Early Childhood Cook - Downtown

Do you enjoy cooking, working independently, and knowing that the meals you prepare make a difference in a childs day? Were looking for our next Early Learning Center Cook to prepare breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks for children ages 3 months through 5 years .

This is much more than a traditional kitchen position. Our Cook is an important part of our Early Learning Center community, helping ensure our youngest Y participants receive safe, nutritious, and appropriately portioned meals every day.

Schedule: Monday–Friday, approximately 6:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

What Youll Be Doing

Youll independently manage the daily flow of our kitchen, including preparing and serving meals and snacks on a consistent schedule. Because we operate a licensed early learning facility, attention to detail is essential. Youll follow USDA meal requirements, portion guidelines, food safety procedures, and allergy and dietary substitution requirements to ensure every child receives the right meal safely.

Our facility does not use stovetop cooking, so meals are prepared using ovens, slow cookers, pressure cookers, and other approved kitchen equipment .

You Might Be a Great Fit If You:

- Are comfortable preparing and cooking food in a kitchen environment

- Can follow recipes, portion requirements, and detailed food safety procedures

- Are organized and able to keep meals running on a strict serving schedule

- Take food allergies and dietary substitutions seriously

- Are comfortable taking direction, learning new requirements, and following established procedures

- Can work independently and stay on task without direct supervision

- Enjoy interacting with both young children and adults

- Bring reliability, consistency, and a positive attitude to your work

While youll primarily work independently in the kitchen, youll still be part of the energy and community of our Early Learning Center. Once youve mastered our recipes and program requirements, there may even be opportunities to partner with the Center Director to create and pilot new kid-friendly recipes !

Our previous Cook was part of our Y for five years , and were looking for another amazing person to make this role their own. If you enjoy cooking, appreciate a consistent weekday schedule, and would love knowing that your work supports children every single day, wed love to hear from you!

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

- Preps and cooks meals according to food health and safety standards ensuring palatability and nutrient content

- Provides adequate servings in family-style and pre-portioned meal service to ensure that each child could receive portions to meet CACFP meal pattern requirements.

- Prepares a substitute for children as required for allergies (within the same meal component).

- Uses and records accepted procedures for cleaning and sanitizing work areas, utensils, serving plates and bowls, and equipment as specified under state and federal laws/regulations.

- In collaboration with the Director monitor stock and place weekly orders for food supplies

- Ensure all food and other items are delivered and stored properly

- In collaboration with the Director develop menus that meet all USDA and YUSA HEPA requirements.

- Works with teaching staff on issues concerning food service or food projects.

- Attends job related training classes and workshops.

OUR COMMITMENT TO EQUITY:

Everything we do at the YMCA is based on the ideal that everyone should have the opportunity to reach their full potential, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or identity, diverse abilities, age, religion, socioeconomic status or any other statuses or identities. Our work is focused on eliminating barriers to access, eliminating disparities in health, providing educational support, supporting working families, and growing our next generation of change makers for our country.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:

- Must be 18 years of age or older and a high school graduate (or equivalent).

- Must have experience and knowledge of food service for large groups of people.

- Must have knowledge of children, general cooking techniques, and basic nutrition.

- Emotional, social, and physical capabilities to work with children and families.

- Able to work in a fast-paced environment

- Be self-motivated and self-directed and able to multitask, prioritize, and manage time efficiently

- A willingness to continue education regarding early childhood education, nutrition, and cooking.

- Current CPR (Adult, Infant & Child) and First Aid, AED certifications.

- Must have or be in the process of obtaining the following:

___ Negative TB Test

___ HIV/Bloodborne Pathogen training

___ MERIT ID account

___ Food Handlers Card

___ Cleared Portable Background Check from MERIT

___ MMR Immunization Record

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

- The employee needs sufficient strength, agility and mobility to perform essential functions and to safely supervise program activities.

- The employee is required to stand for an entire shift, and must be able to move between classrooms and buildings.

- The employee must lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust.

- The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.