Central Kitchen

STAFF

The Central Kitchen staff is responsible for providing meals for the two Stanislaus County Adult Detention facilities.

The Central Kitchen budget is allocated 17 full time positions and 2 part time positions, which include:

• 1 Support Services Sergeant

• 1 Supervising Cooks

• 8 Adult Detention Cooks (assigned Central Kitchen for actual food preparation)

• 4 Assistant Cook II (supervisors at the Jail's site kitchen)

• 1 Clerical Support Staff

• 2 Community Aids (part time positions that work the staff dining room)

• 2 Stock Delivery Clerks

• 20 Inmate workers are utilized in the Central Kitchens

MENUS
We have a two-week menu cycle. Each menu is formulated for the specific needs of the adult inmates. All are created to meet the low sodium and reduced fat requirements of the Board of Corrections and the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. Nutritional analysis is completed on all menus.

RECEIVING AND STORAGE
Deliveries can be received daily. Perishables such as produce, milk and bread are delivered several times a week. A typical bread order can be 1600 loaves a week. The Central Kitchen has 3500 square feed of refrigerated storage, 1850 square feet of freezer storage and 1550 square feet of dry storage.


COOK CHILL PROCESSING
The Central Kitchen uses the Cook/Chill system of food preparation. Recipes are prepared in a 200-gallon kettle. That equates to 6400 1/2 cup individual servings. Once cooked to a minimum temperature of 185 degrees the product is pumped into 2-gallon barrier bags where it is labeled and dated with the last date that the product can be used. It is then conveyed to a tumble chiller that cools down the bagged product equating to about 3400 pounds of food from the 180 degrees to less than 40 degrees within 40-minutes. This process keeps the contamination to a minimum and inhibits the growth of microorganism. The food is then stored in the food bank where the temperature is held at 28-32 degrees until needed for the menu cycle. The food remains chilled from this point, until it is rethermalized at the sites. The kettle has a computer-controlled temperature gauge that records the temperature by degree from the moment the kettle is turned on until it is turned off.

BAKERY
The bakery also has state of the art equipment with two large rotating ovens. One oven can bake 60 pans or 1200 rolls in about 25 minutes. These rolls are made in little over one hour and that includes measuring, mixing, proofing and baking.