First Cook - Newton

Boston College, founded in 1863, is a prestigious Jesuit, Catholic university located just six miles from downtown Boston. With an enrollment of approximately 9,654 full-time undergraduates and 5,072 graduate and professional students, Boston College stands as a rigorous academic institution ranked 37th among national universities. The university employs an impressive faculty team of 923 full-time and 1,336 full-time equivalent faculty members alongside 2,822 non-faculty employees. Operating with a robust budget of $1.4 billion and an endowment exceeding $3.9 billion, Boston College maintains a strong commitment to academic excellence, community service, and holistic development of its students.

The First Cook position at Boston College is an essential role within the university's food services department, particularly serving the BCDS Newton location. This is a supervised, 35-hour per week role with a competitive hourly pay rate ranging from $30.54 to $33.94, commensurate with relevant experience. The First Cook is responsible for supervising, monitoring, and preparing large quantities of food in high-volume dining room settings, as well as for specialized catered functions. This role requires a blend of culinary expertise, leadership, and operational skills to ensure the delivery of high-quality food experiences that align with the university's standards and goals.

In this role, the First Cook is tasked with managing support staff including second cooks, cook helpers, food service workers, and general service workers under the guidance of the Chef or Kitchen Manager. They play an active part in the preparation of all food items on production menus and are responsible for maintaining food production standards, quality control, inventory management, and safety regulations. A key aspect of the role is to uphold stringent sanitation and safety practices in both work and cooking areas, ensuring compliance with health standards.

The First Cook also contributes to training and evaluating service personnel, supervising food production during meal hours to ensure efficient delivery, and ensuring all food served meets prescribed quality standards including taste, temperature, and appearance. Coordination of kitchen functions among the support staff is a vital component, and the role extends to assisting in planning and managing special food functions and dinners when required. During slower periods, the First Cook may also be assigned additional duties to support the food service operations.

Overall, this position demands a strong culinary background paired with leadership capabilities to handle a fast-paced, demanding environment. The ideal candidate must demonstrate a positive attitude, excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to manage multiple responsibilities to meet daily deadlines effectively.