Lead Cook

Continental Services; Troy (MI); On-site; USD 28,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision insurance

Life insurance and disability coverage

401(k) with company match

On‑site dining perks

Flexible schedules

Generous PTO

Employee assistance program

Job summary

Continental Services seeks a Lead Cook to lead culinary teams in the Meritor department. This full-time role requires overseeing daily preparation, ensuring adherence to recipe standards, portioning and production guidelines, and maintaining a safe, efficient kitchen environment.

The role emphasizes staying current with food trends, managing inventory, and supporting special events while upholding the company’s standard of excellence.

Qualifications

• Three or more years culinary experience required, large kitchen strongly preferred.
• ServSafe Manager and Allergen certification preferred; willing to obtain via our training program.
• Associates Degree in culinary or hospitality, or equivalent work experience accepted.

Responsibilities

• Food preparation and daily prep management in the kitchen.
• Ensure food meets standards for flavor, design, recipe compliance and portioning.
• Maintain kitchen areas, cooler and freezers; manage inventory and orders.
• Close the kitchen properly each day and support service events.

Skills

Culinary experience

Food preparation

ServSafe certification

Office software

Education

Associate Degree in culinary or hospitality

Job description

Lead Cook

Department: Meritor 700176

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Meritor

Reporting To: Marlysann Alakson

Compensation: $20.00 - $22.00 / hour

Description

The Line Cook is primarily responsible for driving the culinary teams with regards to daily preparation and to ensure that the culinary teams are meeting the "Standard of Excellence" with regards to flavors, design, recipe compliance, and adherence to portioning and production guidelines.

Key Responsibilities

1. Food Preparation: Facilitate and manage daily prep in the kitchen. Ensure food is properly prepared, packaged and shipped in a way that will allow for it to be portioned and served to guests in compliance with recipe standards. Ensure the kitchen is closed properly daily. Responsible for execution of service and special events.
2. Quality: Ensure quality and completeness of food production. Ensure quality standards are being met and timelines followed. Ensure timely and complete communication with interested parties to ensure quality standards are being met.
3. Development: Maintain awareness of new food trends, delivery methods for catering, new ingredients and new trends in plate presentations.
4. Maintenance: Manage daily upkeep and organization of the kitchen prep areas, cooler and freezers. Rotate products efficiently through the planning process. Assist with inventory and ordering.

Demonstrates attributes of

1. Results oriented and flexible; takes action as soon as need arises and can demonstrate positive results; steadily follows through on tasks; able to find a balance between the business requirements and meeting client requests; absorbs new information quickly and translates key points into positive outcomes.
2. Has a passion for food and is skilled in needed areas; good at visualizing how to develop new dishes, scale them appropriately to achieve a remarkable client experience. Demonstrated ability to gain buy‑in, respect, trust, and accountability to achieve goals.
3. High energy level; has demonstrated resilience, endurance and persistence throughout career.
4. Can-do attitude; stays positive, even in the face of adversity; sets right tone for others. Collaborative in work style with others both inside and outside organization; respectful of what others can contribute.
5. Believes in and routinely practices direct and honest communication; actively shares information openly with those who need to know; seeks collaborative resolution of issues; seeks others’ points of view and encourages independent thought; listens well.
6. Personal values align with the company’s values and culture; treats people with respect and consistency; trustworthy; highly ethical; appreciates and engages in creativity and forward thinking; takes long‑range view.
7. Proficiency with electronic communication, Microsoft Office Suite, and related systems used in the industry.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

1. Associates Degree in culinary or hospitality. Equivalent work experience in the industry acceptable.
2. Three or more years culinary experience required, large kitchen strongly preferred.
3. ServSafe Manager and Allergen certification preferred. If the individual does not hold these, must be willing to obtain them through our ServSafe training program.

Benefits

We prioritize the health, wellness and work-life balance of our team members and designed our comprehensive compensation packages to reflect that.

• Full‑time team members are eligible for medical, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, parental leave, 401(k) with company match, at‑work dining perks, flexible schedules, generous PTO, and a total rewards program. Team Members can also use our inclusive employee assistance program.
• Part‑time Team Members are eligible for our 401(k) with company match, at work dining perks and team members can also use our inclusive employee assistance program.

Location‑specific perks may also include wellness programming, on‑the‑job training, corporate‑hosted courses, certifications and team events.