Assistant Cook performs a variety of cooking duties, including preparing food, testing new recipes, cleaning the kitchen, plating dishes, and maintaining supplies. Individuals in this role should have excellent communication skills and a focus on prompt, efficient, and courteous service. Cook assistants increase the nutritive value by safeguarding health issues caused by food. 

Assist in preparing foods in accordance with White River Academy’s policies, menus, and recipes.

• Follow recipes and/or instructions in the preparation of food items.
• Prepare meals and snacks in a manner that retains nutrients.
• Modify menus and recipes as needed to meet the allergy, developmental, medical, and religious needs of the clients.
• Understand workflows, prioritizes, and the use of timelines and deadlines.
• Ensure food tastes good and looks appealing.
• Ensure that there is an ample amount of food in order for clients to meet their nutritional needs. 
• Assist in purchasing food and supplies necessary to prepare the planned menus for the number of enrolled clients and Program employees.
• Adhere to the current purchase order policy and procedures.
• Assist in purchasing equipment as needed.
• Assist in planning meals far enough in advance in order to minimize the need for food substitutions. If a substitution is necessary, the assistant cook helps to purchase and serve food of equivalent nutritional value.
• Maintain established standards of sanitation and safety in preparation and storage, as set by the local and state health departments.
• Maintain an orderly, sanitary, and safe kitchen.
• Maintain an organized and sanitary working environment.
• Utilize safe food handling techniques in all applications.
• Maintain budget, cost control, and inventory systems based on White River Academy’s procedures, including records of attendance, food production, and service.
• Maintain proper quantities of production with appropriate rotation of product.
• Assure the proper care and maintenance of all food service equipment.
• Appropriately utilizes commercial cooking equipment.
• Help identify equipment needs for food preparation and service.
• Participate in nutritional education activities for clients, employees, and parents or legal guardians.
• Attend and participate in training, continuing education, and professional development opportunities.
• Participate in emergency drills and environmental safety activities.

Physical Demands:

 Interact with clients and co-workers requiring the employee to verbally communicate information, as well as understand spoken information, operate food service equipment or computer requiring the ability to move fingers and hands, see and read labels, monitors, and documents, carry, push/pull, and walk while transporting food, supplies, and service equipment, climb, squat, kneel, and lift to clean equipment and reach and retrieve food and supplies, remain standing for long periods of time to perform work, tolerate extremes in temperature such as performing work at a grill or in a refrigerator, and tolerate exposure to cleaning chemicals.