Lead Food Production Cook

J  o  b    D  e  s  c  r  i  p  t  i  o  n

JOB INFORMATION

Effective Date:

6/25/2026

Entity:

Wisconsin

Job Code:

430026

Job Title:

Lead Food Production Cook

FLSA Exemption Status:

Non-Exempt

Management Level:

Individual Contributor

JOB SUMMARY

The Lead Food Production Cook in Culinary Services is a leadership role responsible for providing food and nutrition for patients, visitors and staff members. The Lead applies policies and standards of food service and nutrition in accordance with Wisconsin health code and SERVSafe guidelines. This position requires the ability to organize daily tasks to complete job duties during constantly changing conditions. This position will work closely with Culinary Services Management.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

•

Provide excellent, timely and safe food for all patients, families, staff and visitors.

•

Ensure recipes are followed and correct ingredients are used in Production Tasks.

•

Ensure that meals are prepared accurately according to individual menu tickets.

•

Understand, recognize and distinguish a variety of regular and medically supervised diets.

•

Assist in ordering food products for menus and items in recipes and prep.

•

Assess quality, condition and types of ingredients used in food production.

•

Determine acceptable substitutions for under production and/or delivery shortages.

•

Complete and assist in yield studies.

•

Assist in developing recipes and menus.

•

Maintain standards for food storage, rotation, quality, and appearance.

•

Provide staff training and coaching on food safety, preventing foodborne illness, proper equipment use, sanitation, infection control and patient safety.

•

Ensure that the kitchen runs smoothly daily and that it is adequately stocked with all necessary goods.

•

Responsible for returning substandard food and notifying supervisor of product issues and any substitutions.

•

Ensure proper portions and safe and efficient assembly of meals.

•

Communicate with cross functional team members.

•

Follow all UW Health guidelines and policies regarding food safety and sanitation as applicable to work area.

•

Apply universal precautions in food handling, food stock maintenance, sanitation processes, and ensure rotation principles of first in, first out (FIFO) are followed and critical control points maintained for food safety.

•

Ensure all logs are completed and products are dated correctly.

•

Oversee the completion of documentation and auditing for HACCP guidelines, including temperature monitoring.

•

Participate in and oversee the training of new staff.

•

Actively participate in continuous quality improvement efforts to improve employee well-being and workflow efficiencies.

•

Actively coach and mentor staff to teach correct procedures and patient safety protocols.

•

Act as department super-user for computer systems that support operations.

•

Act as an effective Leader for the Culinary Services Department and the Organization.

•

Lead by example in all tasks and duties setting the pace and standards.

•

Delegate tasks and objectives to employees of the Culinary Services Department.

•

Lead meetings, in-services, and forums as needed.

•

Train and orient employees to the policies and correct procedures of the department and duties for each position.

•

Coordinate and manage employees’ schedules, fill vacant shifts to meet staffing needs.

•

Check the work of staff before products are served for accuracy and freshness.

•

Help in establishing maintenance and cleaning schedule for equipment, storage, and work areas.

•

Create prep lists and daily assignment lists for staff.

•

Ability to oversee the operation and problem solve in the absence of a supervisor.

•

Assist and train dietetics students during their food systems rotation.

•

Perform Other Duties as assigned by Supervisor.

As needed, additional responsibilities reasonably within the scope of duties and physical requirements may be assigned.  ALL DUTIES AND REQUIREMENTS MUST BE PERFORMED CONSISTENT WITH THE UW HEALTH PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND RESPECT FOR PEOPLE COMMITTMENTS.

X

Non-Clinical

JOB REQUIREMENTS

No minimum education

Required

High school diploma or equivalent.

Preferred

Associate's Degree

in Culinary, Hospitality, or Nutrition

Preferred

3 years

 food service, hospitality, or customer service experience

Required

6 months

 leadership experience

Preferred

SERV Safe Certification required within three (3) months of obtaining position

Required

LICENSE, CERTIFICATIONS, AND REGISTRATIONS MUST BE MAINTAINED PER UW HEALTH POLICY. 

•

Excellent customer service skills - courteous, positive, and sensitive to customer and patient needs

•

Customer and patient focused Must have the mindset that the customer or patient always comes first

•

Willing to go the extra mile to help guests, customers, and other staff

•

Must be able to work in a constantly changing environment and rapidly adapt to organizational and departmental change

•

Willingness to work other positions when needed by the operation

•

Ability to problem solve, make decisions, and work independently

•

Communicates effectively by sending, receiving and responding to information ensuring high level of customer satisfaction

•

Excellent verbal and written communication skills including understanding of English language

•

Ability to work in a team and foster an environment of helping others

•

Ability to perform simple to complex math calculations

•

Willing to be a role model for other staff on customer service practices and proper procedures

•

Able to effectively work in all areas in the department, each with varying job duties

•

Able to delegate and communicate assertively without being rude or discourteous with staff

•

Flexibility – willing to work in different areas in the department other than what is scheduled based on operational need

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS

☐

Sedentary: Sedentary work involves lifting no more than 10 pounds at a time and occasionally lifting or carrying articles like docket files, ledgers, and small tools. Although a sedentary job is defined as one which involves sitting, a certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required occasionally and other sedentary criteria are met.

Up to 10#

Negligible

Negligible

☐

Light: Light work involves lifting no more than 20 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 10 pounds. Even though the weight lifted may be very little, a job is in this category when it requires a good deal of walking or standing, or when it involves sitting most of the time with some pushing and pulling of arm or leg controls. To be considered capable of performing a full or wide range of light work, you must have the ability to do substantially all of these activities. If someone can do light work, we determine that they can also do sedentary work, unless there are additional limiting factors such as loss of fine dexterity or inability to sit for long periods of time.

up to 20#

Up to 10# or requires significant walking or standing or requires pushing/pulling of arm/leg controls.

Negligible or constant push/pull of items of negligible weight

☒

Medium: Medium work involves lifting no more than 50 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. If someone can do medium work, we determine that they can also do sedentary and light work.

20-50#

10-25#

Negligible-10#

☐

Heavy: Heavy work involves lifting no more than 100 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing up to 50 pounds. If someone can do heavy work, we determine that they can also do medium, light, and sedentary work.

50-100#

25-50#

10-20#

☐

Very Heavy: Very heavy work involves lifting objects weighing more than 100 pounds at a time with frequent lifting or carrying of objects weighing 50 pounds or more. If someone can do very heavy work, we determine that they can also do heavy, medium, light, and sedentary work.

Over 100#

Over 50#

Over 20#

Other - list any other physical requirements or bona fide occupational qualifications not indicated above:

Over 50 lbs.

UW Health does not require, nor does it expect that its employees lift more than 50 lbs unassisted. Objects in excess of 50 lbs should be lifted or moved with mechanical means or through a team lift. Employees in patient care areas are expected to utilize mechanical lifts and adhere to the "Use of Mechanical Lifts (Liko)" policy in the Patient Services Policy and Procedure Manual.

Note: The purpose of this document is to describe the general nature and level of work performed by personnel so classified; it is not intended to serve as an inclusive list of all responsibilities associated with this position.

THE EMPLOYEE MUST BE ABLE TO COMPLETE ALL PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE JOB WITH OR WITHOUT AN APPROVED ACCOMODATION. Note: The purpose of this document is to describe the general nature and level of work performed by personnel so classified; it is not intended to serve as an inclusive list of all responsibilities associated with this position.