Cook - Full Time, Days (Sacred Heart Campus)

St. Luke’s University Health Network; Allentown (Lehigh County); On-site; USD 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Luke's University Health Network is seeking a Cook to join our hospital food service team in Allentown. The role involves preparing, serving, and forecasting menu items for daily service, following recipes, and ensuring quality and portion control.

The cook will work with staff to communicate menu changes and maintain sanitation standards in a fast-paced hospital setting. Required to work every other weekend & holiday.

Qualifications

• High School graduate or equivalent preferred.
• Must be able to communicate effectively in English.
• Previous cooking experience, preferably in a hospital or restaurant environment.
• On-the-job training will be provided.

Responsibilities

• Prepares all foods, ensuring they are ready for service as scheduled.
• Ensures foods are served at proper temperature and presented well.
• Follows recipes and maintains correct portion sizes.
• Reviews menu items with staff and alerts for changes.
• Reviews menus for service periods to ensure proper preparation.
• Informs staff of next day’s service and any special requirements.
• Assists with general sanitation of the food service department.
• Cleans and maintains work area at all times.

Skills

Cooking

English communication

Education

High School diploma

Job description

St. Luke's is proud of the skills, experience and compassion of its employees. The employees of St. Luke's are our most valuable asset! Individually and together, our employees are dedicated to satisfying the mission of our organization which is an unwavering commitment to excellence as we care for the sick and injured; educate physicians, nurses and other health care providers; and improve access to care in the communities we serve, regardless of a patient's ability to pay for health care.

SCHEDULE:

Required to work every other weekend & holiday.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Cook prepares, serves, and forecasts all items needed for menu services according to recipes and production methods as directed.

• Prepares all foods, ensuring that they are ready for service as scheduled for the scheduled service periods in the proper amounts needed, ensuring quality, quantity, and presentation.
• Ensures all foods presented for service are served at the proper temperature and merchandized in a manner that best enhances the quality of product.
• Ensures recipes are followed and that foods are ready in the proper amounts and portion sizes for service.
• Reviews with staff all menu items to be served as to their content and method of service.
• Alerts the staff to any menu changes in sufficient time for action.
• Reviews all menus for service periods to ensure the necessary preparation in the proper forecasted amounts according to direction, recipes, and portions in sufficient time for ideal service.
• Reviews with the staff the next day’s service and alert them to any changes or special service requirements.
• Assists with general sanitation of food service department including: wiping walls, cleaning equipment, working in the dish room, emptying trash cans etc.
• Cleans and maintains work area at all times.

PHYSICAL AND SENSORY REQUIREMENTS:

Walking for up to 7 hours, 30 minutes at a time; sitting for up to 1 hour at a time and standing up to 1 ½ hours for 30 minutes at a time. Frequently uses handling and occasionally twisting/turning, lifting (1-50 lb.), carrying (1-50 lb.), pushing (1-50 lb.), and pulling (1-50 lb.). When performing essential functions, occasionally involves with stooping/bending, climbing, reaching above shoulder level. Employee must have the ability to hear normal conversation, have general vision, far vision, and peripheral vision.

EDUCATION:

High School graduate or equivalent preferred. Must be able to communicate effectively in English.

TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

Previous cooking experience, preferably in a hospital or restaurant environment. Specific on-the-job training will be provided.

St. Luke's University Health Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 23,000 employees providing services at 16 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites. With annual net revenue in excess of $4 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital. SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital. The Network’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Premier 13 times total and eleven years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. In 2021, St. Luke’s was identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally. St. Luke’s is the ONLY health care institution in the Lehigh Valley to be named a Top Workplace regionally repeating the exclusive honor for the third year in a row. Also, for the third straight year, St. Luke’s has been a Top Workplaces in the Philadelphia Region by the Philadelphia Inquirer, ranking 9th in the large employer category for 2025 and the only health care system in PA to receive this award. In 2025, St. Luke’s was recognized as a national Top Workplaces by USA Today, three years in a row, including the 3rd best health care system in the nation in 2023 and 2024. Lastly, in 2025, St. Luke’s was named a Top Workplace in New Jersey for the third year in a row. Learn More Here.