Cook

Job Title: Cook
Reports To: Kitchen Manager/Manager on Duty
Classification: Variable Employee
Wage: $15.00-$20.00 Hourly

Position Overview:
Fulfills food order tickets by preparing, seasoning and cooking complex menu items, including soups, sauces, vegetables, meats and desserts

Licensing Requirements:

• Food Safety Handling Certification

Experience/Education/Knowledge Requirements:

• Kitchen experience preferred, but not required
• Knowledge and appropriate use of kitchen equipment
• Successful completion of Desperados training for this position is required
• Must be of legal age to operate certain equipment in compliance with federal, state or local laws

Essential Skills/Experience:

• Integrity – must protect the Company’s assets
• Guest Service Orientation – anticipating guests’ needs and consistently following Desperados Steps of Service
• Active Listening – giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate and not interrupting at inappropriate times
• Speaking – talking to others, i.e., managers, co-workers, guests, to convey information effectively
• Social Perceptiveness – being aware of others’ behavior and reactions and understanding why they react as they do
• Critical Thinking – using logic and reasoning to identify the needs of a given situation
• Reading Comprehension – understanding written communications and documents
• Arithmetic – utilizing basic math skills relative to position requirements, i.e., recipe preparation
• Problem Sensitivity – the ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, and recognize when to bring to the attention of the Manager on Duty
• Memorization – the ability to remember information, ie., Company standards and procedures, Steps of Service, menu, and food recipes
• Time Sharing – the ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information
• Team Oriented – actively demonstrating teamwork at all times, i.e., establishing and maintaining constructive and cooperative working relationships with team members and participating in a team oriented environment
• Safety Focused – ability to adhere to Company safety standards at all times
• Work Schedule – ability to work agreed-upon schedule which may include evenings, weekends and holidays; and to be at work on time

Essential Characteristics:

• Self-directed – ability to work well with little or no supervision
• Sense of urgency
• Organized, detail oriented; recognizes errors quickly
• Positive attitude and professional demeanor
• Guest focused and solution-driven
• Multi-tasker
• Team oriented
• Communicator – clear written and oral skills
• Safety conscious – follows all safety and sanitation policies
• Professional image - Neat, clean, pressed
• Dependable – consistently works agreed upon schedule and gets to work on time

Essential Duties And Responsibilities:

• Take direction from Manager on Duty
• Comply with all applicable federal, state , and local statutes as well as Desperados policies and procedures
• Always follow recipes as they are presented and have recipes out when making them
• Follow line procedures never taking shortcuts to shorten procedure
• Utilize scales and measuring tools when portioning food and completing recipes
• Have the urgency to prepare food items to achieve Desperados stated cook times
• Attack (sense of urgency) food tickets at all times of day. Attack first ticket with consistent urgency
• Commit to preparing plates in consistent arrangement, clean rims, and with deli paper pointed up
• Properly garnish every plate
• Follow ‘Cook To Order’ philosophy meaning we do not pre-cook food items, especially side items like bread and french fries
• Follow proper food thawing procedures
• Properly cover, label, date, and rotate all food items
• Properly ice down food items as requiredManually and safely clean knives, not leaving them in the dish area to be cleaned
• Adhere to all safety, sanitation and food-handling rules and guidelines
• Maintain a clean and organized kitchen
• Properly handle all food items while maintaining a sanitized kitchen by following proper sanitation procedures
• Follow proper knife handling procedures using cutting gloves where appropriate
• Utilize rubber gloves when handling food or disposing of trash
• Follow prep sheets as completed by managers
• Manage line food levels appropriate to the level of business
• Clean and sanitizes station and checks in with manager before leaving
• Commit to safe working environment reporting any unsafe procedures or conditions to manager
• Utilize chemicals as described in OSHA MSDS book
• Handle all kitchen equipment safely being considerate of others around him/her
• Operate dishwashing machine as necessary, appropriately loading dishes, glassware, flatware, pots and pans into dishwashing machine and maintaining accurate levels of chemicals
• Empty trash cans using appropriate safety and sanitation measures
• Wash and sanitize hands after removing trash, eating and drinking, using the bathroom, touching own face or hair, or handling food prep
• Maintain a clean and safe environment reporting any unsafe procedures or conditions to anyone in management
• Comply with all applicable federal, state and local statutes as well as Desperados policies and procedures
• Perform additional responsibilities as requested by a manager at any time

Physical Demands:

• Must be able to bend, stoop, lift and carry items (ice, plates, trash, etc.) up to 50 lbs.
• Move about the kitchen areas quickly and carefully
• Stand/walk during entire shift
• Climb ladder when reaching for items that are on upper shelves
• Ability to hear with accuracy over loud background noise
• 20/20 Near Vision, with correction – the ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer)
• Manual Dexterity – the ability to quickly move hand, hand and arm, or two hands to grasp, manipulate or assemble objects

Working Conditions:

• Fast-pace environment
• Exposed to varying temperatures, hot (ovens, stoves) and cold (walk-in’s)
• Gas stoves, ovens, cooking oils, broilers
• Receiving several food orders at the same time
• Background noise, i.e., employees speaking simultaneously, kitchen equipment
• Handling hot pans, knives and breakable dishes
• Confined work space

Salary : $15 - $20