Lead Cook

Job Description

Job Description

Lead the Kitchen. Inspire the Team. Serve with Excellence. Are you an experienced culinary professional ready to take the next step in your career? Then we have the job for you!

APEX Placement and Consulting has partnered with an exciting company in Harrisonburg, VA looking to add a Lead Cook to their already amazing team. Their primary responsibility will be to lead the daily kitchen operations by preparing high-quality meals and supervising food production. Keep reading for more details!

What’s in it for you:

• Multiple shifts available to meet your scheduling needs
• Competitive hourly rate between $22-$25/hr. depending on experience
• Contract-to-hire opportunity – you’ll be hired based on attendance, performance and client needs!
• Amazing benefit package once hired in permanently
  • Medical, Dental and Vision
  • 401K
  • Paid vacation

What your day will look like:

• Prepare meals according to planned menus, standardized recipes, and approved portion sizes.
• Accommodate special dietary requests and therapeutic or mechanically altered diets as directed.
• Ensure all food is prepared, cooked, and held at safe temperatures while accurately completing required temperature logs and checklists.
• Serve meals in accordance with established portion control and presentation standards.
• Assist with inventory management, stocking, and receiving deliveries from vendors.
• Collaborate with the Executive Chef/Chef Manager to coordinate menus, special events, and resident or customer requests.
• Adjust work priorities and schedules as needed to respond to changing operational or emergency situations.
• Follow all food safety, sanitation, and safe food handling procedures, including proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and gloves.
• Maintain a clean, organized kitchen by completing daily sanitation tasks.
• Support overall kitchen operations by performing additional duties as assigned.
• Comply with all facility, departmental, and organizational policies and procedures, including those related to Human Resources, Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, Health and Safety, Compliance, Patient Rights, Confidentiality, and HIPAA.
• Maintain compliance with all applicable federal, state, local, and accrediting agency standards.
• Attend required department meetings, trainings, and educational sessions.

What we are looking for:

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Minimum of 2 years of food preparation and food service experience.
• SERV Safe Food Handler Certification is required or certification must be obtained within 3 months of employment.
• Experience with menu planning, food production, and inventory management.
• Working knowledge of food handling, sanitation, and food safety regulations.
• Proficient in basic computer applications.
• Highly detail-oriented with strong organizational and accuracy skills.
• Ability to prioritize tasks, multitask effectively, and thrive in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.

At Apex, we actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups. Your unique experiences and perspectives are valuable to us, and we’re excited to see how you might contribute to our team. While we have outlined a set of qualifications for this role, we recognize that experience and skills can come from a variety of backgrounds. If you meet most of these qualifications and are eager to learn and grow with us, we invite you to apply.