Culinary Associate

Cook Position

Shift: Varied Hours, Every Other Weekend, Rotating Holidays

Work Arrangement: On-Site Department: Dining and Nutrition Services

Facility: University Hospital – 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO

Compensation:

· Base Pay Range: $16.56-$23.64 per hour, based on experience

· Shift Differentials:

o Additional $2.00 per hour for evening shift

o Additional $2.00 per hour for weekend shift

· Union Bid Period: 06/24/2026-07/01/2026

About the Job

MU Health Care is looking for a talented and enthusiastic cook to join our Dining and Nutrition Services team. The ideal candidate will have a passion for culinary excellence and a commitment to providing outstanding customer service. We seek someone who can maintain a positive attitude, greet everyone with a smile, and uphold the highest standards of food safety and infection control. If you are eager to learn, adaptable, and ready to master new culinary skills, we want you! Join us in creating delicious, nutritious meals that make a difference in the lives of our patients and staff. Be part of a dynamic team that values excellence and supports your professional growth.

About MU Health Care

MU Health Care is proud to be named one of Forbes' Best-in-State Employers seven years in a row, and that's largely a result of the incredible culture and team we've built. At MU Health Care, we have an inspired, hard-working and collaborative environment driven by our mission to save and improve lives. Here, we believe anything is possible and rally around solutions. We celebrate innovation and offer opportunities to be a part of something bigger — to have a voice and role in the work that is serving our community and changing the field of medicine.

Our academic health system — the only in mid-Missouri — is home to seven hospitals, including the region's only Level 1 Trauma Center and region's only Children's Hospital, as well as over 90 specialty clinics. Here you can define your career among our many clinical and nonclinical positions — with growth, opportunity and support every step of the way.

Employee Benefits

· Health, vision and dental insurance coverage starting day one

· Generous paid leave and paid time off, including ten holidays

· Multiple retirement options, including 100% matching up to 8% and full vesting in three years

· Tuition assistance for employees (75%) and immediate family members (50%)

· Discounts on cell phone plans, rental cars, gyms, hotels and more

· See a comprehensive list of benefits here.

Detailed Job Description

· Work with medical staff, other ancillary professional staff, departmental service staff, patients, visitors, and the general public. Use a high degree of professionalism focused on customer (patient and retail) satisfaction at all times. Use proper scripting while in contact with patients, family, and guests. Maintain strict confidentiality and the utmost privacy of patient information, as required by HIPAA guidelines and PCI requirements. Greets people with a smile and refrains from negative talk and public venting at all times while in MU Health Care facilities.

· Follow the directives of the Dining & Nutrition Services management team related to work assignments, workloads, and areas in need of improvement. Training will be provided, and it is expected that employees will master these skills within their initial evaluation period, including work routines, culinary skills for assigned positions, food safety standards, nutrition education for work assignments, chemical use, proper kitchen equipment use, scripting, and customer-focused skills.

· Perform culinary activities within a health care environment, insure food safety and infection control guidelines are being met, cross contamination is avoided, nutrition guidelines for patients and customers are met, and perform all culinary related activities such as hot and cold food preparation; grill cook; production cooking; ingredient room production; catering production; retail production; room service production; line cooking; expediting; and baking. May also be required to cashier; serve as a physician's dining room attendant; catering attendant; barista; line server; or patient tray assembly or other duties as assigned to support the functions of the Dining and Nutrition Services Department. Employees will perform cleaning and sanitation routines in an acute setting, including but not limited to patient kitchen, retail kitchens, and shared (patient/retail) resource kitchens, and public dining rooms according to proper food safety procedures and standards and hospital-specific standard precautions.

· For personal safety and the safety of others, follow proper infection control and PPE guidelines for the removal of food debris and items contaminated with body substances (i.e., saliva, blood, etc.) from soiled patient trays.

· Maintain and operate kitchen equipment in a safe manner according to guidelines. Avoid safety issues with staff, patients, and the general public, such as keeping carts and items out of traffic ways, avoid cross contamination, and ensuring patient information, such as menu tickets, is secured and destroyed properly. Report any food safety, environmental safety, or security/PCI/HIPAA issues discovered promptly to the supervisor. Recognize patient nutrition requirements and report any variances to the supervisor. Ensure food safety with compliance with temperature standards, monitoring of temperatures (cooking, serving, and refrigeration), date labeling, and rotation of stock. Ensure the safety of both food supply and nutrition care at all times.

· May be requested to assist Nutrition Associates as needed for the development of staff or staff relief.

· Keep equipment and area clean, sanitized, restocked, and in good working condition at the end of the shift. Maintain the work area in a safe and clean manner according to regulatory agencies. Ensure the work area is inspection-ready from any regulating agency. Take immediate action to correct any deficient area when notified by a supervisor or from inspections such as tracer findings, university sanitarian, DNV, and CMS.

· May complete unit/department-specific duties as outlined in department documents.

Required Qualifications

· One (1) year of culinary experience.

Preferred Qualifications

· High school diploma or an equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities can be acquired.

· University of Missouri Food Handler's Certificate within one (1) month.

· Additional license/certification requirements as determined by the hiring department.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met with or without reasonable accommodation. The performance of these physical demands is an essential function of the job. This position is very active and may require ambulating, remaining in a stationary position and positioning self to reach and/or move objects above the shoulders and below the knees. The employee may frequently lift and/or move objects up to 10 lbs. and occasionally move objects up to 25 lbs.

This role may also routinely come into contact with patients who may have contagious illnesses. This position is in a health care facility open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Rotating shifts as well as holiday and work during inclement weather will be required.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.