Harlem Children's Zone

Breaks poverty cycle through on-the-ground programs

Lead Cook

Culinary & Kitchen ProductionConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeNew York, NY, USAIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

At least three years of large-volume cooking experience and two years of experience managing a staff of eight or more in a food-service environment.
At least three years of experience as a cook in the food-service industry.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Ability to work in a team environment and provide customer service.
Ability to lead and support kitchen staff.
Ability to understand verbal and written instructions.
Completion of a culinary training program or a degree from a Culinary Arts School.
Valid New York City Department of Health Food Protection Certificate.
Knowledge of and ability to manage and comply with Health Department and other governmental agency regulations.
Extensive knowledge of food preparation and production for a high-volume restaurant and banquet facility.
Ability to achieve on-site certifications provided by the employer.
Ability to stand for extended periods, bend, kneel, and reach to store or retrieve supplies.
Ability to lift, carry, and push supplies and boxes weighing up to 50 pounds.
Ability to work with occasional exposure to cold, heat, and water.

Responsibilities

Follow and support kitchen standards, ensuring the team can follow them.
Attend on-site and off-site training sessions.
Oversee preparation and execution of daily menus, ensuring food meets the required quality and quantity.
Create individual daily work plans for staff members for each shift.
Work with staff to ensure menu items are presented appropriately.
Work with the Lead Server to ensure staff provide excellent customer service.
Provide additional training as needed to maintain a high level of customer service.
Oversee or delegate kitchen responsibilities when the management team is unavailable.
Communicate with the management team to maintain expected food quality.
Serve as liaison between the culinary team and management.
Ensure daily communication between cooks and servers about menu changes and allergens.
Inform staff before each meal period of issues that could affect service, including menu, allergen, or ingredient changes.
Identify food products and assess acceptable food quality.
Apply food preparation methods, cooking times, and portion sizes to prepare food as prescribed.
Evaluate food quality and readiness by tasting food.
Store food at appropriate temperatures and for appropriate durations, following food safety standards.
Set up and break down the kitchen.
Maintain a clean, safe, and sanitary workstation, equipment, and utensils.
Maintain production records, including food usage, overages, shortages, and customer counts.
Maintain logs for food temperatures, cooling temperatures, and cooler and freezer temperatures.
Communicate to management which food products need to be ordered for upcoming production.
Immediately report safety hazards at the location to management.
Complete additional tasks requested by the management team.
Provide customer service and maintain effective working relationships with coworkers, the HCZ community, and the management team.
Receive deliveries and store all items properly.

Lead Cook

Harlem Children's Zone · New York, United States · Full-time · Posted 2026-10-29

Salary: USD 53,500–56,000

Workplace: on_site

Department: Kitchen

Description

The Culinary Team at HCZ works to transform how the community engages with food—through improving our nutrition environment and thinking more sustainably about what we eat through hands-on nutrition education in the garden and the kitchen, in the classroom and the boardroom.

Transforming what we eat is crucial to HCZ’s larger missions—in the classroom, the future and beyond. The better we eat, the better we learn and the better we live. So, join us as we create a community of educated eaters.

Position Summary: The Lead Cook at the Harlem Childrens Zone is supervisor role overseeing the culinary team working alongside to the Lead Server. Responsible for cooking and preparing food according to recipes and production guidelines; while adhering to food safety, food handling, and sanitation procedures. The individual should culinary knowledge including equipment usage. The Lead Cook will responsible for oversight or delegation of responsibilities within the culinary operation.

Requirements

Minimum of three years large volume cooking experience along with two years experience managing staff of 8 or more in a food service environment
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Ability to work in a team environment and demonstrate excellent customer service
Must have the ability to lead and support the kitchen staff
Minimum 3 years experience in the food service industry as a cook
Must be able to understand verbal and written instructions
Attended a Culinary training program or degree from a Culinary Arts School
Holds a valid NYC DOH Food Protection Certificate
Must be knowledgeable and able to manage and comply with Health Department and other governmental agency regulations.
Must have extensive knowledge of food preparation and production for volume restaurant and banquet facility
Individual is responsible for achieving on site certifications provided by employer

Principal Responsibilities:

Following and supporting standards set in place for the kitchen and ensure the team is able to follow.
Attend training sessions, on site and off site.
Responsible for overseeing preparation and execution of daily menus, ensuring production of desired quality and necessary quantity of food.
Create daily individual work plans for staff members for each shift
Work with staff to ensure menu items are displayed in a presentable manner
Work with Lead Server to ensure staff members provide excellent level of customer service at all time
Provide additional training as needed to ensure high level customer service
The Lead Cook may be responsible for oversight or delegation of responsibilities within the kitchen if management team is unavailable.
Communicate with the management team to maintain the level of food quality that is expected
Liaison between culinary team and management.
Ensure daily communication between the cooks and servers regarding menu changes and allergens.
Communicate any issues to the staff which could affect the service before each meal period; menu changes, allergens, ingredients changes, etc...
Knowledge of food product, identification, and acceptable level of food quality
Must know methods of food preparation, cooking times, and portion sizes to insure food is prepared in prescribed manner
Evaluate food quality and preparedness by tasting everything.
Ensure food is stored at the appropriate temperature for the appropriate length of time and follows all food safety standards
Sets up/Breaks down kitchen
Maintains a clean, safe and sanitary work station, equipment, and utensils
Maintain production records (food usage, overages, shortages, customer counts, etc.)
Maintain established logs (food temperatures, cooling temperatures, cooler & freezer temperatures, etc.)
Communicate with management regarding food product that needs to be ordered for upcoming production
Report safety hazards discovered in the location to management immediately additional job functions
Completion of additional tasks requested by a management team.
Able to provide outstanding customer service and get along with coworkers, HCZ community, and management team.
Responsible for receiving deliveries and proper storage of all items.

Physical Requirements/Working Environment

Ability to stand for long periods of time, bend, kneel, and reach to store/retrieve supplies
Ability to lift, carry, and push supplies and boxes up to 50 pounds
Occasional environment exposures to cold, heat and water.

Hours: M-F 5:30am – 1:30PM

Benefits

As a member of the Harlem Children's Zone team, you will join a supportive and inclusive community dedicated to helping children, families — and our staff — thrive. We offer highly competitive salaries, a comprehensive benefits package, and opportunities for growth.

Our exceptional full-time benefits include:

Highly competitive base salaries
Paid time off
Employee referral bonus
Career Advancement
No-cost health insurance
Life Insurance
Short-and long-term disability
Additional voluntary benefits
Wellness discounts
Commuter benefits
Financial wellness perks
Additional Benefits (Discounts on flights, hotels, theme parks, concert tickets, and more.)

The salary range for this position is $53,500 - $56,000 per year. To be considered, interested applicants should apply directly through the posting. No telephone inquiries or recruiters, please. Replies will only be sent to qualified applicants. Harlem Children's Zone is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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About the Company

Harlem Children's Zone

Breaks poverty cycle through on-the-ground programs

Harlem Children’s Zone coordinates a place-based set of programs across early childhood through adulthood in Harlem to help children and families thrive. It operates directly through schools, community centers, and outreach to deliver education, career pathways, health and wellness, and family supports. Programs are integrated, meaning services at different stages coordinate for each family, rather than one-off initiatives. This approach distinguishes HCZ from peers by offering a wraparound, long-term support system in a single community, focusing on mobility and prosperity rather than only schooling. The goal is to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by creating opportunities in education, work, and life for residents of Harlem.

Company size: 1,001-5,000
Company stage: Not listed
Total funding: Not listed
Headquarters: New York City, New York
Founded: 1970

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