POSITION TITLE: Cook

DEPARTMENT: Food and Nutrition Services

REPORTS TO: Dietary Lead

CLASSIFICATION: Non-Exempt

PRIMARY RELATIONSHIPS: Will interact directly with food and nutrition services management team, all levels of staff and possibly patients and their families.

OBJECTIVE: To provide quality food service in accordance with all State and Federal regulations and to meet the nutritional and individual needs of the patients.

**QUALIFICATIONS:**To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Friendly and enjoy working with the elderly and patients in need.

2. High School diploma/GED required. Education in quantity cooking and therapeutic diets preferred.

3. Minimum of 2-year food service experience in healthcare dietary.

4. General knowledge of quantity food preparation and portioned serving required.

5. Ability to communicate and work effectively with various levels of staff, patients, family members and the public.

6. Possesses adequate strength and endurance to meet the strenuous physical demands of preparing and carrying quantity foods.

7. Possesses coordination and dexterity required to prepare food and operate dietary equipment.

8. Able to understand and follow procedures, diet orders and work assignments.

9. Visual acuity and color discrimination for examining cooked and stored foods; taste and smell discrimination in determining nutritional quality and palatability of foods.

10. Works in an area that is often very hot/cold.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

1. Completes defined food preparation, serving of meals and cleaning duties according to proper procedures, using various dietary equipment and supplies, as assigned by the Dietary Lead and Management Team.

2. Plans and initiates cooking schedule for food preparation to meet meal schedule.

3. Prepares, seasons, cooks and serves meat, main dish, soup and vegetable for assigned meal; ensures appropriate portioned servings according to portion control standards.

4. Prepares nutritional snacks for patients as assigned.

5. Tastes and smells prepared food to determine quality and palatability.

6. Monitors temperature of hot and cold foods through food preparation and service to ensure that established temperature goals are met prior to steam table transfer and maintained throughout meal service.

7. Stores leftovers properly, plans for use of leftover foods in accordance with State and Federal sanitation regulations.

8. Conducts department inventory program.

a. Checks and inspects food products and supplies as delivered.

b. Determines amount and type of food and supplies required for daily menus.

9. Implements menu substitutions if needed according to State and Federal regulations.

10. Follows reporting procedures for the following:

a. Observed patient concerns

b. Supply and equipment needs

c. Damaged, unsafe, malfunctioning equipment

d. Conditions related to breeding insects, rodents or other vermin

11. Cleans equipment and work areas

12. Attends required in-services and completes assigned on-line modules.

13. Upon hire and annually, complete competency / skills set checklist to carry out the functions of the food and nutrition services department through simulation, direct observation, computer based learning, written test or documentation review.

14. Performs other duties or special assignments as directed by the Executive Director.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individual with disabilities to meet these demands:

1. Employee needs ability to move continuously; may cover large distances walking through facility and is on feet consistently.

2. Vision requirements include both near and far vision.

3. Frequently required bend, stoop, reach, crouch, push and pull; occasionally required to squat, crawl, climb, kneel and balance.

4. Employee is required to continuously lift and carry up to ten (10) lbs.; frequently required to lift up to fifty (50) lbs. and carry up to thirty-five (35) lbs. and occasionally lift and carry up to one hundred (100) lbs.

5. Employee may be exposed to changes in temperature and humidity, dust, fumes, and gases.

6. Ability to adapt to changes in daily work hours and schedule.

7. Ability to work beyond regularly scheduled shift (overtime) when necessary

Job Functions

Every effort has been made to identify the essential functions of this position. However, this job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties you may be required to perform. The omission of specific descriptions of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or can be considered essential to this position.