School Cafeteria Cook job description

Join our talented team, where we inspire children to be lifelong learners! Through our play based curriculum, our affectionate and loving staff ensures that our children are imparted with the knowledge to succeed.

The Food Specialist is responsible for overall food preparation for the School's enrolled children. May be responsible for the oversight of a group of children and be responsible for their health and safety. Must be adaptable to menu changes and be able to meet meal and snack schedules. Ensures safe food preparations and proper sanitation methods are used and maintains a safe kitchen/pantry area.
Job Responsibilities:

* Create home-style, nutritional meal plans in the boundaries of their school's menu and budget, as well as state and federal requirements.
* Prepare meals/snacks for children and staff. Distribute food to the classrooms following appropriate health and safety guidelines, and policies.
* Follow the daily menu provided by the Director which incorporates, USDA, licensing and/or health department regulations.
* Maintain inventory of food and supplies and order more when needed.
* Assists in classrooms as needed as an Assistant Teacher/Floater.
* Are caring, compassionate and love what they do

Job Requirements:

* Work experience in cooking and/or food preparation for multiple individuals, preferably in a childcare facility
* An understanding of all current state and local regulations
* Flexibility as to the hours and schedule of work
* A High School diploma or equivalent
* Must be at least 18 years of age

Learning Care Group, Inc. is the second-largest for-profit child care provider in North America and a leader in early education. Our programs are designed for children aged 6 weeks to 12 years. Across our eight unique brands, we're committed to creating state-of-the-art facilities with the latest technology and expert-driven curricula created by our own Education team.

Our Promise

To make a difference and have a positive impact on every child at our schools, their families, and the communities we serve every day. We support child development for infants to school-age students, through a comprehensive, research-based curriculum in a safe, nurturing, fun school environment. As experts in child care and early education, we empower children to be ready for school, we instill a lifelong love of learning, and we provide a solid foundation for a successful future.

Hours: 6am-230 pm

Pay Rate: $18

Benefits: YES!

We provide our full-time team members a generous compensation and benefits package, training, opportunity, and support. We provide resources, rewards, and incentives to our valued employees.

• Health, dental and vision insurance
• Company-paid life insurance
• Many supplemental insurances
• 401(k) savings plan
• Paid vacation, holiday, and sick time
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Plus, various perks!

The Cook reports to the Chef or Chef Manager. The Cook is responsible for preparing and serving breakfast, lunch and/or catered events. The Cook may be required to operate equipment, including but not limited to an oven, stove, dishwasher, slicer, coffee machine, steamer, mixer, and chef's knives. Representing not only the client but NexDine as well, the Cook needs to exhibit great customer service in all aspects of this job.

Essential Functions

• Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment and work surfaces, or serving areas to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
• Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, roasters and other equipment.
• Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, rotating stock and following food company labeling & dating procedures.
• Monitor, cook and prepare foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or utilization of food thermometers.
• Responsible for preparation of stations, as directed, according to company guidelines.
• Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.
• Season, weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes with guidance from supervisor, using various kitchen utensils and equipment.
• Wash, peel, cut, and seed fruits and vegetables to prepare for consumption.
• Carve, trim and prepare meats and seafood for hot or cold service.
• May bake breads, rolls, cakes, and pastries.
• May wash pots, pans, dishes, utensils, or other cooking equipment.
• Compile and maintain records of food usage.
• May assist with inventory.
• Follow food specification amounts provided by supervisor. Assist in forecasting of preparation needs.
• Prepare and serve food to customers in a timely manner.
• May assist in supporting culinary staff at numerous stations as directed.
• Communicate with supervisor regarding kitchen equipment/supply needs.
• Adhere to and promote company standards for safety, proper food handling practices, sanitation, uniform guidelines, and productivity.
• Provide excellent customer service to include being attentive, approachable, greeting and thanking customers.
• May perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Work Environment:

This job operates in a kitchen environment whereby employees may be exposed to and/or required to operate equipment, including but not limited to, an oven, stove, dishwasher, slicer, coffee machine, steamer, mixer and chef’s knives. The employee is frequently exposed to heat, steam, fire and noise.

