Chef Lynn is Escher's current full-time cook, and has been feeding Escherites since 1994.
Contents
Responsibilities
Kitchen
- Plan all weekday menus, along with weekend menus on weekend days when menus are not planned by members.
- Order all food
- Prepare all weekday meals
- Train and supervise weekday cooking crews
- Ensure that state food safety and sanitation requirements are met
- Coordinate the repairs of kitchen equipment as needed
- Maintain expenses within assigned food budget while satisfying member needs
- Provide the ICC finance office with an inventory buy-back figure at the end of each semester to ensure equitable distribution of student food expenses
- Monitor guff refrigerators on a daily basis for food safety (appropriate labeling etc.) and adjust as needed. See that items omitted by cleaning crews are restocked.
- Keep abreast of current food and nutrition studies and trends by subscribing to and reading publications such as Tufts University's Health and Nutrition letter, Environmental Nutrition Newsletter, Center for Science in the Public Interest Newsletter, Vegetarian Resource Group, VegNews, Food and Wine, Cook's Illustrated, and all sister publications, and Fine Cooking. Also research recipes in newly-published cookbooks and on the web.
- Act as both food steward and kitchen maintenance coordinator.
Administration
- Make sure the city picks up missed trash and recycling and calls for extra pick-ups as needed
Certifications
- B.S. Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Associate Degree in Culinary Arts
- Serve Safe Certified
Fun Facts
Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Chef Lynn: All the great people I get to know. It's always a treat to see everyone learn and grow, and to see what they've done when they come back to visit.
Q: What is the most difficult part of your job?
Chef Lynn: Getting people to take pride in their work, no matter what it is... To realize that when we all work together the coop runs so much better. Even jobs that people think don't matter - it's a big deal to support your cook or clean shift and the rest of the house, we all notice.