Line cook interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Name the shifts: dinner, weekends and the holidays you're open, when setup starts, and roughly when breakdown ends.
• Describe the line honestly: a hot, loud, tight space, a rush that doesn't wait, and a sous chef who corrects plates on the spot, in front of the line.
• Explain the stage before they come in: it's paid, it runs [about an hour] on one station, the tickets are made up, and nothing they cook is served.
• If your state or county requires a food handler card, say so up front, along with the date a new cook needs it by.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Situational · Reading the rail

   You're on grill with [seven] tickets on the rail. While you're plating table nine, expo calls "fire twelve," a six-top with three steaks at three different temperatures. Walk me through the next five minutes.

   It shows whether they hold the whole rail in their head and time a table, or just cook whatever printed next.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say back to expo, and when?
   • Which steak goes on first, and why?
   • How do you keep track of what's fired and what's still on hold?

   5Strong

   Calls back "heard, fire twelve," finishes and sells nine, then lays twelve's steaks on staggered by doneness so they rest and land together. Keeps the rail in fire order by moving or marking tickets, and gives expo an honest time.

   3Mixed

   Times the steaks well but works in silence: no call-back, and expo has to ask when twelve will be up.

   1Weak

   Cooks tickets in the order they printed, or fires all three steaks at once and lets the early one sit.

2. Behavioral · Reading the rail

   Tell me about the worst night you've had on the line, when you went down in the weeds. How did you get back out?

   Every cook goes down. You want the one who asks for help early and knows what put them there.

   Follow-ups

   • At what point did you know you were in trouble?
   • Who did you tell, and what exactly did you ask for?
   • What did you change in your setup after that night?

   5Strong

   Names the night and the station, says what tipped it (a big party, running out of mise), told the sous or expo early with a specific ask, cleared the rail in fire order, and changed something after, like a bigger par or a cleaner layout.

   3Mixed

   Got through it alone by working faster, told no one until it was over, and can't say what caused it.

   1Weak

   Says they never go down, or blames the servers, the prep cook or expo.

3. Technical · Station setup

   Walk me through setting up your station for a busy Friday dinner, from the moment you walk in until the sous chef's line check.

   Setup decides the rush. This shows whether they set up to the book and the par sheet or by habit.

   Follow-ups

   • How do you decide how much of each item to have ready?
   • What do you check yourself before the sous chef checks it?
   • Where do your backups and your towels go, and why there?

   5Strong

   Sets up from the par sheet and the covers on the book, checks leftover product by label and date, keeps mise in the same spot every night with backups close, temps the wells and reach-in, tastes sauces, and lays out sanitizer, dry towels and a probe.

   3Mixed

   Sets up a full station but by habit, not from the par sheet or the book, and leaves temping and tasting to the sous chef's check.

   1Weak

   Expects prep to have everything ready, or is still setting up when the first tickets print.

4. Technical · Cooking to spec

   A ticket has chicken thighs and a burger cooked medium-well. Walk me through how you know each one is done, and safe to send, with the rail full.

   Guessing by color or feel is how undercooked chicken reaches a guest on a busy night.

   Follow-ups

   • Where does the probe go, and what do you do with it between items?
   • How do you know your thermometer reads right?
   • The chicken looks done but reads low, and expo wants it now. What do you do?

   5Strong

   Probes the thickest part of each, sanitizes the probe between items, and cooks the chicken to the minimum on your line check sheet and the burger to your house temperature for medium-well. Checks the thermometer in ice water before service, and gives expo the real time when chicken needs longer.

   3Mixed

   Probes both and knows the temperatures, but has never checked whether the thermometer reads true, and wouldn't know what to do if it read wrong.

   1Weak

   Goes by color, touch or time for everything, chicken included, or sends it when expo pushes.

5. Behavioral · Cooking to spec

   Tell me about a time a chef changed how you had to make a dish, and you thought your old way was better.

   A line only works if every cook makes the dish the same way. This shows whether their ideas go to the chef or onto the plate.

   Follow-ups

   • What did you do on your next shift?
   • How and when did you raise your view?
   • What came of it?

   5Strong

   Cooked it the new way every time from the first shift, asked why, and brought their idea to the chef after service with a reason, like a taste or a ticket-time problem.

   3Mixed

   Followed the new spec, but grumbled on the line or slid back to the old way on busy nights.

   1Weak

   Kept cooking it their own way, or argued about it during service.

6. Situational · Allergy and food safety

   A ticket for the pork chop comes in flagged for a tree nut allergy. The chop normally gets a romesco made with almonds, and every pan and pair of tongs on your station has touched it tonight. What do you do?

   Leaving off the sauce isn't enough. A trace of almond on a shared pan or pair of tongs can still reach the plate, and heat won't take it out.

