Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods.

As a member of the Swarthmore Dining department, the Culinary Lead will oversee the day to day operations for a specific function within dining services. Working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, the ideal candidate will have a passion for food, enjoy being part of an energetic team, and relish the opportunity to make a difference in the student’s dining experience on Swarthmore’s campus.

Lead Cook
Ensures the timely meal production for a college dining program under the direction of the Executive Chef, Sous Chef or Production Manager. Prepares recipes and ensures food production meets the departmental standards of quality, taste, creativity, presentation, and variety. Responsibilities include assisting with execution of menu plan, customer relations, safety and sanitation, and the maintenance of equipment. Assists in the training and development of employees. The Lead Cook is the culinary leader and point of contact in the absence of the Executive Chef, Sous Chef, and Production Manager.

Commissary Lead
Responsible for the prep of all produce, salads, lunch meats, catering platters, grab n go sandwiches, coffee bar sandwiches and other items as directed by the Executive Chef, Sous Chef, or Production Manager for Sharples, retail operations, and catering. Assigns other commissary staff their production requirements for the day and ensures they are complete.

Lead Baker
Bakes and decorates cakes, pies, muffins, breads, cookies and biscuits according to recipes. Develops new recipes for the bakery department in consultation with the Executive Chef or Sous Chef. Continually strives to make new and exciting baked goods available for the residential dining program and catering.

Lead Runner
Communicates to line servers set up of lines as well as location of backup menu items. Remains well informed of food allergens. Remains in constant communication with cooks about back up quantities that remain in holding boxes. Keeps all menu items stocked throughout the meal period. Will step in and assist with frying, and prepping of items if shortages occur. Acts as a server when lines are long. Refills, cleans and sanitizes serving lines throughout the meal period. Assists Front of House Manager with training of line servers.

Essential Responsibilities

● Assigns tasks and menu production to each cook or baking assistant on shift and direct cooks on shift.
● Communicates procedures when required in order to produce menu items according to recipe.
● Reads recipes and produces product consistent with recipes and production.
● Maintains departmental standards for all menu items.
● Places finished products on the line in a timely manner.
● Ensures faculty, students and staff receive safe food products of the highest quality, freshness, and consistency, according to department standards.
● Stores all food products properly. 
● Cleans and sanitizes the cook line as well as equipment, walls, floors, hoods, walk-ins, and line coolers.
● Adheres to Pennsylvania Department of Health and Serv Safe food safety standards.
● Promotes teamwork by assisting in cleaning areas of the kitchen, sweeping and mopping, cleaning the coolers, organizing dry storage etc.
● Observes the basic rules of kitchen safety, sanitation and back door safety.
● Uses First In First Out (FIFO) rule to ensure proper rotation.
● Utilizes various cleaning chemicals in accordance with Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
● Completes all running, opening, and closing side work. 
● Provides friendly and competent customer service.
● Records food temp logs of hot and cold food items.
● Ensures proper cooling down of all hot food items before placing them in the refrigerator.
● Prepares all foods at the correct temperature according to the HACCP Guidelines.
● Makes suggestions to sous chef for menu items and recipe adjustments.
● Communicates clearly with front of house about menu items and portion sizes.
● Records production clearly, and makes adjustments as needed.
● Monitors and communicates with the line server/food runner about menu items and portion control.
● Maintains a visual contact with the front of the house and customers.
● Assists Sous chef with performance reviews.

Additional Responsibilities

● Assists with occasional outdoor service and production for catering events as required.
● Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

● Prioritizes and delegates tasks for daily menu and prep.
● Trains team on how to clean kitchen equipment carefully to prevent damage or injury.

Qualifications 

Required

● High school diploma or equivalent.
● 3 years of experience in high volume food establishment or associate degree in culinary with 2-3 years of experience.
● Excellent culinary knife skills.
● Recipe scaling for various batch sizes.
● Good interpersonal skills and the ability to work in a team environment
● Excellent customer service.
● Ability to read and follow recipes.
● Ability to communicate clearly.
● Serve-safe certification.
● Previous supervisory experience.

Preferred 

● Culinary program certificate with 3-5 years of experience in high volume food establishment.
● Food Allergen knowledge/certification.
● Valid Pa. driver's license.

Physical Demands
● Ability to carry and lift objects weighing up 25-40 lbs.
● Ability to carry heavy objects in close quarters. Ability to carry objects for a long period of time.
● Ability to perform kneeling, bending, squatting and reaching motions for extended times.
● Standing on a hard surface for extended periods of time.
● Involves repetitive motion.

Working Conditions
● Fast paced, high volume environment.
● Seven day operation, including nights and weekends.
● Must be able to adapt to ever-changing demands of college dining services.
● Must work in inclement and severe weather conditions.
● Could be a noisy environment.
● Floors could be wet, non-slip shoes required.
● Temperature changes: variations in temperature, which are sufficiently marked and abrupt to cause noticeable bodily reactions.
● Interact with heated equipment, steam, and other at risk conditions.

PA Criminal Required

Swarthmore College requires a PA Criminal background check for all staff positions prior to the start of employment.

Preview our Benefits Flyer. We offer benefit plans starting at zero cost! Upon benefit eligibility, the College contributes 10% of an employee’s salary to their retirement account. Employees are 100% vested in their accounts on the date participation begins.

2025 Swarthmore Benefits Guidebook

Retirement Plans

Tuition Grant Program

Tuition Reimbursement Program

Paid Time Off (Staff)

Holiday Schedule

Swarthmore College actively seeks and welcomes applications from candidates with exceptional qualifications, particularly those with demonstrable commitments to a more inclusive society and world. Swarthmore College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.