Cook 2 (Culinary Finishing Kitchen)

Job description

Why Work at BYU

At Brigham Young University (BYU), your work is an opportunity to contribute to a distinctive educational mission rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and to make a meaningful difference in the lives of students.

As the flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BYU strives to be among the exceptional universities in the world. We are devoted to our faith, our students, and the University's Mission: "To assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life."

We seek staff members who enthusiastically embrace and advance this unique mission. Across the university, staff bring their expertise and talents to work that helps students learn, grow, and thrive. A culture of covenant belonging, weekly devotionals, meaningful opportunities for learning and growth, and a beautiful and historic campus make BYU a distinctive and inspiring place to build a career.

Belonging Statement

United by our common primary identity as children of God, BYU values and embraces the variety of individual characteristics, life experiences and circumstances, perspectives, talents, and gifts across the BYU community. This richness strengthens our shared efforts to create and support an environment of covenant belonging centered in Jesus Christ.

Employment Requirements

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are required to hold and be worthy to hold a current temple recommend to be hired and to remain in any position at BYU.

In hiring decisions, Brigham Young University lawfully gives strong preference to qualified, faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All employees are required to abide by the university's Honor Code and Dress & Grooming Standards. Successful candidates are expected to support and contribute to the academic and religious missions of the university, which are aligned with the principles and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Equal Opportunity

Brigham Young University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability or protected veteran status.

Job Summary

The Cook 2 oversees daily production in a high-volume commercial kitchen that prepares food for food to go events, restaurant support, packaged meals, and pizza production and sushi. This role combines hands-on cooking leadership with production line management, equipment oversight, culinary quality control, team supervision (including student labor), and continuous improvement to ensure consistent, high-quality output that meets volume, timing, safety, and operation standards.

What you'll do in this role:

Production Line Management

• Responsible for food production including setup, production requirements, efficiency, and clean-up across Food to Go, restaurant support, packaged meals, and pizza lines and sushi production.
• Evaluate and uphold standard operating procedures for production, safety, and quality.
• Ensure each order is accurately completed and delivered on time.
• Coordinate student labor hours by making daily assignments and adjusting as needed.
• Verify all production areas are properly sanitized and ready for the next day.
• Follow up on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Track student attendance and performance issues.
• Assist in managing the production of large quantities for catering, restaurant support, packaged meals, pizza operations and sushi.

Equipment Training and Management

• Responsible for equipment training, preventive maintenance, and safety for all production equipment.

Culinary Support

• Inspect and manage raw ingredient inventory to meet standards of freshness and quality.
• Inspect the output of all products produced to ensure consistency and quality standards.
• Oversee just-in-time cooking practices to eliminate waste, minimize excessive leftovers, and support proper food rotation.
• Implement and enforce procedures to maintain a clean and organized work area.

Leadership and Additional Duties

• Lead, train, mentor, and direct students and student supervisors; assign stations and provide coaching on technique, speed, consistency, and food safety.
• Maintain strict adherence to recipes, portion controls, packaging standards, and brand/client specifications.
• Enforce food safety, sanitation, and HACCP standards (temperature monitoring, dating, labeling, cross-contamination controls).
• Support quality assurance checks for appearance, taste, texture, and packaging integrity before products leave the kitchen.
• Collaborate with food to go coordinators, restaurant partners, and packaging teams to ensure accurate order fulfillment and on-time readiness.
• Participate in a weekend coverage rotation with other leaders.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What qualifies you for this role:

• A firm commitment to the Mission of BYU
• Minimum: 2 years experience in food production or a manufacturing related field
• Preferred: Culinary Arts Degree or American Culinary School (ACF) certification or similar working experience.

A physical exam and lift test will be conducted as a part of the hiring process for this position.

• Physical Effort: Moderate – Physical effort represented by frequent handling of medium weight objects (approx. 20-50 lbs.) and materials, or use of medium weight hand tools. May require climbing and working from ladders or in awkward positions.
• Environment: Periodic exposure to unfavorable conditions because of unavoidable need to be in variable temperatures or wet environments, etc.
• Hazards: Moderate existing or potential hazards

​Typical Physical Efforts, Environmental Factors, and Hazards:

• Lifting boxes of meat or bins of product weighing 20-50 lbs (30 min to 6 hrs, up to 5 days/week)
• Exposure to hot and cold temperatures from oven (350 degrees) and freezers (-20 degrees) (1 hr, up to 20 times daily)
• Cleaning - Kneeling and Bending (1 hr, daily)
• Extended hours on feet (7 hrs, daily)