Kitchen & Service Assistant

The Yay Company, based in Bryan, is a fast-growing, mission-driven organization dedicated to transforming the way kids eat daily through fresh, healthy, and thoughtfully prepared meals. As a company that values accountability, transparency, and pride in craftsmanship, The Yay Company has established itself as a leader in providing nutritious food directly impacting children's lives in schools. With ongoing expansion into new markets, the company offers employees great opportunities for career growth and development within a supportive and dynamic team environment. The company operates a cafe and kitchen that serve a unique blend of fresh meals and convenient grab-and-go options, aligning with their focus on health and community engagement.

The Kitchen & Service Assistant role at The Yay Company is a vital hands-on position designed to ensure the kitchen runs efficiently while providing frontline customer service during lunch operations. This fast-paced role supports the Lead Cook with kitchen prep, production tasks, and managing the grab-and-go cafe's inventory and checkout. The assistant is responsible for labeling all food items, ensuring precise staging and distribution by school or route, and, where applicable, packing and delivering food to spoke schools while maintaining safety and temperature standards. This role requires anticipation of needs, accuracy in task execution, and a warm presence when interacting with students, embodying the company’s people-first and excellence-driven culture.

Reporting directly to the Kitchen Manager with daily guidance from the Lead Cook, the Kitchen & Service Assistant balances multiple kitchen and service functions, including mise en place preparation, station cleanliness, food labeling, tray assembly, and grab-and-go fridge maintenance. Their day begins with setting up prep stations, followed by assisting in production tasks, managing labeling and staging, overseeing deliveries if assigned, and supporting lunch service with care and speed. Evenings wrap up with thorough cleaning and kitchen breakdown to maintain a pristine operational area, reinforcing the team's commitment to quality and hygiene standards.

Success in this role is reflected by seamless kitchen production with zero interruptions, perfect labeling and staging accuracy, timely delivery of meals to spoke locations when applicable, flawless meal distribution to students, and an exceptionally maintained grab-and-go service area. Candidates must be experienced in kitchen or food service environments, detail-oriented, self-motivated, team-spirited, and comfortable driving with reliable transportation if delivery duties are included. Food handler certification or willingness to obtain it promptly is also essential.

This is a competitive hourly paid position offering a meaningful career path in a company that significantly influences child nutrition. Joining The Yay Company means becoming part of a team where your contributions directly affect children's daily nutrition, empowering you to grow professionally while making a positive community impact.