Lead Line Cook (Full-Time) | Smith Tower

Lead Line Cook (Full-Time)

The Lead Line Cook supports the culinary team by leading day-to-day food preparation and ensuring consistent, high-quality dishes that align with Columbia Hospitality's culinary standards. This role assists with training and guidance of line cooks, oversees kitchen organization, and ensures compliance with all sanitation and safety requirements while actively participating in cooking and service.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Utilizes specification sheets to prepare daily preparation requirements and maintains par levels of necessary items
• Prepares new menu items under the direction of the Sous Chef
• Ensures attractive and consistent presentation of food items, both buffet and plated
• Interacts with and provides direction to line cooks to monitor quality, presentation, and consistency
• Handles all guest and banquet needs, accommodating special requests in a timely manner
• Sets up, re-stocks, maintains, and cleans food preparation areas
• Ensures presentation standards are met for all hot and cold items
• Reads and interprets recipes accurately
• Conducts product inventories, ordering, and receiving of product as directed
• Maintains team grooming and uniform standards
• Ensures team adherence to sanitation and safe food-handling standards
• Oversees and executes all opening and closing kitchen procedures
• Performs other related duties and special projects as assigned by management to support departmental and organizational goals.

All job duties and responsibilities must be carried out in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements and without discrimination.

What You Bring:

• 5+ years in industry, at least two years as a lead
• Able to cook proteins to pre-determined temperatures
• Ability to cook and direct a banquet up to 100 with a help of a small team
• Necessary State Food Handler's License(s)
• Ability to read and comprehend simple instruction, short correspondence, and memos. Ability to effectively present information in one on one and small group situations to other employees of the organization
• Working knowledge of all mother and minor sauces
• Working knowledge of proper butchering techniques
• Knowledge of specialized equipment: Mastering of slicer, Robo-coup, Hobart, convection ovens
• Must possess knife skills, the ability to adjust preparations for flavor, and accommodate customer's needs in a timely manner

Don't meet every single requirement? At Columbia Hospitality we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.