This is a flexible, as-needed role: no set schedule, just reliable, ready-to-go coverage when needed. Substitute Cooks step into a kitchen, follow the campus’s established menu and spec sheet, and keep meal service running smoothly for the day.
If you're a chef who can walk into any kitchen, get to work, and make sure students eat well no matter what, APPLY NOW. We're looking for an adaptable, dependable Substitute Cook who takes pride in showing up when it counts.
What’s in it for you?
- Set your own availability - accept the shifts that work for you
- School hours only - no nights, no weekends, and off when school is
- Experience across different school kitchens and campuses in the district
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Report to the assigned school cafeteria for scheduled substitute shifts, ready to step in on short notice
- Follow the campus’s established menu and spec sheet to prepare and serve that day’s meals as planned
- Set up workstations and prepare the ingredients needed for the day’s service
- Enforce sanitation and food safety standards per state, local, and school nutrition program regulations.
- Maintain a professional and positive attitude with cafeteria staff, school personnel, and students.
- Adapt quickly to each campus’s kitchen layout, equipment, and routines when covering a new location.
- Help with unloading, inspecting, and storing deliveries as needed.
- Communicate shift confirmations and any issues promptly with campus and regional management.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Required Skills and Abilities:
- Ability to adapt quickly to a new kitchen, team, and routine with minimal onboarding.
- Reliable and responsive to shift requests, often on short notice.
- Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work well with a variety of personalities, including school staff and students.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills for confirming shifts and reporting issues.
- Ability to follow another chef's established menu and spec sheet accurately
Preferred Education and Experience:
- 2+ years food service experience preferred; K–12 or institutional food service experience is a plus.
- Have experience with bulk food prep and production in a commercial kitchen setting.
- Ability to pass a background check and any additional screening required to work on school campuses
- Have a valid food safety handler and sanitation certification in accordance with state and local regulations or obtain one within 30 days of employment
- High school or vocational school coursework in kitchen basics such as food safety, preferred.
Special Demands:
- The work environment can be loud and busy. There are many kitchen hazards such as hot surfaces and liquids, sharp knives, and slippery floors.
- Capability to work in a kitchen environment that may involve exposure to extreme heat or cold.
- Required to stand for long periods, up to 8+ hours, as well as walk, bend and stoop.
- Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds at times.
- Exposure to cleaning chemicals
- Schedule is on-call and as-needed; hours vary week to week with no guaranteed minimum, and assignments may be at different school campuses depending on coverage needs.
If you're looking for meaningful work, real ownership, and a team that believes hospitality can make a difference, we'd love to meet you.
Upper Crust Food Service provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
At Upper Crust Food Service we believe great food does more than fill plates, it creates connection, strengthens communities, and transforms everyday experiences. Across college campuses, K-12 schools, camps, and Greek housing, our teams bring hospitality to life through fresh food, meaningful relationships, and service people can count on. While we began serving fraternity and sorority communities more than 15 years ago, we've grown into a national hospitality partner supporting a wide range of dining programs across the country. No matter the setting, our purpose remains the same: to show up for the people we serve and for one another.