Cook

About the role

This position is located in the Nutrition and Food Service of a Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Nutrition and Food Services is responsible for providing meals and nutritional care to Veteran patients at the Medical Center.

What you will do

• Independently prepares all types of food for regular and modified diets.
• Incumbent prepares, cooks, seasons, and portions food for all meals so that the completed food products are ready at the appropriate temperature and time and are visually appealing to customers.
• Prepares menu items using special or difficult recipes that require numerous interrelated steps, many ingredients, and lengthy preparation time.
• The incumbent prepares a variety of menu items using several different and complex methods of preparation such as cook/chill and cook/serve.
• Follows menus, production sheets and recipes to prepare items in the quantity needed.
• Calculate and determine serving portions from quantities of food issued to include meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, fruits, sauces, and gravies for regular and modified diets.
• Prepare or coordinate the preparation of entire meals and prepare, season, and determine serving portion food for all meals by following standardized, special, or difficult recipes.
• Coordinates cooking of several items with different cooking times and characteristics.
• Prepares complex recipes with multiple steps and lengthy preparation times.
• Cooking techniques (such as sous vide, and combi-oven) may be employed.
• Coordinates the cooking of items prepared by other cooks at one or more work centers.
• May lead lower-graded cooks engaged in a variety of standard cooking operations simultaneously at one or more work centers.
• Attractively presents and garnishes food.
• Cooks hot cereals, concentrated or dehydrated soups, sauces, gravies.
• Grills eggs, hamburgers, meat patties, pancakes, and French toast; makes cold sandwich fillings and assembles a variety of sandwiches.
• Broils, roasts, bakes fries, boils, steam, braises, meats, fish and poultry.
• Slices meat items by hand confirming to specific size requirements or weight specifications.
• Prepares fresh, canned, and frozen vegetables; bakes frozen potatoes, pre-made cookie dough, muffin batters.
• Prepares and heats convenience items; prepares pureed foods and adjusts consistency with thickeners.
• Receives, rotates and stores perishable and non-perishable items according to service policies.
• Removes outdated or damaged goods from stock.
• Labels all food items with contents and dates per labeling guidelines.
• Weighs, measures, and assembles ingredients accurately and according to standardized recipes or requisitions.
• Advises lower grade food service workers and cooks on tray assembly issues, dishwashing procedures, and quality control issues, such as plating techniques, tray arrangements, and practices to maintain temperatures and safety of food.
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 10:45am to 7:15pm Position Description Title/PD#: Cook/PD99817S Physical Requirements: Subject to continuous standing, walking, frequent bending, reaching, pushing, and pulling.
• Lifts or moves objects weighing up to 40 lbs. unassisted and occasionally lifts or moves objects weighing more than 40 lbs. with assistance of a lifting device or other workers.
• Manipulates cumbersome, heavy objects, such as washing stainless steel mixing bowls, pushing heavy carts on casters or operating heavy equipment.
• Possesses manual dexterity to operate equipment and to handle sharp knives and blades safely.
• Utilizes eye-hand coordination and the ability to concentrate and react quickly to serve food and operate equipment.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation Selective Services Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (***).
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
• Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

How you will be evaluated

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC.

WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Documents you must provide

• Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) Other (1) Performance Appraisal Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.
• Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information.
• Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.
• Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply.
• Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
• Applications are accepted online.
• Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

What to expect next

After the vacancy announcement closes, applicants are evaluated to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted.

HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties.

VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities.

HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities.

HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.

To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at ***

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service.

This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.