Cook

Summary

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has adopted the Nutrition and Food Service (NFS) Modernization Initiative which is a new model of organizing

and consolidating essential Nutrition and Food Service functions and services to the Medical Center. This streamlined and focused approach moves VHA forward in its continuum of providing comprehensive, compassionate, and coordinated care to Veterans.

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Duties

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Duties may include but are not limited to:

Food Preparation

• Works independently to prepare and cook a variety of items including regular and therapeutic diet (diabetic, low sodium, low protein, gluten free, etc.) entrees and dessert items.
• Follows menus, production sheets and recipes to prepare items in the quantity needed.
• Cooks hot cereals, concentrated or dehydrated soups, sauces, gravies.
• Grills eggs, hamburgers, meat patties, pancakes, French toast; makes cold sandwich fillings and assembles a variety of sandwiches.
• Uses a variety of methods to prepare meats, fish, and poultry including broiling, roasting, baking, frying, boiling, steaming, stewing, braising, and grilling
• Slices meat items by hand confirming to specific size requirements or weight specifications.
• Prepares fresh, canned, and frozen vegetables; bakes frozen potatoes, pre-made cookie dough, muffin batters.
• Prepares and heats convenience items; prepares pureed foods and adjusts consistency with thickeners.
• Washes, peels and cuts fruits and vegetables by hand or machine. Assembles and mixes salad ingredients and dessert items including gelatin molds and fruit crisps.

Food Safety/Sanitation

• Follows sanitary food handling procedures; covers, labels and dates food items; utilize or discard ingredients by expiration date.
• Disassembles and assembles component parts and accessories for cleaning.
• Cleans, stores and maintains all kitchen utensils, equipment and work areas practicing a "clean as you go" concept.
• Cleans and sanitizes assigned work areas: worktables, sinks, blast chillers, racks, carts.
• Achieves certification in food safety such as ServSafe and is able to apply knowledge of food safety, food temperatures, etc.
• Operates dish machine; checks detergent level and water temperature before washing and sanitizing cook's equipment. Checks equipment to make sure it is free of food residue and soap.
• Cleans ovens, combi oven/steamer, slicer, mixer, steam kettles, grill daily.
• Collects trash, sorts and prepares items for recycling.
• Cleans floors, walls, shelves as assigned.

Food Storage

• Receives, rotates and stores perishable and non-perishable items according to service policies. Removes outdated or damaged goods from stock.
• Labels all food items with contents and dates per labeling guidelines.
• Weighs, measures, and assembles ingredients accurately and according to standardized recipes or requisitions.
• Monitor and maintain proper spacing of food products from floor, ceiling and shelving to ensure adequate air flow and spacing of products for optimal food safety.
• Monitor for signs of pest notifying the appropriate individual as determined by your local policy.
• Maintain accurate food inventories.
• Provides assistance to supervisor or higher grade worker in ordering food in accordance with daily and weekly menu requirements.
• Maintains strict security of all areas.

Work Schedule: 5:00am-1:30pm. 6:00am-2:30pm, 9:00am-5:30pm, weekends/holidays.

Position Description Title/PD#: Cook/PD99818S

Physical Requirements :

• Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds
• Moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds
• Straight pulling (4 hours)
• Pulling hand over hand (4 hours)
• Pushing (4 hours)
• Reaching above shoulder
• Use of fingers
• Both hands required
• Walking (8 hours)
• Standing (8 hours)
• Climbing, use of legs and arms
• Both legs required
• Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4
• Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other
• Ability to distinguish shades of colors
• Hearing (aid permitted)

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards.

SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements:

• Dexterity and Safety
• Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading)
• Materials
• Technical Practices
• Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
• Without more than normal supervision
• Work Practices

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.