Associate, Cook

TITLE: Associate, Cook

DEPARTMENT: Kitchen

REPORTS TO: Culinary Supervisor

Who We Are

Thistle makes it easy to eat well - without overthinking it. Thistle was founded in 2013 with a mission to help people get and stay healthy while improving the sustainability of our food system. Thistle delivers fully prepared, healthy-by-default meals, snacks, desserts, and organic cold-pressed juices. We believe the health of people starts with eating real, whole foods, in the right balance, without the friction. We’re building a future where nutritious, sustainable food is accessible, craveable, and part of everyday life.

About the Role

Reporting to the Culinary Supervisor, the Associate, Cook is responsible for executing daily production activities on the kitchen floor within a high-volume food production environment. This role supports the preparation and assembly of meals while maintaining strict adherence to recipes, food safety standards, and operational procedures. The Associate, Cook contributes to efficient kitchen operations across key production areas, including prep, hotline, staging, dish room, and blixer stations.

How You’ll Make a Difference

• Execute daily food preparation and production activities in alignment with standardized recipes, production schedules, and kitchen management guidelines.
• Support culinary leadership in maintaining high standards of quality, food safety, and operational efficiency across all production areas.
• Operate and maintain commercial kitchen equipment, including ovens, combi-ovens, tilt skillets, steam-jacketed kettles, blixers, stand mixers, immersion blenders, food processors, and similar production equipment.
• Identify and escalate equipment malfunctions or operational issues to culinary leadership to ensure safe and uninterrupted production.
• Maintain compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), food safety regulations, and company policies at all times.
• Prepare and organize workstations with the appropriate ingredients, tools, and equipment to support efficient production flow.
• Monitor and document key production and safety metrics, including temperature logs, batch records, sanitation logs, equipment cleaning logs, and other required operational documentation.
• Ensure adherence to food safety and storage standards, including allergen management, First-In, First-Out (FIFO), and First-Expiration, First-Out (FEFO) inventory practices.
• Maintain accurate labeling and traceability of meal components, including quantities, production dates, and meal codes.
• Ensure sanitation standards are consistently met by maintaining cleaning solutions, sanitation buckets, and proper workstation hygiene throughout production.
• Stay current on safety policies, operational updates, and new procedures to support successful implementation on the production floor.
• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional team members to maintain consistent production standards and operational performance.
• Perform additional duties as assigned to support overall kitchen and production operations.

Qualifications

Who You Are

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Minimum of 2+ years of experience in a large-scale, high-volume kitchen environment.
• Experience with batch cooking in a professional food production environment.
• Experience in high-volume food production, preferably within a catering operation, large foodservice facility, hospital, event center, or food manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of HACCP principles and food safety and sanitation standards; ServSafe certification preferred.
• Ability to read, follow, and execute recipes with strict adherence to specifications and quality standards.
• Demonstrated ability to perform food preparation and production tasks independently with minimal supervision.
• Proficiency across key culinary production functions, including Prep, Blixer, Hotline, and Staging.
• Strong communication skills to maintain consistent standards of quality and performance.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with cross-functional teams.
• Ability to adhere to company SOPs and implement new operational initiatives as needed.

Our Culture

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential values at Thistle. We know we do our best and most impactful work when we feel represented and belong. We're proud to actively recruit and hire talented people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We do not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis (“protected class”), including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, citizenship, national origin, color, hairstyles, hair texture, religion or religious creed, age, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, veteran or active military status, marital status, criminal record, genetics, retaliation, sexual harassment or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.