NC State Veterans Home-Black Mountain Cook - Dietary Aide

PruittHealth•Black Mountain, NC

About The Position

The Cook prepares palatable, attractive, and nutritionally sound meals in institutional quantities, following departmental policies, recipes, menu cycles, and applicable state and federal regulations. Meals must meet residents’ daily nutritional needs and special diet requirements and be served at the proper temperature and time. The Cook works with the Director of Food Service to use 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 meal and nourishment preparation, tray-line service, food storage, kitchen sanitation, and equipment operation and maintenance. The Cook helps supervise kitchen staff assisting with food preparation, tray assembly, cleaning, and supply and equipment storage; accommodates residents’ choices and cultural, ethnic, and religious preferences; and monitors and reports residents’ acceptance of menu items to the Dietary Manager. Duties are performed in accordance with facility procedures, food safety requirements, and applicable laws and regulations.

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, and ability to apply regulations to work situations and staff supervision.
Ability to follow standardized recipes and prepare meals in institutional quantities.
Knowledge of facility emergency and disaster procedures and ability to understand and respond to written or oral emergency instructions.
Ability to report for scheduled duty on time, including shifts, weekends, and holidays.
Ability to follow facility workplace-safety and infection-control policies, including universal precautions, personal protective equipment use, and hazardous-material handling.
Ability to follow procedures for special-handling resident trays and maintain sanitary food-preparation and storage areas.

Nice To Haves

Experience in long-term-care food production.

Responsibilities

Assist with preparing meals, salads, desserts, snacks, and other dishes, as well as between-meal nourishments.
Follow diet orders and NPO diet orders and 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.
Comply with infection-control policies in the work area.
Deliver trays to residents in halls and dining areas; assist with serving beverages and make coffee or tea as requested.
Clean dining tables after meals and clean work areas at the end of shifts and after meals, including sweeping and mopping.
Clean kitchen equipment and maintain serving equipment according to established procedures.
Remove garbage from kitchen areas and hose out garbage containers.
Scrape and wash dishes, pots, and pans, and store them properly.
Record freezer and walk-in refrigerator temperatures; maintain dishwashers and dish sinks; check and record water temperatures, sanitizer, and chemical levels, replacing chemicals as needed.
Maintain supply stock and store items according to established procedures.
Set up the tray line and perform tray-line service.
Operate the dish machine, garbage disposal, mixer, blender, meat slicer, steamer, and coffee and tea makers.
Follow recipes and menu cycles prepared by the Dietitian; prepare palatable, attractive, nutritionally adequate meals in institutional quantities and serve them at appropriate times.
Assist with supervising kitchen staff who help with food preparation, tray assembly, cleaning, and storage of supplies and equipment.
Continuously clean food-service work areas and use food supplies and equipment efficiently to prevent waste.
Prepare and maintain food substitutes to accommodate resident choices and cultural, ethnic, and religious preferences.
Inspect trays after meal service to 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 techniques and preventative-maintenance schedules.
Handle, store, and dispose of food supplies and prepared food according to department procedures and applicable regulations.
Participate in center or agency surveys and complete subsequently required reports; assist with preparation for state inspections and attend survey training.
Attend continuing education programs and mandatory in-services, and maintain current licenses or certifications when required.
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 safety procedures, including fire prevention, infection control, universal precautions, personal protective equipment use, and hazardous-material handling.
Inspect food-service work areas for pests, safety or fire hazards, and housekeeping or maintenance problems; correct or promptly report issues to the Dietary Manager.
Communicate with the Dietary Manager throughout the shift as needed, interact with state surveyors as instructed, and immediately report injuries to self or others to a supervisor.
Know facility emergency and disaster procedures, locate the nearest exit, respond to emergency instructions, and report for scheduled shifts, including weekends and holidays.
Perform other related duties as necessary and as directed by the supervisor.