Cook Dietary

Job Details

JOB SUMMARY
Prepares, produces, heats, cooks, bakes and serves meals for St. John's Health patients, residents, cafeteria
customers, and catered meals within the scope of departmental policies and procedures. Responsible for the overall
quality, accuracy, temperature and timeliness of assigned meals. Adheres to and practices the St. John's Health
Corporate Compliance Program and participates in Performance Improvement activities.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Food Preparation
· Prepares food for all meal service areas. Assuring final product has the best taste and highest quality possible.
Takes pride in the final product.
· Prepares, cooks, holds and serves patients, residents, cafeteria and catering meals in accordance with
standardized recipes, sanitation and health code standards. Assures temperatures are correct and meals are cooked,
held and served at correct times.
· Uses production tallies to estimate amounts of food prepared for cafeteria and living center to assure adequate food
is prepared but also to limit excessive waste.
· Demonstrates an understanding of modified diets, passes diet test annually, puts correct garnishes on correct diets,
and adapts room service entrées to fit special diet where appropriate. Able to make suggestions for alternative ideas
for special diets.
· Preps food for the next day and assures all items in the refrigerators are correctly labeled and dated. Gathers and
stocks daily food items and supplies, portions meats, slices tomatoes etc. Assures area is ready and stocked for
opening the next day.
· Assists with the preparation of catering and special functions.
 

Meal Service
· Prepares room service and/or cafeteria menu items as ordered both timely and accurately. Following approved
recipes, assuring portions are accurate and highest quality in the presentation of the final product.
· Demonstrates ability to plan and prepare grill specials that offer variety and demonstrate creativity and thought. Also
able to notice and utilize overstocked products that are in the kitchen.
· Assures food is going out of the kitchen on time and at the correct temperatures.
· Demonstrates ability to plan ahead. Looks ahead to assure food items are on hand for the week of menu
productions including for LTC, cafeteria and room service items. Works with Manager to assure correct items are
ordered.
 

Additional Duties
· Makes minor decisions in the absence of the Manager or Supervisor regarding basic departmental services or
functions.
· Checks in and assures deliveries are accurate and products acceptable before signing. Assists in putting orders
away using FIFO rotation product acceptable.
· Demonstrates ability to use digital dining computer to accurately enter customer orders. Assists with orders as
indicated.
· Maintains accurate temperature logs on all freezers and refrigerators. Reports discrepancies to Manager.
· Maintains a clean and organized work area at all times. Cleans and disinfects cooking equipment, food counters
and work area after each shift.

 

JOB REQUIREMENTS
Minimum Work Experience
Required: 2 years high volume cooking. Ability to interface with hospital personnel and coworkers in a positive and teamoriented
approach. Good communication, interpersonal, phone and customer service skills. Ability to adjust to
fluctuating job demands, meet assigned deadlines and work independently.

 

FUNCTIONAL DEMANDS
Working Conditions
Health care setting, production kitchen with potential hazards such as steam, hot surfaces, sharp instruments, and
cleaning chemicals. Working in confined spaces with temperature ranges from 0 to 90 degrees. Must be on-site at
the St. John's Health Campus to fulfill the responsibilities of this role.
 

Physical Requirements
90% of shift standing and walking. Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds. Bending, stooping, twisting, reaching,
pushing, and pulling necessary. Intermittent sitting and computer use. Must be able to work 10 hour shifts.
 

Direct Reports: None

 

Reports to: Assistant Manager Dietary
 

Internal & External Contacts: Dietary department and SJH staff, physicians, residents, patients, food vendors, and guests of SJH.