Dining Services IV- Lead Cook - Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo (CMHHIP)

Full Job Description

Opt-in below to receive text message updates on CDHS recruiting events!

CDHSCareers

As a cornerstone of the Pueblo community for over a century, the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo is a leading employer, provider of quality mental health services, and a community partner.

The Nutrition Services Department exists to provide quality food service and medical nutrition therapy to more than 1600 clients in a mental health care facility and the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC). With over 100 employees, the department strives, within available resources, to provide adequate nutrition to clients based on medical, spiritual, ethnic, cultural, and mental health needs.

The incumbent in this position will prepare and serve meals, snacks and beverages for clients in a high and/or medium security setting while adhering to federal, state and local regulations. As well as prepare food by utilizing conventional and cooked chill production systems and using a variety of cooking methods such as grilling, baking, roasting, steaming, etc. with commercial food service equipment. Food is re-thermed, assembled and portioned by dining services positions in the dining rooms. Candidates in this position will also store food in accordance with food safety guidelines and are responsible for cleaning equipment, production areas, and dishes while following proper safety and sanitizing guidelines. Please note incumbent may be scheduled to work in North Kitchen or dining rooms, based on business needs.

Requirements

The Nutrition Services Department provides quality meals and medical nutrition therapy to patients in a mental health facility. Meals meet the nutritional, medical, spiritual, cultural, and mental health needs of the patient population and are prepared in a manner that meets established standards.

This position ensures safe, compliant, and effective completion of food service production within the Nutrition Services Department kitchen, to include meal preparation, cooking, portioning, sanitation, documentation, and work lead duties.

All work performed by this position adheres to federal, state, and local regulations,Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo (CMHHIP) policies and procedures and proper safety and sanitation guidelines.

Duties in this position include:

Lead Cook:

• Trains and works alongside employees on regularly assigned tasks, new techniques, methods, and standards.
• Provides guidance to Dining Services III on a daily basis, providing production routines and ensuring all food products are produced and stored following food safety and sanitation regulations imposed by state and federal regulations.
• Leads staff and demonstrates culinary skills of food preparation to include, but not limited to, slicing, grinding, cooking meats, soups/sauces/gravy preparation.
• This position identifies additional training required for Dining Services III staff, including plate presentation, accurate portion sizes, following modified menus.
• Schedules work, monitors compliance with work schedules, assigns tasks, and establishes standards in regards to safety and sanitation, and the production, preparation, and/or service of meals.
• Monitors the progress and workflow of Dining Services III staff.
• Oversees meal service/ snacks, and verifies accuracy of preparation based on diet order.
• Oversees temperature and cleaning logs and ensures logs are completed as established by regulatory standards.
• Completes inventory of supplies in their designated work location and orders supplies as needed by using the diet kitchen order form or the bread and milk order form.
• Receives supplies and stores them in the appropriate location based on the delivered item (i.e. cold item, dry storage, chemicals.
• Provides input to supervisors and managers regarding leave requests, schedules, and PMAPs.
• Leads staff in meetings to meet daily production goals.
• Uses a state computer to complete tasks such as Cornerstone training, timecards, and review/respond to work emails.
• Attends and actively participates in in-person assigned training.

Preparation of Medical and Religious diets:

• Under the guidance of the Diet Kitchen supervisor, prepares, assembles, and portions recipes, baked goods, and snacks for medical and religious diets.
• Read and follow standardized recipes for diets, cooking instructions, production sheets, tallies, and load slips to prepare meals, snacks, and baked goods for specialized diets.
• Frequently uses a food processor, blenders, and immersion blenders to mince or puree foods to the appropriate consistency.
• Prepares gluten-free or other diets related to an allergy separately to prevent cross-contamination.
• Uses basic math skills for scaling recipes based on the number of clients on a specific diet order. In the preparation of diet recipes, visually inspect for correct consistency, color, and texture.
• During cooking, monitors and documents food temperatures following Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) guidelines.
• Operates and cleans commercial food equipment, following manufacturers' guidelines and instructions for safe operation.
• Counts and portions of food items based on the census per location.
• Adequately labels all diets and products following labeling procedures.
• Follows guidelines for religious diets by covering areas with double-layer approved paper before preparing religious diets; does not mix kosher food items with non-kosher foods, equipment, and utensils.
• Participates in inspection with the Rabbi when inspecting the facility for the preparation of religious diets.
• Position works closely with the diet office to identify specific foods allowed and not allowed on a diet order, and during religious holidays.

