Cook - Union Position

Description:

Contributes to the health, wellness, and quality of life of residents by preparing and serving nutritious, delicious, and attractive meals. Maintains cleanliness and organization in the kitchen, dining room, and food storage areas and must follow safe food storage/handling practices. This position reports to the Program Manager.

Essential Duties

Food Safety/Sanitation:

• Maintain training in safe food handling procedures.
• Store and prepare food in compliance with safe food handling procedures. Label stored foods in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations, including the open date and/or expiration date.
• Keep the dining room, kitchen area, stockrooms, refrigerators and freezers clean and always ready for inspection. Utilize effective sanitization and cleaning practices, including contact time for cleaning products.
• Regularly check for expiring foods, dispose of any expired and unused food promptly.
• Store cleaning supplies in designated, secured areas.
• Meal Preparation and Service
• Prepare meals according to the posted menu. Meals are designed to meet nutritional needs and recommendations. Any substitutions must be nutritionally equivalent and documented on the menu.
• Ensure that all opened foods and leftovers are labeled according to NH or VT regulations.
• Keep all equipment in working order. If something needs repairing, please communicate that information to your supervisor.
• Follow medical orders for any client's special diet plan.
• Be aware of resident food allergies, preferred diets, and preferences. Honor these individual needs by offering alternative meals/menu items proactively when possible, and upon request.
• Provide attractively served meals, family style wherever possible, and appropriate to individual needs as determined by age, activity, physical condition, personal preference and cultural considerations.
• Create positive and relaxed meal experience through interactions while serving, environment, attractive presentation, timeliness of meal service, etc.
• As needed, assist with food preparation for meals served at resident parties, on other shifts or in other residences.

General :

• Follow local, state, and federal regulations regarding food service and safety.
• Model Trivium values in daily interactions.
• Treat the people we serve with dignity, respect, equity and unconditional positive regard.
• Uphold and integrate principles of a trauma-informed system of care, including safety, trustworthiness & transparency, collaboration & mutuality, empowerment, and historical & cultural considerations.
• Follow disaster plan/fire/emergency response protocols as needed/directed.
• Utilize all electronic systems essential to assigned duties, including Microsoft 365, Datis, Relias and NetSuite.
• Utilize company email for internal communication. Check email during each shift to ensure important communications are received.
• Attend all required staff meetings and training as scheduled, and complete all trainings assigned in Relias on or before due date in accordance with internal policies and licensing requirements. If unable to attend required meetings or trainings, proactively communicate needs with Program Manager and make alternative arrangements to review all meeting/training content.
• Attend and actively engage in regularly scheduled supervision. Communicate concerns and challenges to supervisor in a timely manner.
• Exercise professionalism and abide by all Trivium Life Services Corporate Compliance policies and Code of Ethics.
• Understand and uphold Trivium’s community expectations, policies and procedures, licensing regulations, and standards of care.
• Comply with all HIPAA regulations in coordination with the HIPAA Compliance Officer.
• Work all regularly scheduled shifts and exercise a reasonable degree of flexibility to work in accordance with the organization’s needs (e.g. unforeseen emergency-based staffing shortages). Communicate scheduling changes and/or needs to the Program Manager (or scheduling designee) in a timely and proactive manner and in accordance with the organization’s policies and procedures. When feasible, find coverage for planned absences. Seek advance approval for overtime.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisory personnel.

To perform the Cook job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential responsibility satisfactorily.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge and understanding of nutritional guidelines, public health, safety and proper food handling and sanitation standards and procedures
• Skilled in the planning and preparation of nutritious and delicious meals.
• Possess excellent time management skills.
• Ability to break down and convert units of measure for cooking purposes
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team. Bring a positive attitude and team player mentality.
• Possess effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Possess effective problem solving, decision making and organizational skills.
• Ability to obtain certification in CPR and First Aid.
• Ability to push, pull, lift and/or transfer up to 50 pounds.
• Provides clear communication and shares information regularly and concisely.
• Holds themselves accountable for their performance.
• Committed to self-improvement.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to maintain effective professional relationships.
• Quickly learn new software and navigate the internet with ease.

Physical Demands

These physical demands are representative of the physical requirements necessary for an employee to successfully perform the job's essential functions.

While performing the responsibilities of this job, the employee is required to talk and hear. The employee is often required to stand for prolonged periods of time and use their hands and fingers, to handle or feel and to manipulate items, and to push, pull, lift and/or transfer up to 50 pounds. The employee is occasionally required to sit, walk, reach with arms and hands, climb or balance, and to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. Vision abilities required by this job include close vision. The employee must be able to drive and may be required to travel in the course of a workday (between locations or to the store, for example).

Working Conditions

Working conditions are normal for a home kitchen environment. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate. Work requires occasional holiday, weekend and/or evening work based upon the needs of the business.

Requirements:

Requirements/Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential responsibility satisfactorily, and will have the following experience and attributes:

• Experience cooking for large groups required.
• At least one year of professional cooking experience strongly preferred.
• High school diploma or equivalent preferred.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Work will regularly take place on site.
• If the employee is driving a Trivium company vehicle, a valid and current driver’s license and the ability to maintain a driving record acceptable by the company insurer guidelines are required. The company will run a pre-hire and annual MVR to review the employee's driving record.
• If the employee is driving to another work location in a personal vehicle, the employee should have a valid and current driver's license. Employees are not allowed to drive clients in personal vehicles.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform the essential functions of the position.