Program A · Adult Day Care
Kitchen Aide / Cook
$17–$19/hour
Supports meal and snack preparation, food service, and maintenance of a clean, organized, and sanitary kitchen environment.
- CPR · First Aid · AED required
- Dementia training required
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Practical assessment
Demonstrate food handling, temperature documentation, allergy precautions, and accurate plating from written instructions.
Schedule & reporting
- Shift:
- Monday–Friday; kitchen preparation may begin before participant hours. Paid hours and meal arrangements are confirmed in the written offer.
- Reports to:
- Program Coordinator
- Works with:
- Activity Assistants, Member Care Companions, Program Coordinator
Illustrative duties — not a paid shift
Kitchen opening
- •Unlock, sanitize, and set up all prep surfaces and service lines
- •Take and log refrigerator, freezer, and holding temperatures
- •Review the day's census and the posted dietary sheet — texture-modified, diabetic, low-sodium, allergy, and cultural preferences
- •Pull and portion morning snack; start hot breakfast items where scheduled
Morning service and lunch prep
- •Serve morning coffee, hydration, and snack to the dining room
- •Prepare lunch entrées, sides, and modified-texture plates in parallel
- •Label and date every prepared item; rotate stock first-in-first-out
- •Flag any missing ingredient or supply shortage to the Coordinator before noon
Lunch service
- •Plate to the individual dietary sheet — never by memory, always by the posted list
- •Verify each modified plate against the participant's name before it leaves the kitchen
- •Hold, serve, and re-check hot/cold temperatures during service
- •Reset and sanitize dining tables with the floor team between seatings
Break-down, sanitation, close
- •Break down the line, cool and store leftovers with date labels
- •Wash, sanitize, and dry all equipment, utensils, and surfaces
- •Complete temperature, cleaning, and sanitation logs for the day
- •Prep afternoon snack for the floor team; stage tomorrow's pulls
- •Report low inventory and equipment issues in writing before leaving
Core responsibilities
- •Food preparation
- •Meal and snack preparation
- •Food service
- •Kitchen cleaning
- •Sanitation
- •Food storage
- •Inventory assistance
- •Meal setup and cleanup
- •Following dietary instructions supplied by authorized personnel
- •Maintaining safe food-service practices
Qualifications — in order
- Non-negotiable: safe food-handling practice and the ability to follow the posted dietary sheet exactly
- Then: reliable, on-time attendance — the program day cannot start late
- Then: institutional or senior-care food-service experience
- Required: documented HHA training and verified food-handler/food-safety training; food-protection manager certification where assigned duties require it
Required · must be met
- Ability to follow dietary instructions issued by authorized personnel
- Documented HHA training
- Verified food-handler / food-safety training
- Safe food-handling practice
- Reliable attendance
Minimum qualifications to be considered for an interview
- Experience: Minimum 2 years of paid food-service or institutional kitchen experience, including therapeutic or modified-texture diets.
- Education: High school diploma or equivalent (GED) (minimum).
- Life-safety certification: CPR — required before hire · First Aid — required before hire · AED — required before hire.
- Adult day care experience: strongly preferred — prior experience working in a licensed adult day care center is preferred for every position, but it is not required and its absence never blocks an interview.
- Schedule & availability: Program-day availability; scheduled paid hours and meal arrangements are confirmed in the written offer.
- Pay: the posted center-approved rate must be accepted as posted.
- Documents to submit for staff review (upload alone does not verify credentials): Résumé listing employers, roles, and dates · Government-issued photo identification · Three former-employer supervisor or manager references with contact information · High school diploma / GED or higher education verification · Documented HHA training · Food-handler / food-safety certificate.
Submitting an application or uploading a file does not verify a credential. Staff review the applicable qualifications, documents, and screening before a hiring decision.
Strongly preferred · not required
Food-service experience · Institutional kitchen experience · Senior-care food-service experience · Active CNA credential · Relevant food-service certification · Florida dietitian/nutritionist license, if held and verified within its scope · Experience accommodating dietary requirements
Additional qualifications · welcomed
Inventory management · Waste control · Approved dietary-modification experience
Physical & environmental demands
- •Standing and walking for most of the shift
- •Lifting and carrying up to 40 lbs (cases, stock, sheet pans)
- •Repeated bending, reaching, and pushing/pulling carts
- •Hot surfaces, steam, sharp equipment, and wet floors
- •Exposure to common food allergens in a shared kitchen
How performance is measured
- ✓Zero dietary-instruction errors on modified plates
- ✓Temperature and sanitation logs complete every single day
- ✓Meals served on schedule so programming is never delayed
- ✓Kitchen passes an unannounced inspection at any hour
Practical assessment
Demonstrate food handling, temperature documentation, allergy precautions, and accurate plating from written instructions.
Application documents
- • Résumé listing employers, roles, and dates
- • Government-issued photo identification
- • Three former-employer supervisor or manager references with contact information
- • High school diploma / GED or higher education verification
- • Documented HHA training
- • Food-handler / food-safety certificate
Additional competencies for this position
Food handling · Florida — by duties
- •Food-safety / food-handler training appropriate to duties
- •Safe food temperature, storage and sanitation practices
- •Therapeutic and allergy-restricted diet handling
Screening · every position
Verified Florida Level II screening eligibility through the applicable Clearinghouse process · Three (3) former-employer supervisor or manager references · Pre-employment drug screening · Pre-employment alcohol screening · Employment history verification · Applicable education verification · Applicable professional-license verification · Applicable certification verification · Identity and employment eligibility verification through Form I-9 during onboarding
Plus the Core Employment Clearance required of every employee before independent work.
