As a restaurant proprietor, that line cooks are the spine of any kitchen. For those who’re seeking to rent, your line prepare dinner job description must replicate the significance of the function.
Working in a restaurant kitchen requires a novel set of expertise. This information covers what it’s essential know to seek out a fantastic line prepare dinner on your restaurant who can preserve your kitchen shifting and plate unbelievable dishes that preserve your clients wanting extra.
What does a line prepare dinner do?
At the start, a line prepare dinner… cooks! The kitchen line refers back to the area the place cooks put together, prepare dinner, and plate dishes at particular person stations. A line prepare dinner occupies their station, working underneath the supervision of the manager chef and chef de delicacies.
For instance, one line prepare dinner would possibly work the grill cooking proteins. One other might be devoted to making ready salads. Bigger kitchens might get much more specialised.
Line cooks are often distinct from prep cooks. Prep cooks put together the meals for cooking or plating earlier than the road prepare dinner arrives. Line cooks are the center hyperlinks of the kitchen chain: they depend on prep cooks to do their jobs, which is to prepare dinner menu objects and put together meals to the chef’s specs.
Briefly, line cooks guarantee high-quality and well timed meals preparation. A line prepare dinner’s duties would possibly embody:
- Prepping their station earlier than service
- Cooking objects for incoming orders
- Correctly plating every dish
- Holding their provides stocked and the world clear
- Aiding the sous chef and chef de delicacies with each day duties
Being a line prepare dinner calls for teamwork. It additionally requires a dedication to consistency—and a capability to observe directions. One of the best line cooks take pleasure of their craft and thrive when working in fast-paced environments.
What to search for in a line prepare dinner.
Hiring the fitting line prepare dinner is essential to environment friendly operations and delivering a constant buyer expertise. When constructing your line prepare dinner workforce, there are a number of elements to think about:
Expertise and expertise
Ask your self: Is expertise a must have? Or does your workforce have the capability to coach fast learners? It doesn’t matter what you determine, your new rent might want to observe directions and work rapidly.
A line prepare dinner ought to have stable kitchen expertise. Because of this candidates ought to have the ability to put together meals to the chef’s specs, but it surely additionally means group and skill to work as a workforce
For those who’re hiring folks with little or no expertise, think about a sensible expertise check. Exams like these assess kitchen fundamentals like knife expertise and cooking method and can make it easier to perceive who might work nicely within the function.
Availability and scheduling
Line prepare dinner positions are demanding. Specify the shifts you want coated from the beginning. For instance, are you hiring for:
- Full-time?
- Simply dinner service?
- Weekends?
- Uncommon hours?
Make certain job candidates know after they’re anticipated to work. That can make it easier to discover individuals who will succeed within the function quicker, and velocity up the method of hunting down candidates who can’t meet your wants.
Potential for development
Even for entry-level line prepare dinner roles, it’s a good suggestion to search for individuals who need to construct a culinary profession. Line cooks might aspire to roles with extra authority, like ‘sous chef’ and ‘govt chef,’ as a part of their profession development. These line cooks will likely be invested in doing good work and sticking round.
Excessive turnover is an enormous drawback in restaurant kitchens. Practically 40% of line cooks change jobs after lower than one yr, based mostly on 116,862 line prepare dinner resumes in Zippia’s database. Hiring an worker with development in thoughts is an effective strategy to retain employees, particularly if there’s room to advertise from inside.
Perspective
The kitchen line is all about teamwork. When interviewing, pay attention for examples of how a candidate has collaborated nicely in workforce environments. A foul angle is poisonous in a high-stress kitchen, so it’s vital to know if candidates can keep optimistic and targeted.
Want extra concepts about methods to assess angle? Function-playing situations or hypotheticals can present perception into how candidates would possibly react underneath strain. Talking with references can even offer you extra data on their on-the-job angle.
Dedication
Cooking on the road may be grueling. Candidates want to have the ability to stick it out by means of busy shifts whereas additionally sustaining a top quality of labor. The best line prepare dinner will present stamina and resilience. That you must know they received’t falter partway by means of the shift!
Expertise pipeline
Don’t simply rent for an instantaneous opening. Take into consideration constructing a database of certified line prepare dinner candidates. Even after a rent, preserve involved with standout prospects. They might develop into helpful contacts or additions down the street.
When requested, 88% of restaurant operators mentioned they have been prone to rent further workers over the approaching 6–12 months if there have been certified candidates obtainable. Sixty-two p.c of operators moreover mentioned they might be ‘very possible’ to develop payrolls.
