District Chef - Chapel Hill City Schools

The Nutrition Group•Chapel Hill, NC

2h•Onsite

About The Position

The Nutrition Group is a full-service food and facilities management company founded in 1975, operating in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, and South Carolina. They are a people-oriented company focused on long-term relationships. The open position of District Chef entails overseeing and managing the daily operations for a local K-12 School District Food Service Department, with a strong emphasis on culinary skills. This role involves oversite of all capacities revolving around food production & service, assisting food service directors with overall program success, and preparing and training staff to prepare food in accordance with USDA, Department of Education, school district, and The Nutrition Group policies within the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. The District Chef is responsible to each Director of Food & Nutrition for highlighting areas for focus and growth within each building, including menus, quality control, paperwork compliance, hourly staff training needs, and district catering expectations. Overall, the position is responsible to the Regional Manager for the effective operating performance of the school district’s food service operation, including financial results and accountability, and quality control, in conjunction with the contractual agreement.

Requirements

Associates Degree Required
At least 1-2 years’ Experience in Staff Management
Food Service Experience
Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Must obtain clearances and pass criminal background checks

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s Preferred

Responsibilities

Assist with meeting, or exceeding, budgeted results participation & food cost
Responsible for food cost control and effective training on waste management & production values
Assist with accurate inventories for each school and maintains a separate inventory of government commodities
Develops financial reports to explain budget variances if they occur, in conjunction with supervision
Develops special events centered around food, with the goal of increasing program participation
Assists DFN in training, developing, utilizing, motivating, evaluating, and terminating employees in conjunction with school district and The Nutrition Group policies
Utilize employee job descriptions and performance standards to help guide and train employees
Provide feedback on performance to food service director, that will be used for formal appraisals, as well as develop plans for future training and/or adjustments to responsibilities
Conducts individual employee personnel development program and training programs on a continuing basis
Develops an open-door climate for employees and assures that he/she visits with each one personally on a continuing basis to know their feelings, problems, etc., yet does not become involved beyond the normal duties of sound management practices
Assist with annual training of and enforces OSHA regulations to existing staff and for each new hire maintained on The Nutrition Group payroll
Conducts safety education on an ongoing basis to ensure a safe and healthy workplace
Establishes a system of regular and continuing personal contact to acquire immediate knowledge and correction of cafeteria employee dissatisfaction, and work with the food service director to address so there are no recurring complaints
Make recommendations to FSD on unit work schedules
Maintains effective job goal performance, with a high degree of employee morale
Treats all employees according to the terms of the established labor agreements and/or school district and The Nutrition Group policies
Indoctrinates and trains staff to be personally neat and give cheerful, competent, and efficient service
Establishing a formal program of pre-school, in-service and on-the-job training
Coordinating these training sessions as part of the formal “manager” and employee meetings
Encourages employees to participate in team training days
Visits buildings during, before and at the end of the day to observe service, productions and employee activity rate
While training all staff in terms of food quality, recipe compliance, & HACCP protocol is required, a particular focus on cooks and lead production personnel is needed
Constantly evaluates established menus for student satisfaction, production practicality, etc.
Maintains and submits to supervision, written corrective, constructive comments
Works with staff to establish a reliable system of attendance prediction and relates it to the purchasing program and to actual production to eliminate waste
Purchases food and supplies only from approved vendors and ensures proper security of all inventory at all times
Supervises all specifications and purchasing procedures of the district, the NSLP and The Nutrition Group
Purchases only those items authorized by The Nutrition Group’s buyer
Understands, communicates and practices the NSLP and The Nutrition Group food standards in each school of the district
Maintains an up-to-date and complete recipe file in each unit and insures recipes are used
Utilizes all leftovers properly and quickly or stores them for future use
Meets or exceeds reimbursable nutritional requirements and maintains detailed, accurate production records in accordance with USDA and Department of Education when in production
Ensuring all staff is following the same procedure and meeting requirements
If there are areas for improvement, provide on the spot training & communicate with FSD
Understands food production practices and constantly upgrades the production standards to all technological developments
Keeps and maintains accurate production records in compliance with USDA/CRE regulations and ensure all staff knows how to complete & is completing as well
Establishes portion control standards
Insures all NSLP requirements are met for every meal served in every school
Maintains accurate participation records as required
Ensuring food quality is a priority. If there are areas that need improvement, correct immediately and provide re-training to ensure quality expectations are met during every service
Ensures each school is graded “A” or equivalent by the local and/or state sanitation inspectors and complies with all local and state regulations
Insures there are no official complaints from the school district to the Food Service Director, school district personnel, Board members, or The Nutrition Group personnel concerning sanitation and housekeeping
Complies with the established operating instructions and policies for sanitation and housekeeping and conducts a periodic formal housekeeping inspection of each school
Maintains necessary sanitation certification
Provides catering as needed to each client & elevate the expectation that they have for the caterings being provided through The Nutrition Group
Maintain a catering booklet for the school district, which contains approved menus and prices, and distribute as needed
Develops a special party booking procedure to ensure error-free activities and retains it as a historical record
As needed, work with a client to develop a menu that fits the needs for their event
Ensure the catering event is priced accordingly and ensure client is aware of cost associated prior to event
Staff is scheduled accordingly and ensure their wages are accounted for within the catering event
Provide training to staff during the catering event to assist with current and future catering needs
Complete the catering invoice, send the invoice to client, and ensure the special function ledge & recaps are kept up to date and accurate
Meets regularly with the Youth Advisory Council, acts on customer complaints, suggestions, and requests immediately
Communicates with client contact as required
Builds a good working relationship with all people and departments directly and remotely connected with food service and insures proper relations with suppliers
Holds periodic meetings with the total groups(s) to keep them informed and group-directed
Offers to become a part of school district committees, organizations, etc.
Submits a weekly progress report to Corporate and documents in detail all aspects of the food service operation within the school district
Contributes pictures and articles for Board Reports that describe the progress of the food service program
Meets with food service director & Regional Manager on a regular basis to discuss status of operation and maintains effective two-way communications
Conducts at least one major special promotion event each month in every school district
Maintains ongoing information seeking communications such as student suggestion boxes, opinion surveys, etc., with proper follow-up reports
Insures that communications upward and downward are effectively maintained
Maintains an attitude of management, which provides the motivating force in developing an awareness of, alertness to, and interest in producing the maximum possible results with the minimum expenditure of school district resources
The overall guiding factor in accomplishing a high standard of performance in this area should be the attitude of management, successfully transmitted to the cafeteria staff and eventually to the customer, toward the goal of providing service – cheerfully, willingly, and conscientiously to all parties at all times