Cook - Dietary Aide HCC

PruittHealth•Athens, GA

38d

About The Position

The Cook prepares palatable, nutritionally sound meals in accordance with departmental policies and procedures and applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Meals must meet residents’ daily nutritional and special-diet needs and be prepared and served at the proper temperature and time. In coordination with the Director of Food Service, the Cook helps allocate resources efficiently so residents receive food in the amount, type, consistency, and frequency needed to support acceptable body weight, nutritional values, and quality of life. The role also assists with food preparation and service, including preparing meals, snacks, desserts, nourishments, and substitutions; following diet orders; serving trays and beverages; and maintaining food, equipment, and work-area cleanliness. The Cook follows food handling, storage, sanitation, safety, and infection-control procedures, operates and maintains kitchen equipment, monitors required temperatures and supplies, and may assist with supervising kitchen staff. The position communicates with the Dietary Manager about resident acceptance of menu items and workplace or food-service concerns.

Requirements

Sufficient education to demonstrate functional literacy.
At least one year of institutional food-service experience as a cook.
Working knowledge of food handling, preparation, and storage techniques that comply with state and federal laws and regulations.
Ability to apply food-service regulations to cooking duties and supervision of staff assistants.
Ability to prepare meals according to standardized recipes and menu cycles.
Knowledge of facility emergency and disaster procedures and ability to respond to written or oral emergency instructions.
Ability to follow workplace safety, infection-control, universal-precaution, personal-protective-equipment, and hazardous-material procedures.
Ability to arrive on time and report for scheduled duty across shifts, weekends, and holidays.

Nice To Haves

Experience in long-term-care food production is preferred.

Responsibilities

Assist with preparing meals, salads, desserts, snacks, and between-meal nourishments.
Follow diet orders and NPO orders; serve nourishments according to procedural guidelines.
Store leftovers and opened food properly and follow procedures for serving partner meals.
Offer menu substitutions and record them according to procedural guidelines.
Deliver trays to residents in hallways and dining areas; assist with serving beverages and prepare coffee or tea as requested.
Clean dining tables after meals and clean the work area, including sweeping and mopping, at the end of shifts and after meals.
Clean kitchen equipment and remove kitchen garbage; hose out garbage containers.
Scrape, wash, and properly store dishes, pots, and pans.
Record freezer and walk-in refrigerator temperatures; maintain the dishwasher and dish sink, check and record water temperatures, use sanitizer strips, and monitor and replenish chemical levels as needed.
Maintain supply stock and store items according to established procedures.
Set up the tray line and perform tray-line service.
Operate food-service equipment, including dish machines, garbage disposals, mixers, blenders, meat slicers, steamers, and coffee and tea makers.
Use, clean, and maintain serving equipment according to established procedures.
Follow recipes and menu cycles to prepare attractive, palatable, nutritionally adequate meals in institutional quantities and serve them at the proper times.
Assist with supervising kitchen staff involved in food preparation, tray assembly, cleaning, and supply and equipment storage.
Continuously clean food-service work areas and use food supplies and equipment efficiently to prevent waste.
Prepare and maintain food substitutes that accommodate residents’ choices and cultural, ethnic, and religious preferences.
Inspect trays after meals, monitor and record residents’ acceptance of menu items, and report findings to the Dietary Manager.
Use food-preparation equipment according to manufacturer instructions and follow cleaning and preventive-maintenance schedules.
Handle, store, and dispose of food and prepared items according to department procedures and applicable regulations.
Participate in center or agency surveys, required reports, survey training, and preparation for state inspections; interact with surveyors as instructed.
Attend continuing education programs and mandatory in-services, and maintain any required current license or certification.
Respect residents’ rights, dignity, individuality, privacy, property, and civil rights; act honestly and with integrity in the care and use of resident and facility property.
Follow facility safety, fire-prevention, infection-control, universal-precaution, personal-protective-equipment, and hazardous-material procedures.
Report occupational hazards, safety or maintenance issues, injuries, and other problems promptly; communicate with the Dietary Manager as needed.
Know facility emergency and disaster procedures, including locating the nearest exit and responding to written or oral instructions.
Perform other related duties as necessary and as directed by the supervisor.
Arrive on time and report for duty as scheduled, including across shifts, weekends, and holidays.