Cook

University of Utah; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 21,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Utah's Student Parent Support Center seeks a dedicated child care cook to prepare healthy meals for students, faculty, and staff in campus child care centers. You will follow established recipes, ensure timely preparation, and uphold safety and sanitation standards.

The role requires two years of institutional cooking experience, strong communication skills, and a Salt Lake County Food Handler's Permit; experience with child care settings and allergy-conscious planning is

Qualifications

• Two years of institutional cooking experience or equivalency.
• Demonstrated human relations, computer literacy, and effective communication skills required.
• A current food service worker's permit is also required.
• Previous food production experience in a health care setting is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Prepare healthy food/snacks for children in our child care centers by following instructions/recipes.
• Utilize knowledge of cooking methods and time requirements to provide properly prepared foods in a timely fashion.
• Operate machinery and equipment used in cooking as per procedures (slicers, choppers, steamers, broilers, griddles, fryers, braziers, blenders, microwaves).
• Weigh cooking products to ensure proper portion delivery.
• Clean the work area, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, storeroom, and utensils to meet sanitation requirements.
• Perform quality checks for taste and appearance of finished food products.
• May use department software to complete requisitions and forecast production.
• Set up and stock area for food service delivery to classrooms; assist in serving cooked items.
• Order, rotate, and maintain adequate stock levels for cooking production.
• Assist in completing all aspects of cooking production to ensure timely delivery.
• May develop or modify recipes to improve kitchen output or services.
• Adjust recipes for altitude, diet orders, etc., as needed.
• Monitor allergen ingredients and make substitutions for children with allergies.

Skills

Institutional cooking

Food safety

Communication

Computer literacy

Background check

Job description

Cook

Job Summary

The Student Parent Support Center performs a vital role at theUniversity of Utah by providing support and child care services tostudents, faculty, and staff within the Division of StudentAffairs. UKids Guardsman Way a child care program of the StudentParent Support Center is looking for an energetic, dedicated, andconsistent person to fulfill the role of our child care cook. This committed person will prepare a variety of food service itemsby following established child care specific recipes and proceduresand ideally have two years of institutional cooking experience orequivalency. Demonstrated human relations, written documentationskills, and effective communication skills are a must. Previousfood production experience in a child care setting ispreferred.

Responsibilities

• Sufficient vision to read small printed material as well as long distances across playgrounds and classrooms to supervise staff and children.
• Sufficient hearing to hear normal and telephone conversation.
• Ability to speak in an understandable tone with sufficient volume to be heard in normal conversation.
• Must meet physical characteristics (with or without the use of aids):
  • Lift up to 50 lbs.
• Must pass a Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) background check
• Must have or immediately obtain a Salt Lake County Food Handler's Permit

Essential Duties

Depending on the area of assignment, incumbents may be required toperform and/or supervise some or all of the following duties.

1. Prepare healthy food/snacks for children in our child carecenters by following instructions/recipes.
2. Utilizes knowledge of cooking methods and preparation timerequirements to ensure that adequate amounts of properly preparedfoods are provided in a timely fashion.
3. Adheres to manufacturer instructions and standard kitchenprocedures when operating machinery and equipment used in cookingincluding slicers, choppers, steamers, broilers, griddles, fryers,braziers, blenders, microwaves, etc.
4. Weighs cooking products as required to ensure proper portiondelivery.
5. Cleans the work area, refrigerators, stoves, ovens, storeroom,and utensils in order to comply with county, and state sanitationrequirements.
6. Performs quality checks for taste and appearance of finishedfood products.
7. May use department-specific computer software to completepurchase and issue requisitions, forecasts cooking production forthe child care program based on daily menus.
8. Sets up and stocks area for food service delivery to classrooms;and assists in serving cooked items.
9. Orders, rotates, and maintains adequate stock levels requiredfor cooking production by estimating needs according to theproduction schedule.
10. Assists in completing all aspects of cooking production toensure that needed items are delivered on time.
11. May develop, modify, or experiment with recipes and/or cookingprocedures to improve kitchen output or services.
12. Uses cooking knowledge and experience to adjust recipes forfactors such as altitude, special diet orders, etc.
13. Responsible for monitoring packaged food ingredients for knownallergens of the children in the center and making daily foodsubstitutions for children with allergies, as needed. This includesawareness of all known food allergies and food sensitivities ofchildren in the child care center.
14. Other duties as assigned

Problem solving

The incumbents in the is position are expected to be familiar withthe department's policies and procedures and are required to have aworking knowledge of University and department organizations andprocedures in order to answer and assist staff and visitors. Major challenges encountered by incumbents might include organizingand facilitating functions with minimal notice; limitingdepartmental waste by proper utilization of time and resources;implementing cost-control measures whenever possible; andprioritizing duties to ensure timely preparation, cooking, anddelivery of ordered items. Also working with current food allergiesand substitution decisions.

Comments

Incumbents face exposure to potentially dangerous cleaningchemicals utilized in sanitation procedures as well as equipmentand supply hazards such as wet or hot work surfaces and sharp edgeson food containers, and cutting devices. This position involveslifting and/or pushing heavy supply containers, equipment, and foodcarts. Incumbents must operate heavy or mechanized equipmentincluding slicers, mixers, blenders, steam kettles, fryers, andchoppers.

Incumbents must comply with departmental policies regardingattendance and periodic evaluations in order to perform the jobduties acceptably in an early childhood classroom environment orearly childhood kitchen.

Minimum Qualifications

• Two years of institutional cooking experience or equivalency(one year of education can be substituted for two years of relatedwork experience).
• Demonstrated human relations, computer literacy, and effectivecommunication skills required.
• A current food service worker's permit is also required.

Previous food production experience in a health care setting ispreferred. Depending on the area of assignment, up to fouradditional years of institutional cooking experience and previoussupervisory experience may be preferred.

Preferences

At least one year previous experience in a child care setting ispreferred.

Requisition Number: PRN46159B

Full Time or Part Time?: Full Time

Work Schedule Summary: Day shift, may require occasionalweekend or evening work

Department: 00291 - Student Parent Support Center

Location: Campus

Pay Rate Range: $18.00

Close Date: 12/08/2026