Lead Cook Riverside, CA

La Sierra; Riverside, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 25,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

La Sierra in Riverside, CA is seeking a Temporary lead cook to oversee and train junior staff while preparing a wide range of menu items with precision and care.

The role requires following complex recipes, maintaining safety and sanitation, and ensuring top-quality service to customers. The position runs through December 11, 2026, with duties including equipment operation and inventory planning.

Qualifications

• Ability to follow standard recipes and note discrepancies.
• Experience measuring and mixing ingredients and using kitchen equipment.
• Ability to learn operation and care of kitchen equipment.
• Adherence to safety and sanitation principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead cook to train less experienced cooks.
• Prepare food under minimal supervision.
• Ensure high quality service for customers.
• Follow complex recipes and prepare a variety of foods.
• Prepare foods using kitchen equipment and handle inventory planning.

Skills

Follow recipes

Food preparation

Lead training

Safety and sanitation

Education

High school diploma or GED

4+ years related experience

Job description

Position Type: Temporary

• Hiring Date through December 11, 2026

Job Summary: Food preparation.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Serves as a lead cook guiding and assisting in training of less experienced cooks.
• Under minimal supervision, independently performs advanced cooking duties in preparing food items to be served to customers.
• Provides the highest quality of service to customers at all times.
• Follows complex recipes and/or product directions for preparing, seasoning, cooking, tasting, carving and serving soups, vegetarian meats, vegetables, desserts and other foodstuffs for consumption in eating establishments.
• Prepares foods by operating a variety of kitchen equipment to measure and mix ingredients, washing, peeling, cutting, and shredding fruits and vegetables.
• Tastes products, reads menus, estimates food requirements, check production, and keep records in order to accurately plan production requirements and requisition supplies and equipment.
• Selects recipes per menu cycle, prepares bakery items, receives inventory, moves and lifts foodstuffs and supplies and prepares meals for customers requiring special diets.
• May clean and sanitize work stations and equipment and must follow all regulatory rules and procedures.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to follow standard file recipes and make notations of existing discrepancies (consults cook or supervisor regarding any changes).
• Ability to accurately process recording of leftover foods.
• Ability to learn operation and care of all mechanical equipment used.
• Ability to learn and practice principles of safety and sanitation.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed instructions and to deal with problems as they arise.
• Ability to use passive vocabulary of 5-6000 words; to read at a slow rate; define unfamiliar words in dictionaries for meaning, spelling and pronunciation.
• Finger dexterity-using primarily just the fingers to make small movements such as typing, picking up objects or pinching fingers together.
• Ability to talk, especially where one must frequently convey detailed or important instructions or ideas accurately.
• Average hearing, able to hear average or normal conversations and receive ordinary information.
• Average visual ability- average, ordinary visual acuity necessary to prepare or inspect documents or products, or operate machinery.
• Must be in good physical condition and able to lift and carry objects/equipment, etc. up to 50 pounds or more.
• Able to maintain body equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery or erratically moving surfaces. This factor is important if the amount and kind of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium.
• Able to bend body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist (stooping).
• Able to bend legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees (kneeling).
• Able to bend the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine (crouching).
• Able to move about on hands and knees or hands and feet (crawling).
• Able to extend hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Able to remain upright on the feet, particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Able to move about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
• Able to use upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
• Able to use upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, drag, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.
• Able to raise objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position to position.
• Able to pick, pinch, type or otherwise work, primarily with fingers rather that with whole hand or arm as in handling.
• Able to apply pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.

Credentials and Experience

• High school diploma or GED or equivalent,
• Four or more years of related work experience.

Special Requirements

• Hazards include, but not limited to, cuts from broken glass, metal cans, burns, slipping and tripping.
• Frequently immerses hands in water.
• Works frequently in a hot and damp environment.

Wage Range: $18.28-$19.50