Cook

Veterans Health Administration • Lexington, KY

2d • Onsite

About The Position

This full-time Cook position is in the Nutrition and Food Service at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. The Cook prepares nutritious, high-quality meals for Veterans, including regular and therapeutic diets. The position follows menus, production sheets, and recipes to prepare foods in required quantities and at appropriate times and temperatures. Duties also include operating and cleaning kitchen equipment, maintaining sanitary food-handling practices, and completing related food-service tasks.

The work schedule is 6:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. or 11:00 a.m.–7:30 p.m., with rotating weekends, shifts, locations, and holidays as scheduled. The work is performed in kitchen and dish-room areas that may be hot, noisy, and uncomfortable, with exposure to temperature extremes, including walk-in refrigerators and freezers. The role involves standing and walking, frequent bending and reaching, moving objects up to 40 pounds, and safely handling equipment and sharp utensils. Work may also involve exposure to cleaning solutions, kitchen hazards, and contagious disease in patient-care settings.

Requirements

• Demonstrate training or experience of sufficient scope and quality to perform the work; no specific length of training or experience is required.
• Provide detailed descriptions of relevant duties and responsibilities in the resume to support qualifications.
• Meet the job's screen-out qualification requirement and demonstrate the ability to do the work without more than normal supervision.
• Demonstrate work practices, including keeping work areas neat, clean, and orderly.
• Demonstrate technical practices, ability to interpret instructions and specifications, ability to use and maintain tools and equipment, knowledge of materials, and dexterity and safety in operating equipment.
• Be a U.S. citizen, unless appointment of a non-citizen is permitted under VA policy when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Be suitable for federal employment based on a background investigation.
• Submit to required pre-appointment drug testing if tentatively selected for a testing-designated position.
• Meet Selective Service registration requirements if applicable.
• Complete required onboarding and provide acceptable identification for employment verification.
• Serve a one-year probationary period.
• Meet the physical demands of continuous standing and walking, frequent bending, reaching, pushing, and pulling, and lifting or moving objects up to 40 pounds unassisted.
• Wear a proper hair covering and clean uniform; wear disposable gloves when handling food for service and appropriate protective equipment during cleaning activities.
• Receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain a medical or religious exemption; wear a face mask when an exemption is granted.

Responsibilities

• Independently prepare and cook a variety of regular and therapeutic diet entrees and desserts, including diabetic, low-sodium, low-protein, and gluten-free items.
• Follow menus, production sheets, and recipes to prepare items in the quantities needed.
• Grill eggs, meat patties, pancakes, and French toast; broil meats; prepare cold sandwich fillings; and assemble sandwiches.
• Prepare meats, fish, and poultry using methods such as broiling, roasting, baking, frying, boiling, steaming, stewing, braising, and grilling.
• Slice meat by hand to meet specified sizes or weights.
• Prepare fresh, canned, and frozen vegetables; bake frozen potatoes, pre-made cookie dough, and muffin batters.
• Prepare and heat convenience items, prepare pureed foods, and adjust consistency with thickeners.
• Wash, peel, and cut fruits and vegetables; assemble and mix salads and desserts, including gelatin molds and fruit crisps.
• Plan cooking processes so meals are ready on time and at the proper temperature, coordinating items with different cooking times as needed.
• Prepare desserts such as cobblers, brownies, cookies, and pastries.
• Weigh, measure, and assemble ingredients for regular and modified diets.
• Operate kitchen equipment and follow appropriate safety procedures.
• Follow sanitary food-handling procedures.
• Disassemble and reassemble equipment for cleaning; clean and sanitize work areas and perform deep cleaning as needed.
• Operate an industrial dish machine.
• Perform other related duties.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits are available to employees and their families; specific eligibility depends on position type and other factors.
• VA may grant credit for job-related non-federal experience or active-duty uniformed military service when determining annual leave accrual, if requested and approved before appointment; this is not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

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