Lead Cook - Trenton

The Yay Company•Trenton, NJ

10d•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 and comfort with both hot line and cold prep
Detail-oriented: you follow recipes, you label correctly, you don’t cut corners
Reliable, on time, and ready to work hard from the moment you walk in

Nice To Haves

ServSafe certification

Responsibilities

Hot Food Production: Cook from recipe cards, spot check portions, verify temperatures, and keep production on schedule.
Cold Batch Production: Ensure cold items are produced on time, portioned correctly, labeled immediately, and stored at 41°F or below. Enforce FEFO at all times.
Kitchen Pars & Inventory: Conduct weekly inventory counts, order based on counts and schedule, enforce FEFO, receive deliveries, verify against invoices, and log all waste daily.
Team Development: Brief team members at the start of every shift, ensure everyone knows their role in cold production, debrief at least twice a week, and address performance issues directly.
Sales & School Happiness: Communicate proactively with school administration, collect feedback from students and staff, and pass it up.
Complete food safety logs daily.
Keep station and shared kitchen spaces clean and organized.
Log waste accurately and flag anything that seems off.
Help receive deliveries and verify product against invoices when needed.
Set the pace and the standard for the kitchen team during your shift.
Support and lead team members.