What Do We Do

Red Rabbit is the largest Black-owned School Food Management Company in the country. We work with hundreds of schools, districts, and food banks to uplift communities of color throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Our professionally trained chefs create menus, source farm-fresh ingredients, and cook delicious, thoughtful, and familiar food. School food matters not only because it’s integral to good health but also because what children eat is an essential part of their cultural identity and sense of self.

About the Role

The In-School Lead Cook is an integral part of a 3–5 person team responsible for preparing and cooking healthy, made-from-scratch meals for 750+ children in their school each day. This role requires strong culinary skills, the ability to manage high-volume meal production, and a commitment to maintaining Red Rabbit’s standards for quality and consistency.The position offers stable, daytime hours with weekends and holidays off.

Job Functions

• Culinary Execution: Plan and execute the daily preparation of breakfast, lunch, and snacks for 300-500 students. Maintain a food-safe kitchen at all times, performing quality control on all menu items to ensure recipe consistency and integrity.
• Administration: In conjunction with the Head Chef, adhere to production schedules, perform inventory, and track consumption numbers while working with the kitchen team to execute efficiently.
• Food Safety: Ensure the kitchen is always DOH-ready by following proper food handling procedures and maintaining cleanliness standards. Monitor temperatures and storage conditions to ensure food safety compliance.

Skills & Requirements

• 3+ years professional culinary experience in a fast paced role in the service industry (i.e. restaurants), high volume kitchen production (i.e. commissary kitchen), or in a similar cafeteria role (i.e. schools/hospitals)
• Comfortable making 500+ meals consistently
• Demonstrated knowledge of proper food safety and sanitation practices.
• Must be familiar with using and maintaining industrial kitchen equipment
• Food Handler's Certification required or must be obtained within 90 days of hire (reimbursement available).
• Must have excellent communication skills and be extremely well organized.
• Familiarity with NSLP compliance requirements is a plus.
• Must share our passion for improving nutrition and health in schools.
• Associate degree in culinary arts is a plus.
• Must be able to lift 50 lbs on a regular basis
• Must be able to read and write in English. Bilingual (English and Spanish) a plus.

Job Type

• Full-Time
• Typical Hours: Monday - Friday, approx. 6:30 am - 2:30 pm
• Location: Merrick, Queens, NY
• Reports to: Chef
• Compensation: $19.00 -$24.00hr (plus benefits)

Benefits

• Generous PTO
• Most national holidays off
• Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• 401k option
• Professional development opportunities
• Education reimbursement opportunities
• Opportunity for Review to Salary pay within 90 days

About Red Rabbit

Founded in 2005, Red Rabbit is a Black-owned, MWBE Certified, K-12 school food management company that believes choosing to feed children diverse and nutritious food is an act of social justice. Red Rabbit celebrates all cultures in the urban school cafeteria by preparing meals that reflect the heritage of the kids we serve. The company places professionally trained chefs in the school cafeteria to create culturally relevant meals that become part of the school community. From our kitchens, Red Rabbit prepares and delivers thousands of heritage-based, scratch-made meals to the Greater New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey regions.

Pro Tip: When applying to this job, note that we value creativity in thinking and real problem-solving skills. Tell us how you’ve added value to a team in the past and why you want to join Red Rabbit.

Red Rabbit is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, or sexual orientation.