Lead Cook — High-Impact Kitchen Leader

Maryland Food Bank; Arbutus (MD); On-site; USD 33,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

The Maryland Food Bank is seeking a Lead Cook to guide the culinary team in preparing healthy meals for FoodWorks programs. You will supervise cooks, kitchen staff, and volunteers, ensuring recipes are followed, quality standards met, and safety regulations observed.

This role requires a strong background in commercial kitchens, experience in fast-paced environments, and ServSafe certification or plan to obtain it within 90 days.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• At least three years of experience working in a commercial kitchen.
• Working knowledge of commercial food production, kitchen equipment, food safety, and sanitation standards.
• Ability to follow standardized recipes, maintain portion-control standards, and perform basic recipe conversions.
• Ability to organize production work and thrive in a fast-paced kitchen environment.
• ServSafe Manager Certification at hire or ability to obtain it within 90 days.
• Ability to pass required pre-employment screening and background check.

Responsibilities

• Prepare entrées and other menu items according to established recipes, production schedules, and quality standards.
• Oversee assigned Cooks, the Kitchen Porter, and volunteers as directed by the Executive Sous Chef or Director/Executive Chef.
• Follow HACCP, food-safety, allergen, portion-control, and cross-contamination-prevention procedures.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local health, sanitation, and food-handling regulations.
• Monitor food temperatures, storage, labeling, dating, and safe handling of food products.
• Operate, clean, and maintain kitchen equipment and work areas; promptly report equipment issues, maintenance needs, and accidents.
• Maintain organized dry, refrigerated, and frozen storage areas, using FIFO inventory-rotation practices to support quality and minimize waste.
• Receive, verify, label, sort, and properly store food and supply deliveries.
• Maintain accurate daily production records, logs, and other required documentation.
• Communicate low-stock items, inventory discrepancies, and anticipated shortages to the Executive Sous Chef; assist with inventory counts and cross-training as needed.

Skills

Team leadership

Food safety

HACCP procedures

Recipe following

Education

High School Diploma

Job description

The Maryland Food Bank is seeking a Lead Cook to guide the culinary team in preparing healthy meals for FoodWorks programs. You will supervise cooks, kitchen staff, and volunteers, ensuring recipes are followed, quality standards met, and safety regulations observed.

This role requires a strong background in commercial kitchens, experience in fast-paced environments, and ServSafe certification or plan to obtain it within 90 days.