Safety and Sanitation/Cleaning:

• Monitors and records temperatures of food items, refrigerators, and freezers, dish machine, documents and reports any discrepancies.
• Meets established Federal, State, and Local regulations regarding food safety and sanitation.
• Visually inspects Cambro carts daily for needed repairs and sanitation.
• Documents knife counts, refrigeration temperatures, and food temperatures on designated log sheets.
• Ensures all refrigerators and other log sheets are updated daily.
• Follows CMHHIP and departmental polices, rules, regulations, and practices of the department to include wearing ID badge, proper uniform, accountability with keys, contraband, utensils, and sharps counts by following safety procedures.
• Ensures IOJ and incident reports are completed promptly.
• Operates and cleans commercial food equipment, pots, pans, and utensils, following manufacturers' guidelines and instructions for safe operation.
• Prepares sanitizing solution in red buckets with bleach and water, and uses testing strips to ensure adequate parts per million.
• Washes dishes, utensils, pots, and pans using a dishwasher or 3-compartment sink.
• Records dish machine wash and rinse temperatures.

Other Duties As Assigned:

• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications listed below to continue in the selection process for this position. Work experience must be specifically documented in the work experience section of your application. Do not use "see resume" or "see attached" statements on your application.

Minimum Qualifications:
Three years (3) of food service experience including cooking and preparation of food and/or working in an occupationally related field. Acceptable forms of experience include: work in banquet setting, catering, or production kitchen.

Appeal Rights

You may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director if your application is eliminated. You will find the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it on the State Personnel Board website.

• You or your representative must sign and submit the official appeal form for review.

• You can find the official appeal form here.

• You must be deliver the official appeal form to the State Personnel Board:

  • By email (dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us), or

  • Postmarked in US Mail to(1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203, or

  • Hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or

  • Faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department’s action.

Contact the State Personnel Board for assistance:

• At (303) 866-3300, or

• Refer to the Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, within the Rules webpage.

Additional Information

How to apply to the State of Colorado(Youtube Video, Runtime 3:59, Closed Captions Available)

About Us & Benefits

If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, join the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS).

Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado.

Each of us is committed to contributing to a safe and accessible CDHS. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus 401(k) and 457 plans

• Medical and dental health plans

• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account

• Paid life insurance

• Short- and long-term disability coverage

• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave

• State of Colorado Employee BenefitHub Resource Center

• Employee Wellness program

• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more

• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions

• *Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Our Values

We believe in a people-first approach: We prioritize the needs, well-being, and dignity of the individuals, families and communities we serve.

We commit to respect, fairness and access in every decision, policy and interaction. We engage client voices and experiences in the development and implementation of the services we provide.

Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.

We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.

Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.

We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.

Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.

ADA Accommodations

CDHS is committed to a Colorado for ALL qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment.

This includes completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or performing essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship.

If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to cdhs_ada@state.co.us.

The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer

We are committed to increasing a “Colorado for ALL" of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services.

Therefore, we encourage responses from people of all backgrounds and abilities.

The State of Colorado believes that a “Colorado for ALL” drives our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them.

Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

Additional Support For Your Application
Toll Free Applicant Technical Support


If you experience technical difficulty with the NEOGOV system (e.g. uploading or attaching documents to your online application) call NEOGOV technical support at 855-524-5627 Mon-Fri between 6 am and 6 pm (Pacific Time). Helpful hints: if you are having difficulty uploading or attaching documents to your application 1) ensure your documents are PDF or Microsoft Word files and 2) close the document before you attempt to upload (attach) it.