Cook Specialist I
California State Personnel Board Specification
Definition
Under supervision, to assist in preparing, cooking, and dispensing food for the residents and employees of a State institution; to care for culinary equipment, supplies, and work areas; to work with employees and helpers from the resident population; may instruct, lead, or supervise inmates, wards, or resident workers; and do other related work.
Distinguishing Characteristics
This is the first working level in the Cook series. Employees in the class of Cook Specialist I normally work under the supervision of a Cook Specialist II performing the less responsible and less skilled duties required in the preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food. Employees in this class may be used in detached living units for short order food preparation and supervision of food serving by residents.
Employees in this class who perform responsible cooking duties either through a combination of duties or rotation may also supervise such activities as the cleaning of cooking pots and equipment in a central pot washing room, the preparation of fruits and vegetables in a central vegetable room, or the cleanup and other less responsible tasks in the kitchen, bake shop, or butcher shop, such as bread slicing, weighing ingredients, and the more routine meat cutting and grinding. However, if these duties are performed on a permanent full-time basis and not in combination with or rotated with more responsible cooking duties, such duties are allocated to the class Food Service Technician II.
Through training or on-the-job work experience employees are expected to develop skill in quantity cooking as preparation for advancement to Cook Specialist II.
Employees in the class of Food Service Technician I in the kitchen, bake shop, or meat unit perform the more routine tasks, and clean and maintain utensils, equipment, and work areas.
Typical Tasks
Performs the less responsible and less skilled tasks required in preparing, cooking, and dispensing various food items; relieves the cooks, bakers, or meat cutters of routine operations such as tending steam kettles, watching, turning, and stirring food; supervises clean-up operations and such other duties as slicing bread, weighing ingredients, and cutting and grinding meat; cleans and maintains culinary utensils, equipment, and work areas with the assistance of employees and helpers from the resident population; participates in on-the-job or classroom instruction for cooks; may supervise the work of helpers from the resident population; as required, acts for the Cook Specialist II, Baker I, or Butcher-Meat Cutter I in his/her absence.
Minimum Qualifications
Either I
One year of experience in the California state service performing the duties of a Food Service Technician I.
Or II
One year of experience in assisting a cook in the preparation and cooking of a varied menu. (Full-time training in a recognized trade school or training program for cooks may be substituted for the required experience on the basis of one month of school attendance being equal to two months of experience.)
Knowledge and Abilities
Knowledge of: Kitchen sanitation and safety measures; food handling sanitation; principles, procedures, and equipment used in the storage, care, preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food in large quantity; methods and procedures used in the operation, cleaning, and care of utensils, equipment, and work areas.
Ability to: Complete satisfactorily a training program in the preparation and cooking of all food groups; follow directions; keep records; analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action; communicate at a level appropriate to the classification.
Special Personal Characteristics
Sympathetic understanding of and willingness to work with the resident population of a State institution; personal cleanliness; good sense of smell and taste; and freedom from communicable diseases.
