Cook Leader

Duties

Supervisory Controls:

Works under the supervision of the activity manager who issues instructions on work sequences, procedures, methods, and deadlines, and relies on the incumbent to assure that other members of the group carry out work assignments. Supervisor is available to provide information or decisions regarding problems that may arise during work. Overall work operations are reviewed for status and progress, causes of delays, quality, and results achieved.

Duties:

Leads a staff of 3 or more NA-04 cooks and NA-02 food service workers in the preparation of a variety of menu items. Receives instructions from manager or supervisor on duty and passes assignments down to individual members of the group being led. Assures that there is enough work to keep all employees on duty busy. Checks work in progress and assures that all procedures are followed and that deadlines are met. Reports work progress to supervisor and obtains information in order to handle problems that arise during work. Demonstrates proper work methods to other employees and answers procedural questions that they may have.

Works along with other workers, setting the pace performing non-supervisory work at the NA-04 level. Performs a full range of simple cooking by preparing and cooking items that require little or no processing, such as pancakes, sausage, eggs, hamburgers, and fresh or canned vegetables. Prepares hot cereals and concentrated or dehydrated soups, sauces, and gravies. Makes cold sandwich fillings. Sets up and replenishes salad bar.

Prepares food by peeling, chopping, grinding, paring, cutting, slicing, dicing, pureeing, dredging, flouring, or breading. Weighs, measures, and assembles ingredients for regular and modified menu items. Mixes ingredients according to precisely written recipes. Covers, dates, and stores leftovers according to established procedures.

Operates a variety of kitchen equipment using gas, electricity, steam, or microwave heat sources. Disassembles, cleans, and assembles component parts and accessories, following safety procedures to avoid personal injury and damage to the equipment. Uses and cleans a variety of cooking utensils to measure, weigh, and process food items. Cleans, stores, and maintains all equipment and work areas after each use. Cleans other work areas and equipment, such as worktables, floors, walk-in refrigerators, etc., on an established cleaning schedule. Follows established sanitation procedures when handling food. Ensures that foods are stored at the correct temperatures to prevent bacteria growth.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Ability to direct work activities of cooks during assigned shift. Ability to plan, coordinate, and time daily assignments for completion at mealtime, and adjust recipes for number of servings needed. Knowledge of food characteristics to judge freshness, color, consistency, taste, etc., and know when food is properly cooked. Ability to instruct lower-graded cooks on cooking procedures. Ability to operate and maintain kitchen equipment. Knowledge of safety and sanitary requirements.

Basic knowledge of food preparation methods and procedures. Skill to cook a limited variety of prepared foods or short order foods. Ability to read and understand written food service material, such as food labels, standardized recipes, and basic work instructions. Skill in performing basic mathematical computations to multiply ingredients in a recipe or to determine how many servings a container will hold. Knowledge of the various tables of weights and measures and ability to follow instructions to convert from standard to metric measurements. Skill in operating, disassembling, and cleaning basic food service equipment such as griddles, broilers, and food grinders. Knowledge of basic sanitation, infection, and spoilage control procedures.

Education