Cook Specialist I (Correctional Facility)
California State Personnel Board Specification
Definition
Under supervision, in a State correctional facility in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, to assist in preparing, cooking, and dispensing food for the residents and employees of the facility; to care for culinary equipment, supplies, and work areas; to work with employees and helpers from the resident population; to maintain order and supervise the conduct of inmates, wards, residents, or patients; to protect and maintain the safety of persons and property; 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 (Correctional Facility) series. Employees in the class of Cook Specialist I (Correctional Facility) normally work under the supervision of a Cook Specialist II (Correctional Facility) 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 (Correctional Facility).
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 (Correctional Facility).
Employees in the class of Food Service Technician I (Correctional Facility) 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 (Correctional Facility) or Baker I (Correctional Facility) in that employee's absence; maintains order and supervises the conduct of persons committed to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; prevents escapes and injury by these persons to themselves or others or to property; maintains security of working areas and work materials; and inspects premises and searches inmates, wards, residents, or patients for contraband, such as weapons or illegal drugs.
Minimum Qualifications
Either I
Experience: One year of experience in the California state service performing the duties of a Food Service Technician I (Correctional Facility).
Or II
Experience: One year of experience in assisting a cook in the preparation and cooking of a varied menu in a restaurant, fast food outlet, or any other business with a food service operation. (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 (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Programs); principles, procedures, and equipment used in the storage, care, preparation, cooking, and dispensing of food in large quantity; and 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; and read and write at a level appropriate to the classification.
Special Personal Characteristics
Sympathetic understanding of and willingness to work with the resident population of a State correctional facility; personal cleanliness; good sense of smell and taste; and freedom from communicable diseases.
Special Physical Characteristics
Persons appointed to positions in this class must be reasonably expected to have and maintain sufficient strength, agility, and endurance to perform during stressful (physical, mental, and emotional) situations encountered on the job without compromising their health and well-being or that of their fellow employees or that of inmates and wards.
Assignments during tour of duty may include sole responsibility for the supervision of inmates and/or the protection of personal and real property.
