Lead Cook - St. Charles

Yay Lunch; St. Charles (IL); On-site; USD 32,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

School-year schedule

Job summary

Yay Lunch in Illinois is seeking a Lead Cook to drive the kitchen for a school program. You’ll be on the line, in the prep, ensuring every meal meets specs and deadlines while keeping the kitchen organized and setting the standard for the team.

This hands-on role requires strong knife skills, reliability, and experience in high-volume kitchens. You’ll lead hot and cold production, manage inventory, and support food safety and service excellence.

Qualifications

• Current Food Handler certification (required); ServSafe a plus.
• Experience in a high-volume kitchen — school food service, catering, or similar.
• Strong knife skills and comfort with both hot line and cold prep.
• Detail‑oriented: you follow recipes, you label correctly, you don’t cut corners.
• Reliable, on time, and ready to work hard from the moment you walk in.

Responsibilities

• Hot Food Production: You and your team cook from recipe cards, portion correctly, and verify temperatures.
• Cold Batch Production: Produce and label cold items on a set batch day; store at 41°F or below; FEFO enforced.
• Kitchen Pars & Inventory: Weekly inventory counts, order based on batch schedule, log waste daily.
• Team Development: Brief shifts, assign roles, debrief twice a week, address performance issues.
• Sales & School Happiness: Be the face of Yay at the school and collect feedback.

Skills

Food Handler

High-volume kitchen

Knife skills

Detail-oriented

Reliable

Team leadership

Job description

About the Role (STP)

The Lead Cook is the engine of the Yay kitchen. You’re the first one in and the person the team looks to when production gets moving. This is a hands‑on cooking role — you’re at the line, in the prep, making sure every meal that goes to students is on spec and on time. You also help keep the kitchen organized and set the standard for how the team works.

This is the right role if you love to cook, take pride in consistency, and want to be trusted to run the kitchen when it matters.

What You’ll Do

• Hot Food Production: You and your team cook from recipe cards — not memory — and portion correctly every time. Spot check portions, verify temperatures, and keep production on schedule.
• Cold Batch Production: Cold items — fruit cups, veggie packs, snack packs, wraps, salads, and similar — are produced once or twice per week on a set batch day. You ensure the batch is completed on time, portioned correctly, labeled immediately with prep date and use‑by date, and stored at 41°F or below. FEFO is enforced at all times — oldest product forward, newest to the back. No cold items are produced outside the batch schedule without direction from your Ops Manager. Refer to the cold item shelf life guide for use‑by standards per item.
• Kitchen Pars & Inventory Full inventory count every week — same day, same time. Order based on counts and the batch schedule. Enforce FEFO across every shelf and every fridge. Receive deliveries personally, verify against the invoice, and flag any issues before product goes into storage. Log all waste daily, review patterns weekly, and flag anything that doesn’t add up.
• Team Development Your Kitchen & Service Assistants know their roles, their specs, and your standards. Brief them at the start of every shift — 5 minutes, clear assignments, no ambiguity. On batch day, make sure everyone knows their role in the cold production process. Debrief at least twice a week. Address performance issues directly and document them in real time.
• Sales & School Happiness You are the face of Yay at your school. Communicate proactively with school administration — menu changes, service updates, anything that might affect their day. Collect feedback from students and staff and pass it up.

Kitchen Standards

• Complete food safety logs daily — temperatures at opening, during cooking, during holding, and at close.
• Keep your station and shared kitchen spaces clean and organized.
• Log waste accurately and flag anything that seems off.
• Help receive deliveries and verify product against invoices when needed.

Team Support

• Set the pace and the standard for the kitchen team during your shift.
• Support and lead team members — show them the right way to do things and lead on where you need support.

What We’re Looking For

• Current Food Handler certification (required); ServSafe a plus
• Experience in a high‑volume kitchen — school food service, catering, or similar
• Strong knife skills and comfort with both hot line and cold prep
• Detail‑oriented: you follow recipes, you label correctly, you don’t cut corners
• Reliable, on time, and ready to work hard from the moment you walk in

What a Great Day Looks Like

You arrive before the team, walk the kitchen, and know the plan before anyone else walks in. Production moves on schedule, temps are verified, and food hits the line looking and tasting exactly right. Cold batch items are portioned and labeled before the shift ends. The kitchen is clean. Your food safety log is signed off. Students got a great meal.

Compensation

• $21/hr, 6hrs/day, 5 days/week Monday-Friday (30hrs/week)
• Accrued paid‑time off, off when school not in session

Our Values

• Accountability — Own your station, your output, and your standards.
• Customer-First — Every student deserves a great meal. That starts with you.
• Positive Energy — The kitchen follows your lead. Make it a good one.