The demand for labor is obvious. This may make attracting the fitting candidates troublesome. Taking the time to create a expertise pipeline is a method to enhance your corporation operations over time—and make it simpler to scale as wanted.
5 inquiries to ask in a line prepare dinner interview
You’ve turned a stack of purposes right into a shortlist of promising candidates. Now the interview course of is your likelihood to do a extra in-depth evaluation.
These questions will make it easier to consider the candidate’s understanding of line prepare dinner duties, together with making ready meals, organising stations, and aiding the manager and sous chef with their each day duties. Listed below are some interview questions to think about:
1. What drew you to this place?
The typical line prepare dinner age is 38 years outdated. They’ve numerous working years nonetheless forward of them! Asking about candidates’ motivations can reveal loads about what they need to do with their lives.
That is vital data for you. You’ll study if they only want a job, or have a real ardour for the kitchen and a want to develop.
A super rent will need to construct their expertise and make progress. They’re prone to develop into a helpful workforce member on your small enterprise.
2. What do you do to make sure you’re following all meals security and sanitation protocols within the kitchen?
Meals security fundamentals, like temperature monitoring and good private hygiene, are important. If a candidate has kitchen expertise, they need to have the ability to clarify these protocols. If not, they need to be open to meals security coaching.
3. Describe a time you needed to cope with a troublesome co-worker or workforce scenario.
Line cooks should work nicely with others in tight quarters and high-pressure environments. You’ll must know if they’ve the interpersonal expertise to deal with excessive stress and time-sensitive duties.
4. Stroll me by means of the final dinner service you labored. What occurred and the way did you deal with it?
Situational questions like these encourage candidates to reveal their data of line prepare dinner duties and restaurant operations. Pay attention for a way they employed particular expertise all through the day, like communication and time administration.
For a follow-up query, ask how they might prepare dinner menu objects and put together meals throughout a dinner service.
5. What are your strengths at work? What areas are you engaged on?
Nobody is ideal—and everybody brings one thing completely different to the desk. This query will make it easier to decide if the candidate is self-aware and coachable whereas additionally serving to you assess what gaps in your workforce the candidate might fill.
Homebase helps you handle your hiring.
When it comes time to rent and onboard new line cooks, Homebase gives all of the instruments restaurateurs want. Streamline the hiring course of from begin to end—multi functional place.
Checklist the road prepare dinner job and entice nice candidates.
First issues first: put up your new job itemizing to get it in entrance of job seekers. Need assistance determining what to say? We’ve bought you coated. Use one in all Homebase’s pre-written job put up descriptions to get you on the interviewing quick monitor.
That’s not all. Homebase helps you to create and put up jobs to a number of on-line job boards, together with Certainly, ZipRecruiter, and Google, all from the identical dashboard. When candidates apply by means of the job boards, their purposes will come to you thru Homebase. No extra leaping from job board to job board!
Join with candidates.
As purposes roll in, assessment candidate profiles and responses to personalized software questions in your Homebase dashboard. Trying to meet a selected want? Filter prospects and focus your hiring efforts with simply a few clicks.
After getting chosen your candidate shortlist, message the candidates and schedule interviews by means of the Homebase dashboard. Our free interview scoring template helps preserve you organized and environment friendly. No must waste time monitoring down cellphone numbers or conserving monitor of candidate strengths.
Onboard—like a boss.
When you’ve made your hiring choice, onboarding turns into a breeze with Homebase’s digital doc administration. Use our file-sharing system to ship your new rent an worker onboarding packet that features all of the paperwork they should signal.
Handle your workforce.
If that wasn’t sufficient, Homebase can also be an all-in-one workforce administration answer. That’s proper—all the pieces it’s essential preserve your workforce up-to-date is multi functional place.
Which means newly employed line cooks can instantly entry their schedule and message managers proper in from the bounce. Homebase simplifies administrative work so you possibly can consider coaching your new hires and constructing your workforce.
Get your line prepare dinner job description out into the world.
Understanding the duties and expertise required for a line prepare dinner is a superb first step to constructing your workforce. Search for people with the fitting angle and fervour to satisfy your wants and thrive of their function.
Streamline hiring with Homebase and get your new line cooks up and working. Even higher—Homebase can enhance your job advert visibility with boosts. Add instruments for interviewing and onboarding future workers and make Homebase your all-in-one hiring answer.
Be taught extra about our free recruiting software program right here.
