Cook II

Position Title:

Cook II

Job Group:

Merit

Required Minimum Qualifications:

• Two years of experience as a Cook I or outside experience in quantity and quality food preparation comparable thereto.

Preferred Qualifications:

Food service/production experience in a restaurant, retail, or residential dining center

Food service supervisory experience

Experience creating and updating recipes, more specifically working with large quantity food production

Job Description:

Ready to take your kitchen skills to the next level in a whole new way?

Iowa State University Dining is hiring a Cook II team member. We’re looking for a detail-minded and creative food service professional to join our culinary team in a unique Cook II role. In this test kitchen-based position, you won’t just follow recipes—you’ll help write and refine them. From analyzing yield outcomes to crafting scalable instructions for any of our four residential dining locations, your work will directly impact the food served across campus.

What You’ll Do

• Develop, test, and modify large-scale recipes based on product availability, location needs, and operational constraints

• Work collaboratively with dining leadership to assess recipe performance across all ISU residential Dining locations

• Coordinate test runs, evaluate results, and prepare documentation for successful recipes

• Support training efforts for new culinary staff using standardized culinary checklists

• Provide input and recommendations for kitchen setup, ingredient prep, and cooking process improvements

• Adapt your schedule and approach based on testing needs, including occasional PM shift work

What You’ll Get

• Insurance benefits (medical, dental, and vision) starting on your first day — with timely enrollment

• Competitive retirement options with generous university contributions

• Free meal with every shift

• Paid time off, sick leave, and holiday pay – Enjoy Holidays OFF!

• Consistent, full-time schedule to support work-life balance

• Steady work that supports the campus community

About ISU Dining
ISU Dining is a nationally recognized campus dining program committed to culinary innovation and excellent service. From residential dining centers and cafés to catering and retail outlets, we serve thousands daily, offering variety, consistency, and quality. This position plays a key role behind the scenes, ensuring every meal starts with a strong foundation.

As a member of the dining team, you’ll be part of a fast-paced, high-volume kitchen unlike anything most have experienced. Every day is different as you help manage large-scale meal prep, fine-tune recipes, and keep things running smoothly. If you enjoy leading a team, learning on the job, and working with talented students and full-time workers, this role could be a perfect fit!

Watch Our Team in Action!

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities

• Supervises, instructs, and trains the work of others in the preparation of large-scale meals and diets.

• Assists supervisor in the planning of menus as related to production of unit as required.

• Maintains maximum standards of sanitation and safety.

• Requisitions, receives, stores, freezes, labels, and maintains food supplies and related kitchen products.

• Reports deficiencies in quality of quantity of food supplies or kitchen products.

• Recommends equipment repairs or improvements.

• Tests new or revised recipes and recommends changes.

• Tests all prepared foods to maintain standards.

• Participates in preparing and serving menu items as required.

• Performs other related duties and responsibilities as required or assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to judge final food product for quantity (yield) and quality (color, taste, texture, etc.).

• Ability to determine the freshness and quality of raw and cooked food products by sight and taste.

• Knowledge of safe temperatures for serving food and storage of refrigerated and frozen storage of raw and cooked foods.

• Knowledge of principles of food sanitation, health hazards, and the necessary precautionary measures.

• Ability to stand for long periods of time.

• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.

• Ability to provide on-the-job training in food preparatio