Occupation: Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders

Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.

51-3093.00 | 17 tasks | 10 job titles

Reported Job Titles

(10)
  • Cooker Operator
  • Food Production Worker
  • Fryer Operator
  • Kettle Fry Cook Operator
  • Machine Operator
  • Mogul Operator
  • Oven Operator
  • Peeler Operator
  • Retort Operator
  • Thermo Processor

Core Tasks

(14)
  • Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
  • Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
  • Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
  • Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.
  • Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
  • Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.
  • Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps.
  • Remove cooked material or products from equipment.
  • Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.
  • Pour, dump, or load prescribed quantities of ingredients or products into cooking equipment, manually or using a hoist.
  • Listen for malfunction alarms, and shut down equipment and notify supervisors when necessary.
  • Notify or signal other workers to operate equipment or when processing is complete.
  • Turn valves or start pumps to add ingredients or drain products from equipment and to transfer products for storage, cooling, or further processing.
  • Admit required amounts of water, steam, cooking oils, or compressed air into equipment, such as by opening water valves to cool mixtures to the desired consistency.

Supplemental Tasks

(3)
  • Activate agitators and paddles to mix or stir ingredients, stopping machines when ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
  • Operate auxiliary machines and equipment, such as grinders, canners, and molding presses, to prepare or further process products.
  • Place products on conveyors or carts, and monitor product flow.