Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias.
Sample of reported job titles:
Cafeteria Cook, Chef, Cook, Dietary Cook, Dinner Cook, Food Service Specialist, Food Service Worker, Prep Cook (Preparatory Cook), School Cook, Sous Chef
Occupation-Specific Information
Tasks
- Clean and inspect galley equipment, kitchen appliances, and work areas to ensure cleanliness and functional operation.
- Apportion and serve food to facility residents, employees, or patrons.
- Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served.
- Clean, cut, and cook meat, fish, or poultry.
- Monitor use of government food commodities to ensure that proper procedures are followed.
Technology Skills
- Analytical or scientific software:GNOME Gnutrition
- Data base user interface and query software:Meals Plus
- Point of sale POS software:PCS Revenue Control Systems FASTRAK School Meal Software,Point of sale POS software
- Spreadsheet software:IBM Lotus 1-2-3,Microsoft Excel,Spreadsheet software
- Word processing software:Microsoft Word,Word processing software
Occupational Requirements
Work Activities
- Getting Information:Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials:Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates:Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings:Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events:Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Detailed Work Activities
- Clean food preparation areas, facilities, or equipment.
- Clean tableware.
- Cook foods.
- Coordinate activities of food service staff.
- Cut cooked or raw foods.
Work Context
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled:90% responded"Every day"
- Face-to-Face Discussions:83% responded"Every day"
- Time Pressure:83% responded"Every day"
- Spend Time Standing:79% responded"Continually or almost continually"
- Contact With Others:77% responded"Constant contact with others"
Worker Requirements
Skills
- Judgment and Decision Making:Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring:Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Operations Monitoring:Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Quality Control Analysis:Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Service Orientation:Actively looking for ways to help people.
Knowledge
- English Language:Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Food Production:Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Customer and Personal Service:Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Mathematics:Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Administration and Management:Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education
How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:
- 71%High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
- 14%Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)
Worker Characteristics
Abilities
- Near Vision:The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Oral Expression:The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Category Flexibility:The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning:The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Information Ordering:The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Interests
- Realistic:Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
- Conventional:Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values
- Relationships:Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
- Support:Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
- Independence:Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Work Styles
- Dependability:Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
- Attention to Detail:Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
- Self-Control:Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
- Integrity:Job requires being honest and ethical.
- Stress Tolerance:Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
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