Cook

Sturdy Memorial Hospital; Attleboro (MA); On-site; USD 26,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Sturdy Memorial Hospital is seeking a skilled cook to prepare and serve a variety of meals for patients, visitors, and staff in a fast-paced hospital kitchen. You will follow standardized recipes, monitor food temperatures, and ensure dietary requirements and quality standards are met.

The role requires collaboration with dietitians and the Food Service leadership, adherence to infection prevention practices, and flexibility to adapt to changing priorities.

Qualifications

• Minimum 1–3 years cooking or food service experience.
• Strong culinary skills and knowledge of food preparation techniques.
• Knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and infection prevention standards.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, cook, and serve a variety of food items per recipes and dietary requirements.
• Ensure meals meet quality, sanitation, and safety standards.
• Review menus and diet orders to ensure accurate meal prep for patients and staff.
• Prepare foods to accommodate therapeutic diets and special needs as directed by Dietitians.
• Operate and maintain kitchen equipment safely and efficiently.
• Maintain cleanliness and sanitation of kitchen and storage areas.

Skills

Culinary skills

Food safety

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Teamwork

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Culinary Arts degree or formal culinary training

Tools

Commercial kitchen equipment

Job description

Education / Training

High school diploma or equivalent Successful completion of a culinary arts program, vocational culinary training, or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred

Licenses / Certification

Allergen Awareness Certification required or obtained within one (1) year of hire. ServSafe Certification preferred

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Minimum of one (1) to three (3) years of cooking or food service experience.
• Strong culinary skills and knowledge of food preparation techniques
• Knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and infection prevention standards
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple responsibilities in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with patients, visitors, and coworkers
• Demonstrated commitment to food quality, customer service, and teamwork.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Culinary Arts degree or formal culinary training
• Previous experience in healthcare, hospital, long-term care, or institutional food service environment.
• Experience preparing therapeutic and specialized diets.
• Experience operating commercial kitchen equipment and production systems.
• Knowledge of dietary restrictions, allergen management, and food service regulations.
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities while maintaining quality and service standards.

Age and Diversity Related Criteria

Consistently treats patients, colleagues, and visitors with dignity and respect, while being sensitive to the differing needs of all age groups, backgrounds, characteristics, and cultures.

Physical Demands

• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods throughout the workday.
• Ability to bend, stoop, reach, kneel, crouch, and perform repetitive motions associated with food preparation and kitchen operations.
• Ability to lift, carry, push, and pull up to 50 pounds and move food products, equipment, and supplies using appropriate body mechanics.
• Ability to safely operate commercial kitchen equipment, utensils, and machinery.
• Ability to use hands and fingers for food preparation, cooking, cleaning, and documentation tasks.
• Ability to read recipes, production records, menus, and food service documents.
• Ability to communicate effectively with coworkers, patients, visitors, and vendors.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with frequent interruptions and changing priorities.
• Ability to work in varying temperatures, including exposure to heat, steam, refrigeration, and freezer environments.
• Ability to work additional hours, weekends, holidays, and rotational schedules as required by operational needs.

Essential Job Functions

• Prepare, cook, and serve a variety of food items in accordance with standardized recipes, production schedules, and dietary requirements.
• Ensure meals are prepared and presented in compliance with food quality, portion control, sanitation, and safety standards.
• Review menus, production sheets, and diet orders to ensure accurate meal preparation for patients, visitors, and staff.
• Prepare foods to accommodate therapeutic diets, allergies, and special dietary needs as directed by Dietitians and Food Service leadership.
• Operate and maintain kitchen equipment safely and efficiently.
• Maintain cleanliness and sanitation of kitchen, food preparation areas, equipment, and storage locations in accordance with regulatory standards.
• Monitor food temperatures, storage conditions, and product quality to ensure food safety compliance.
• Assist with receiving, storing, rotating, and inventorying food and supplies using established procedures.
• Collaborate with Food Service team members to support efficient meal production, service, and customer satisfaction.
• Assist with catering, special functions, and departmental events as assigned.
• Maintain compliance with organizational policies, food safety standards, infection prevention practices, and regulatory requirements.
• Participate in departmental training, quality improvement initiatives, and ongoing competency development.
• Provide excellent customer service to patients, visitors, and colleagues while maintaining a professional and respectful work environment.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Salary Range

Salary Range: $18.71-$28.26

Salary Range Details

The pay range displayed on each job posting reflects the anticipated range for new hires. A successful candidate’s actual compensation will be determined after taking factors into consideration such as the candidate’s work history, experience, skill set, and education. This is not inclusive of the value Sturdy Health’s benefits package (if applicable), which includes among other benefits, healthcare/dental/vision and retirement. For annual salaries this is based on full-time employment.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Sturdy Memorial Hospital is an equal employment opportunity employer. There is no discrimination because of race, color, creed, age, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status or disability.

Work Experience

Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that’s unique about our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to success, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it’s our people. Our employees are self-disciplined, hardworking, curious, trustworthy, humble and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in our area.