Lead Cook at Guadalupe Centers, Inc. – Kansas City, Missouri

Lead Cook (Older Adults)

Department: Food Service

Reports to: Vice President of Food & Nutritional Services

Supervise: 0

Summary: The Lead Cook is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the preparation and service of meals, ensuring high standards of food quality and safety, and maintaining a clean, organized kitchen.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Checks inventory ahead of time to ensure that all necessary food items are in inventory before the start of production.
• Responsible for documenting all food component substitutions on the required records when necessary.
• Follows Master Kitchen Production Records to ensure that all program participants (students/older adults) receive correctly portioned meals.
• Prepares meals in compliance with DHSS, MARC, & KDADS Nutritional guidelines.
• Maintains established sanitation and storage standards, safety, and food preparation standards set by the local health department; maintains an orderly, sanitary, and safe kitchen.
• Assists with monitoring food supplies and managing inventory to minimize waste.
• Properly uses kitchen equipment and notifies the VP of Food & Nutritional Services or designee when maintenance is required.
• Ensures that food and supply orders are properly received and stored according to food safety standards; reports shortages to theVP of Food & Nutritional Services or designee.
• Assists with the cleaning, sanitation, and organization of the kitchen(s)and walk-in storage areas to maintain safety standards.
• Assists with serving food items to older adults during meal times as needed.
• Deliver food-related items to other locations as needed.
• Attend and complete required job-related training classes, meetings, and workshops.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualification Requirements: To perform this job successfully, an individual must satisfactorily perform each essential duty. The following requirements outline the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities for the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Required Qualifications:

• High school, GED, or equivalent required
• A KCMO Food Handler's permit is required and must be attained within 30 days
• 3-5 years of experience in a commercial kitchen or a school kitchen
• Valid driver's license and ability to deliver or pick up the food-related product
• Ability to pass a background and drug screening.
• Ability to work in a non-judgmental way with a diverse range of people, maintaining a respectful and inclusive culture.
• Ability to lift, pull, or haul up to 40 pounds without assistance.
• Ability to perform work in extreme weather conditions, like cold environments, including freezer and refrigerator
• Ability to work with various pieces of kitchen equipment (i.e., steamer, oven, stove, griddle, and steam table )

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of Microsoft and/or Google Suite and relevant software
• Culinary Arts Certification preferred

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here represent those that an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

This position is very active and requires standing, walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, dexterity, agility, balance, and crouching. While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently turns or twists the neck more than the average person. The employee may sometimes lift, pull, or haul items up to 80 pounds with assistance. The employee is directly responsible for safety, well-being, and work output.

This job's specific abilities include close vision, such as reading handwritten or typed material and adjusting focus. The position requires the individual to meet multiple demands from several people and interact with the public and other staff.

Work Environment:

The work is consistently conducted indoors, with employees frequently donning uniforms like aprons or jackets and often wearing safety attire, including gloves. They regularly encounter hazardous situations and conditions that may result in cuts or minor burns. Physical proximity to others is common in the work setting. Exposure to varying temperatures, such as heat from ovens or cold conditions when retrieving items from freezers, is a regular part of the job. Occasionally, employees may work near contaminants and hazardous equipment. The work environment is characterized by noise and distractions.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

GCI is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, creed, ancestry, age, sex, gender, national origin, marital status, pregnancy, citizenship, disability, genetic information, veteran status, service member status or any other category protected by federal, state or local law. Preventing discrimination is the responsibility of every employee in the way employees treat and interact with one another. Therefore, GCI expects all work relations to be business-like and professional, free of bias, prejudice, harassment and/or discrimination.

GCI's policy of Equal Opportunity extends to all conditions of employment including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, placement, training, compensation, discipline, transfers, separation, layoff, recall, leave of absence and promotion. GCI will not tolerate any discrimination in the workplace, and it is expected that any employee who believes they have been subjected to any practice that appears to be inconsistent with this policy will contact Human Resources. Improper interference with the ability of GCI's employees to perform their expected job duties is not tolerated.

GCI encourages reporting of incidents or concerns regarding discrimination to the Director of Human Resources, so that prompt and constructive action can be taken. There will be no retaliation or adverse action against an employee for raising an issue or complaint pursuant to this policy. The report will be investigated to determine what, if any, responsive action is necessary and appropriate. Any employee found responsible for an inappropriate or discriminatory act will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including separation.