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Date: 07/04/2025

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria

Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Determine meal prices, based on calculations of ingredient prices.
    • Wash pots, pans, dishes, utensils, or other cooking equipment.
    • Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety.
    • Clean, cut, and cook meat, fish, or poultry.
    • Clean and inspect galley equipment, kitchen appliances, and work areas to ensure cleanliness and functional operation.
    • Rotate and store food supplies.
    • Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety.
    • Direct activities of one or more workers who assist in preparing and serving meals.
    • Train new employees.
    • Apportion and serve food to facility residents, employees, or patrons.
    • Take inventory of supplies and equipment.
    • Monitor menus and spending to ensure that meals are prepared economically.
    • Monitor use of government food commodities to ensure that proper procedures are followed.
    • Clean, cut, and cook meat, fish, or poultry.
    • Monitor and record food temperatures to ensure food safety.
    • Rotate and store food supplies.
    • Requisition food supplies, kitchen equipment, and appliances, based on estimates of future needs.
    • Cook foodstuffs according to menus, special dietary or nutritional restrictions, or numbers of portions to be served.
    • Rotate and store food supplies.
    • Bake breads, rolls, or other pastries.
    • Compile and maintain records of food use and expenditures.
    • Plan menus that are varied, nutritionally balanced, and appetizing, taking advantage of foods in season and local availability.
    • Clean and inspect galley equipment, kitchen appliances, and work areas to ensure cleanliness and functional operation.

    Skills

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    Knowledge

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 35110/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 16.88/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 23,380
    • Yearly Projected Openings 3510

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self Control
    • Integrity
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Adaptability/Flexibility

    Tools

    • Blast freezers
    • Cappuccino or espresso machines
    • Carbonated beverage dispenser
    • Cash registers
    • Commercial use barbeque ovens
    • Commercial use blenders
    • Commercial use broilers
    • Commercial use coffee grinders
    • Commercial use coffee or iced tea makers
    • Commercial use combination oven
    • Commercial use convection ovens
    • Commercial use cutlery
    • Commercial use deep fryers
    • Commercial use dishwashers
    • Commercial use food choppers or cubers or dicers
    • Commercial use food grinders
    • Commercial use food processors
    • Commercial use food slicers
    • Commercial use food warmers
    • Commercial use graters
    • Commercial use griddles
    • Commercial use grills
    • Commercial use heat lamps
    • Commercial use high pressure steamers
    • Commercial use hot dog grills
    • Commercial use juicers
    • Commercial use microwave ovens
    • Commercial use mixers
    • Commercial use ovens
    • Commercial use pasta machines
    • Commercial use pizza ovens
    • Commercial use ranges
    • Commercial use rice cookers
    • Commercial use rotisseries
    • Commercial use scales
    • Commercial use steamers
    • Commercial use toasters
    • Commercial use waffle irons
    • Commercial use woks
    • Desktop computers
    • Domestic apple corer
    • Domestic double boilers
    • Domestic electric skillets
    • Domestic garbage disposals
    • Domestic garnishing tools
    • Domestic kitchen or food thermometers
    • Domestic kitchen tongs
    • Domestic knife sharpeners
    • Domestic mandolin
    • Domestic sifter
    • Domestic strainers or colanders
    • Domestic trash compactors
    • Domestic whipped cream maker
    • Fire blankets
    • Fire extinguishers
    • Ice cream machines
    • Ice dispensers
    • Ice shaver machines or accessories
    • Non carbonated beverage dispenser
    • Personal computers
    • Point of sale POS terminal
    • Touch screen monitors

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Point of sale POS software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

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