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. The employee may be required to sit, reach, bend, kneel, stoop, climb, and push, pull & lift items weighing 40 pounds or less. Employee may be required to stand for long periods of time. The position requires manual dexterity; auditory and visual skills; and the ability to follow written and oral instructions and procedures.

Pay Frequency:

• Weekly - Direct Deposit

Who We Are:

We're NEXDINE , a fast-growing specialty dining service provider, we're the "Fresh Idea People". We offer excellent working conditions, empower creativity, cool technology and of course, great food.

We hire and keep great people! We work as a team and everyone contributes to the success of our business. We want our employees to get excited about making great food while keeping our customers satisfied and coming back for more! We want you to continue to learn new things and also teach others what you know so you too can grow! We empower our people to make the choices that ensure every NEXDINE customer is satisfied with our services. We all work hard, love what we do and have fun too!

NEXDINE is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other classification protected by law. NEXDINE participates in E-Verify.

The In-school Prep Cook is an integral part of a 3-6 person team helping to prepare healthy made-from-scratch meals for hundreds of children in their school every day. The role is a great opportunity for any person who has basic knife skills and wishes to grow within the culinary field under a processional chef.

The ideal candidate has experience in a high-volume kitchen, is reliable, and has a “can-do” attitude. The critical functions of the position include, prepping foods, understanding daily production menus, cooking scratch made delicious dishes, serving food on a tight schedule, and helping to ensure the kitchen is always exceeding DOH standards.

Critical Functions

• Read menu production sheets to understand the type and quantity of food that will be prepared each day
• Working with the Head Chef, understand how to prioritize the production of daily menu items
• Portion and weigh food according to Red Rabbit's recipes and compliance guidelines.
• Cook, cool, and plate food according to Red Rabbit's recipes and food safety guidelines
• Pack and distribute meals to students according to compliance portions and school timing
• Quickly and accurately count and track the amount of food produced ensuring accuracy for compliance and reduce food waste
• Ensure the kitchen is exceeding DOH standards at all times by cleaning work stations and cooking equipment
• Represent Red Rabbit's values and culture when interacting with school staff and students by always being professional, helpful, and courteous.
• Other duties as assigned

Skills & Requirements

• 1+ years professional culinary experience in a fast paced role in the service industry (i.e. restaurants), high volume kitchen production (i.e. commissary kitchen), or in a similar cafeteria role (i.e. schools/hospitals)
• Demonstrated knowledge of proper food safety and sanitation practices
• Must be familiar with using and maintaining industrial kitchen equipment
• Must be able to read and write in English. Bilingual (English and Spanish) a plus.
• Must be able to lift 50 lbs on a regular basis

• NYC food handlers license or ServSafe certificate is a must within 90 days of hire (reimbursement is available)
• Able to self motivate and to be organized
• Can function well within a team and work calmly and efficiently in a fast moving environment
• Have a great attitude who contributes to a positive working environment
• Share our passion for improving equity, nutrition and health in schools

Additional Information

Job Type: Full Time

Typical Hours: Monday - Friday apx- 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Reports to: Chef

Compensation: $14-$17/hour

Benefits

• Generous PTO
• Health, Dental, Vision Insurance
• 401k Option
• Paid Professional Development
• Education Reimbursement Opportunities
• Paid Family Leave
• Disability Insurance Coverage

About Red Rabbit

Founded in 2005, Red Rabbit is a black-owned, MWBE Certified, K-12 school food management company that believes choosing to feed children diverse and nutritious food is an act of social justice. Red Rabbit celebrates all cultures in the urban school cafeteria by preparing meals that reflect the heritage of the kids they serve. The company places professionally trained chefs in the school cafeteria to create culturally relevant meals that become part of the school community. From our kitchens, Red Rabbit prepares and delivers thousands of heritage-based, scratch made meals to the Greater New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey regions.

Red Rabbit is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, or sexual orientation.