Lead Cook - Bethlehem
The Yay Company•Bethlehem, PA
•Onsite
About The Position
The Lead Cook is the engine of the Yay kitchen. You’re the first one in and the person the team looks to when production gets moving. This is a hands-on cooking role — you’re at the line, in the prep, making sure every meal that goes to students is on spec and on time. You also help keep the kitchen organized and set the standard for how the team works. This is the right role if you love to cook, take pride in consistency, and want to be trusted to run the kitchen when it matters.
Requirements
- Current Food Handler certification (required)
- Experience in a high-volume kitchen (school food service, catering, or similar)
- Strong knife skills
- Comfort with both hot line and cold prep
- Detail-oriented: follow recipes, label correctly, do not cut corners
- Reliable, on time, and ready to work hard
Nice To Haves
- ServSafe certification
Responsibilities
- Hot Food Production: Cook from recipe cards, portion correctly, spot check portions, verify temperatures, and keep production on schedule.
- Cold Batch Production: Ensure cold items (fruit cups, veggie packs, snack packs, wraps, salads) are produced on time, portioned correctly, labeled immediately with prep date and use-by date, and stored at 41°F or below. Enforce FEFO (First-Expired, First-Out) at all times.
- Kitchen Pars & Inventory: Conduct full inventory counts weekly, order based on counts and the batch schedule, enforce FEFO, receive deliveries personally, verify against invoices, flag issues, and log all waste daily.
- Team Development: Brief kitchen staff at the start of every shift with clear assignments, ensure everyone knows their role in cold production on batch day, debrief at least twice a week, and address performance issues directly.
- Sales & School Happiness: Communicate proactively with school administration about menu changes and service updates, collect feedback from students and staff, and pass it up.
- Kitchen Standards: Complete food safety logs daily, keep stations and shared kitchen spaces clean and organized, log waste accurately, and help receive deliveries.
- Team Support: Set the pace and standard for the kitchen team, support and lead team members, and show them the right way to do things.
Benefits
- Accrued paid-time off
- Off when school not in session
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Part-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
