Child Development Center Lead Cook

Summary

Lead Cook receives instructions and then passes them on to the assigned workers. Works along with employees and sets the pace, demonstrates proper work methods in own craft areas. Incumbents provide plans, blueprints, materials and tools as needed. Obtains needed information or decisions from supervisors on problems that come up during work. Maintains current knowledge and answers questions of other workers on procedures, policies, written instructions and other directives.

Assures that safety and housekeeping rules are followed. Incumbent reports to supervisors on status and progress of work. Perform other duties as assigned. Salary commensurate with experience ($26.66 per hour).

Food Preparation and Service

• Plan nutritional menus in collaboration with the Child Care Director and prepare all types of meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, fruit sauces, and gravies for menus.
• Prepare, cook, season, and portion food for all meals by following standardized recipes at different levels of difficulty and plan, regulate, and schedule cooking procedures so that numerous completed food products are ready at the appropriate temperature and time.
• Prepare menu items using special or difficult recipes that require numerous interrelated steps, many ingredients, lengthy preparation time. They prepare a variety of menu items using several different and complex methods of preparation such as cool or chill.
• Designs, implements and maintains necessary specialized menus to ensure all children with allergies are served appropriate food and/or drink alternatives.
• Monitor temperatures and steam pressures, evaluate the condition of food being cooked at frequent intervals, and turn and baste meat to add flavor and to prevent uneven cooking and drying out.
• Modify recipes for ingredient quantities, the number of servings, and the size of the equipment available.
• In accordance with applicable Serv Safe Certification regulations, policies and procedures: regularly and thoroughly cleans serving carts, food preparation areas, cupboards, drawers, and dishwashing areas; set up and operate a mechanical dishwasher; scrapes, soaks, scours, and scrubs the heavier cooking utensils such as mixing bowls and pots; performs heavy-duty cleaning tasks throughout the food service and related areas, such as cleaning ceilings;
  
  exhaust hoods; spaces under and behind kitchen equipment, including moving the equipment; washing floors and walls with powered cleaning equipment; cleaning walk-in refrigerators and freezers; and sanitizing garbage room.

Food Storage

• Labels and dates all items in refrigerators and freezers and stores leftovers in accordance with sanitation and health standards.
• Stores canned, boxed, and/or frozen items in food storage area at appropriate temperature.
• Unload food and supplies from delivery trucks.

Additional Responsibilities

• Responsible for complying with security, fire and sanitation rules, policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Ensures compliance with USDA CACFP standards, policies, and regulations.
• Maintains all documentation for the CACFP program.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge Required

• Knowledge and understanding of food handling techniques, personal hygiene standards, and safe work procedures.
• Thorough knowledge of the full range of food preparation principles including the techniques and procedures necessary to develop new or revise current recipes and to prepare and cook food in large quantities.
• Working knowledge of sanitation standards and procedures to prevent contamination, such as cleaning equipment previously used for raw food and using chemical sanitizers or maintaining proper water temperatures when cleaning dishes.

Skills Required

• Skill to perform tasks involving several procedures to prepare and cook food in large quantities.
• Skill to overcome practical production problems, evaluate final food products, and initiate corrective action when an item does not meet established quality standards.
• Skill to develop standardized recipes for quantity cooking; able to expand and modify recipes based on equipment capacity and adjustments in servings.
• Skill to manage cooking processes so…