Senior Cook

Banner Health Corporate; Mesa (AZ); On-site; USD 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Banner Health in Mesa, AZ seeks a Senior Cook to lead daily food production across assigned areas and ensure meals meet safety, quality, and standardized recipes. You will mentor kitchen staff, coordinate with café and catering requests, and uphold high food safety standards in a busy hospital kitchen.

This full-time role offers varied days and hours and the opportunity to contribute to patient and guest dining experiences while fostering teamwork in a mission-driven environment.

Qualifications

• Two or more years of production cooking experience.
• Solid understanding of cooking principles and modified recipes for diets.
• Ability to learn and follow established policies and procedures.

Responsibilities

• Prepare all food items according to standardized recipes and adjust quantities for yields.
• Plan production timing and quantities per daily orders and catering requests.
• Minimize food waste and track shortages; log temperatures and follow safety rules.
• Lead kitchen staff and provide training; ensure adherence to food safety standards.

Skills

Cooking

Food safety

Leadership

Education

High school diploma/GED

Tools

Commercial kitchen equipment

Job description

Primary City/State: Mesa, Arizona Department Name: Culinary & Nutrition-Hosp Work Shift: Varied Job Category: Facilities, Environmental Services, and Culinary Find your path in health care. Our team members make Banner Health a Great Place To Work®. Learn how you can join our dedicated team of professionals. As a Senior Cook, you will play a vital role in delivering high-quality food service within our kitchen operations. You will lead daily food production efforts across assigned areas, ensuring all meals are prepared with precision, consistency, from standardized recipes to catering requests. Beyond your culinary expertise, you will serve as a resource and leader for fellow kitchen staff, sharing your knowledge and skills to uphold the highest standards of food safety, quality, and efficiency. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact not only through the food you prepare, but through the positive influence you bring to the team every day. Schedule: Full-Time, 40hrs wk., days and hours will vary Banner Baywood Medical Center is a 342 bed hospital serving the health care needs of the dynamic and growing East Valley communities of metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona. We provide complete acute care services and outpatient services to include but not limited to cancer, stroke, women's health, rehabilitation, emergency medicine and surgery. Our Emergency Department treats a variety of ailments and offers advanced treatment areas, with 68 beds, seeing over 50,000 patients per year. We are certified as pediatric prepared as well as designated as a Trauma level 3 emergency room. In addition, our comprehensive orthopedic unit is one of the nation’s premier orthopedic programs. The unit's commitment to excellent patient care has earned a 4 STAR rating by CMS and repeated recognition as having one of the Top 100 Orthopedic Programs in the U.S. by The Health Network and HCIA, Inc. Because we are also a leader in neurological medicine, people throughout Arizona come to us when they need treatment for conditions of the brain, spine and nervous system.

POSITION SUMMARY

This position plans daily food production for assigned areas and produces all food items based on information obtained from production sheets, café menus, catering requests, and any other approved source.

CORE FUNCTIONS

1. Prepares all food items according to standardized recipes. Adjusts recipe quantities for correct yields. Notifies supervisor of any problems relating to production.
2. Plans food production timing and quantities in accordance with the daily orders, menu tally sheets and production assignments. In the event of shortage, determines menu substitutions for regular and café menus. Consults with diet tech or dietician for menu substitution needs for special diets.
3. Minimizes food waste with appropriate planning and tracking. Records food shortages and excess quantities in accordance with department procedure.
4. Checks and logs food and equipment temperatures and reports any problems to the supervisor. Reads thermometers and follows safety requirements.
5. Maintains par levels of food and supplies in assigned areas, orders and/or restocks items in accordance with established routines, rotates food stocks, checks freshness dates.
6. Keeps assigned work areas clean and in an orderly manner. Reports all needed equipment repair.
7. May receive and check in deliveries from vendors and in menu planning. May also oversee production quality when needed.
8. Works under general supervision. Provides leadership and knowledge in cooking and food preparation skills to other members of the kitchen staff. Has primarily inter-department responsibility. May deal with external customers in café or catering work assignments.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

High school diploma/GED or equivalent working knowledge. This position requires the knowledge and abilities in institutional food production normally acquired with two or more years of similar work experience in production cooking, plus a solid understanding of cooking principles, menu substitutions and modified recipes for all commonly prescribed diets. Must have skills and demonstrated abilities in hot food production and the use of all required commercial kitchen equipment. Must be able to learn and follow established policies and procedures, read and understand written and verbal instruction, communicate effectively, perform math calculations regarding recipe weights and amounts plus calculate amounts of food for necessary production. Must be able to learn food handling regulations and pass certification tests as required. Must be able to perform tasks within limited time frames and follow production and cleaning schedules plus use chemicals safely. For Banner Staffing Services (BSS) team members, the food handlers' card is required within 30 days of hire. For BSS team members in Tucson and Colorado, the food handlers' card is not required. All onsite food service equipment including stoves, ovens, steam-jacketed kettles, tilt skillet, broiler, steam table, grill, deep fryer, slicer, Buffalo Chopper, mixer, food carts, dish racks, cleaning equipment and hazardous chemicals used in cleaning and sanitation. Employees working at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital must possess an Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card at the time of hire and maintain the card for the duration of their employment. An Arizona Criminal History Affidavit must be signed upon hire.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Additional related education and/or experience preferred.

EEO Statement

EEO/Disabled/Veterans

Banner Health supports a drug-free work environment.

Privacy Policy

Banner Health is one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems in the country and the leading nonprofit provider of hospital services in all the communities we serve. Throughout our network of hospitals, primary care health centers, research centers, labs, physician practices and more, our skilled and compassionate professionals use the latest technology to make health care easier, so life can be better. The many locations, career opportunities, and benefits offered at Banner Health help to make the Banner Journey unique and fulfilling for every employee. We are proud to offer a comprehensive benefit package for all benefit-eligible positions. Please visit our Benefits Guide for more information.