items, follows production sheets and recipes, calculates portions, and ensures food is prepared, timed, and presented to appropriate standards. The role includes cooking with a range of methods and equipment, preparing special and pureed foods, and supporting recipe and food-product evaluation. It also involves food safety, sanitation, kitchen cleaning, receiving and storing inventory, and maintaining food production records.

The work is performed in kitchen and dish-room areas that may be hot, noisy, uncomfortable, or extremely cold, including extended work in walk-in refrigerators and freezers. The position involves potential exposure to cuts, burns, strains, falls, cleaning chemicals, contagious disease, and verbally or physically aggressive patients. Employees must wear a clean uniform and appropriate hair covering, disposable gloves when handling food for service, and protective equipment for cleaning tasks. The work schedule is Thursday through Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; compressed or flexible scheduling is not authorized, and telework, remote work, and virtual work are not authorized.

Requirements

• Demonstrated training or experience of sufficient scope and quality to show the ability to perform the work; no specific length of training or experience is required.
• Provide detailed resume descriptions supporting knowledge, skills, and abilities relevant to the duties.
• Meet the Cook position's screen-out qualification requirement and job-element assessments, including interpreting instructions and specifications, dexterity and safety, materials, technical practices, use and maintenance of tools and equipment, and work practices.
• U.S. citizenship is required unless recruitment of qualified citizens is not possible under VA policy.
• Must be suitable for federal employment based on a background investigation.
• Tentatively selected applicants for testing-designated positions must submit to urinalysis for illegal drug use; refusal results in denial of employment.
• Males born after December 31, 1959, must meet Selective Service registration requirements.
• Complete online onboarding and provide acceptable identification and all required application documents.
• Serve a one-year probationary period and receive written certification for continued employment after the period.
• Participate in the annual seasonal influenza program by receiving vaccination or obtaining a medical or religious exemption; employees with an exemption must wear a face mask.
• Wear a proper hair covering and clean uniform, disposable gloves when handling food for service, and appropriate protective equipment for cleaning activities.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, cook, season, and portion food for meals, ensuring it is ready at the appropriate temperature and time and is visually appealing.
• Prepare menu items using standard, special, or complex recipes; follow menus and production sheets and prepare the quantities needed.
• Calculate serving portions from issued food quantities and coordinate the preparation and cooking of meals and multiple items with different cooking times.
• Coordinate cooking of items prepared by other cooks at one or more work centers.
• Attractively present and garnish food; broil, roast, bake, fry, boil, steam, and braise meats, fish, and poultry.
• Slice meat by hand to specified sizes or weights and prepare pureed foods, adjusting consistency with thickeners.
• Combine ingredients according to recipes while minimizing preparation time and food waste.
• Cover, label, date, store, use, or discard food according to local policies, labeling guidelines, and expiration dates.
• Operate kitchen equipment, including ovens, combi ovens/steamers, grills, slicers, mixers, steam kettles, blenders, food processors, and scales.
• Test and evaluate new food products and develop or modify standardized recipes, including detailed equipment lists.
• May oversee food safety activities and follow sanitary food-handling procedures.
• Disassemble and assemble equipment components and accessories for cleaning; clean, sanitize, store, and maintain kitchen utensils, equipment, and work areas.
• Clean assigned work areas, including worktables, sinks, blast chillers, racks, carts, floors, walls, and shelves.
• Operate the dish machine and check detergent levels and water temperature before washing and sanitizing equipment.
• Prepare food production worksheets from computerized recipe files.
• Receive, rotate, store, and maintain accurate inventories of perishable and non-perishable items.
• Monitor for signs of pests and notify the appropriate individual under local policy.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment, in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster-care placement of a child.
• Eligible full-time employees may qualify for a childcare subsidy after 60 days of employment, subject to family-income and other eligibility limits; the subsidy may cover up to 25% of eligible childcare costs, up to $416.66 per month.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and a federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.
• Newly appointed federal employees may be eligible for credit toward annual-leave accrual based on prior job-related experience or active-duty uniformed military service, subject to approval.

What This Job Offers

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