Catering Prep Cook

We're hiring a Prep Cook to start immediately in our shared commercial kitchen in Chicago, helping serve busy families with delicious, nourishing food.

About the role

You'll prep and cook large batches of meals in a shared kitchen, working alongside our founder. Every dish is built from a documented recipe, so consistency and accuracy matter more than improvisation. This role suits a dependable cook who can read a prep list, manage their time, and leave the station cleaner than they found it. Because we share the space with other food businesses, respecting shared equipment, storage, and cleaning schedules is part of the job.

Responsibilities

• Complete prep and production lists for high-volume meal runs
• Follow documented recipes, build sheets, and portion specs exactly, every batch
• Measure accurately by both weight and volume, and scale recipes up or down as needed
• Prep vegetables, proteins, sauces, grains, and other components with strong knife skills
• Cook, cool, portion, package, and label meals to spec
• Operate, clean, and maintain commercial kitchen equipment such as ovens, slicers, mixers, and food processors
• Apply food safety best practices: time and temperature control, cooling logs, allergen handling, and FIFO rotation
• Properly store deliveries
• Keep your station, shared equipment, and storage areas clean, sanitized, and organized
• Follow the shared kitchen's rules for scheduling, storage, and cleanup
• Flag shortages, equipment issues, or quality concerns to the kitchen lead promptly
• Pitch in on other tasks when production needs it

Requirements

• Availability Sundays, 1 PM - 5PM and Mondays, 9AM - 4PM
• Available to start immediately
• Prior prep cook or professional kitchen experience; high-volume or batch production experience preferred
• Able to follow documented recipes, prep lists, and food safety procedures precisely
• Solid knife skills and comfort operating commercial kitchen equipment with little assistance
• Reliable, punctual, and organized
• Collaborative, kind, and entrepreneurial
• Certified as a food handler through an ANSI-accredited program (e.g., ServSafe)

• Stand for 8 to 10 hours in a hot, fast-paced kitchen
• Lift and carry up to 50 lbs
• Bend, reach, and work safely around knives, hot surfaces, and heavy equipment

How to apply

Send your resume, a copy of your ANSI-accredited Food Handler certificate, and your availability. Tell us in a sentence or two about your high-volume or production kitchen experience.

Hil's Eats LLC is an equal opportunity employer.