Restaurant cooking involves all kinds of foods with no particular attention to individual needs. It is quite different from what goes on in nursing homes or health care facilities. Cooking takes place in large batches, but the nutritional value is upheld based on residents’ needs. The nursing cook job role is pretty versatile. Let’s break it down below.
Roles of a nursing cook
Majority of these homes consist of the elderly who are there long-term or temporarily. Whichever the case, the nurses put in the effort to care for them in multiple ways.
Preparing the food
This role is vital. What you prepare is what the residents eat. After the menu creation by the chef, food preparation comes next. It involves a series of steps that contribute to the foods’ safety. You clean the ingredients to use thoroughly, preventing contamination and cutting up what is necessary. Prior prepping allows you to sort out foodstuff as per the needs of each person. Some have allergies, diabetes, etc., and what they eat matters a lot. It also gives the chef an easy time to begin cooking.
Since these homes have set hours for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, food preparation is done early in the day. However, some may deliver food on demand which, in either case, making i6 ahead of time comes in handy. Cooking is mainly the head chef’s job, but they may ask you to assist.
Sticking to the dietary requirements
You must read and understand all dietary instructions given by physicians. You may not know the person well but seeing their nutritional needs gives you a glimpse of who they are and what’s going on. Following the said instructions helps some people recover while keeping conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes stable. Indicate the needs of each resident somewhere for reference as food with wrong ingredients can be harmful.
Once the food is ready, proper labeling is necessary before leaving the kitchen. It’s easier for you or whoever is serving to know what belongs to who.
Keeping the kitchen and dining area clean
As earlier mentioned, most nursing homes have elderly individuals. Typically, their immune system isn’t the strongest. So, maintaining a cleaning work and living area prevents germs from spreading, causing infections. There is staff assigned to clean these areas. However, it’s your job as the nursing cook to ensure it’s perfectly done for the safety of the food. Ensure cleaning takes place often, during and after cooking and after everyone is done eating.
Planning and organization
Being a nursing cook involves a lot. Besides planning for meals during your regular nursing cook job, you’ll also arrange for special events where food is involved. At this point, your organizational skills are tested. On top of providing proper food for everyone, you must ensure everything runs smoothly and is on time.
Record keeping
Keeping records is necessary for future use. Even when you leave the nursing home, someone else can see and understand what you did or how you handled the residents. Note the dining timetables in general or specific timings and food timing for a particular person. Record what you serve to each individual. If something goes wrong, it’s easy to identify what it is and manage it accordingly.
Record the kitchen operations. Show what’s supposed to be done at such a time and by who. This way, the home runs as intended.
Final words
The points above show what a nursing cook job involves. Food preparation and cooking are the major duties. But, there’s more to it than just cooking. Roles like kitchen maintenance, record keeping, planning, and organization are also important. In most cases, you work in the presence of a chef who does the menu creation and cooking as you facilitate other processes.
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