   Follow-ups

   • How do you check what else on the plate might have nuts?
   • What do you change on the station for this one plate?
   • What do you do if you aren't sure a part of it is safe?

   5Strong

   Calls back the allergy, checks every part of the plate against the allergen chart or recipe book, gets a clean pan, tongs and board, washes hands and changes gloves, cooks and plates it apart, and tells expo or the sous if any part is in doubt, rather than guessing.

   3Mixed

   Says plainly they wouldn't trust themselves to make that plate safe on a station full of nuts, and asks the sous chef to take the ticket, without checking the rest of the plate or resetting anything.

   1Weak

   Scrapes the sauce off, or treats the flag like a preference and just leaves the romesco off.

7. Situational · Allergy and food safety

   Mid-rush, you drop the last portion of halibut on the floor. The ticket is for a regular, and the cook next to you says to rinse it off because nobody saw. What do you do?

   Food safety gets decided when no one is watching. This also shows whether they tell expo in time for the server to fix it with the guest.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say to the cook next to you?
   • Who do you tell, and how fast?
   • What should the server be able to tell the guest?

   5Strong

   Throws it out, tells expo and the sous right away that halibut is 86'd, and offers what they could fire instead and how long it would take, so the server can go back to the guest.

   3Mixed

   Throws it out but says nothing until expo asks where the halibut is, so the table waits.

   1Weak

   Rinses it and cooks it, or hesitates because no one saw.

8. Situational · Owning mistakes

   Expo sends back a steak you cooked medium instead of medium-rare. The rest of that table's food is sitting in the window. What do you do?

   Re-fires happen every night. How a cook handles one decides whether the whole table eats cold food.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you tell expo, and how fast?
   • What should happen to the rest of the table's food?
   • What do you do differently with the next steak?

   5Strong

   Says "heard, re-firing" with an honest time, gets a new steak on at once, lets expo decide whether to hold or re-fire the rest of the table, keeps the other tickets moving, and probes the next steak.

   3Mixed

   Gets the re-fire on fast but doesn't give expo a time, so the rest of the table sits and goes cold.

   1Weak

   Argues the steak was right, or rushes the re-fire and sends it under.

9. Behavioral · Owning mistakes

   Tell me about a dish you sent out wrong that reached the guest. How did you find out, and what did you do?

   You want a cook who traces a mistake back to a habit, not one who hopes the expo catches it next time.

   Follow-ups

   • What exactly went wrong on the plate?
   • Who did you tell, and what did you say?
   • What do you do differently now?

   5Strong

   Names the dish and the mistake, like a missed modifier or a wrong garnish, owned it to the chef without excuses, helped fix it for the guest, and changed a habit, such as reading modifiers aloud.

   3Mixed

   Owns it when asked, but calls it a one-off and changed nothing about how they work.

   1Weak

   Can't name one, or blames the ticket, the server or expo.

10. Behavioral · Learning new stations

    Tell me about the last time you had to cover a station you didn't know well, like being moved from fry to sauté on a busy night. How did you get ready?

    Cooks who prepare before service learn a second station fast. Cooks who wing it make the remakes.

    Follow-ups

    • What did you do in the first hour?
    • What did you ask, and who did you ask?
    • How did your tickets go, and what would you do differently?

    5Strong

    Names the station and the night, read the recipe cards and plating photos, set up from the regular cook's layout, asked the sous to check the setup, saved questions for before service, and can say how their tickets went.

    3Mixed

    Got through it by copying the cook next to them, without studying the specs first.

    1Weak

    Refused, or winged it and asked no one.

Work exercise: a paid stage on one station

Pay finalists at least minimum wage for the stage and go over your house safety rules first. Set one station they may legally work at their age, with mise, a recipe card and a plating photo for [two] dishes; keep slicers and mixers out of it. Over [30] minutes, feed [six] made-up tickets, including a modifier, an allergy flag and a re-fire. The panel tastes the food; none of it is served. No stage? Ask for a written prep and par list for a made-up menu and [eighty] covers.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• Which stations could they run alone, and how did their ticket times and remakes compare with your other cooks there?
• Tell me about a night they went down. What did they do, and what did they tell you?
• How did they handle allergy tickets and the line check? Did you ever have to fix their station before service?
• If you had a Saturday opening on grill tomorrow, would you call them? Why or why not?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipAre you a U.S. citizen?

  AskAsk every candidate: "Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?" Then complete the I-9 for each new hire after the offer is accepted, the same way for everyone.

• SkipWhat were you making at your last restaurant?

  AskThis role pays [your range], with [overtime and any station premium]. How does that fit what you're looking for?

• SkipHow old are you? Some of this is stove work.

  AskName the stations and hours, and ask every candidate whether they can work that schedule and do those tasks. Check eligibility after the offer, the same way for every hire, including any state work permit for a minor. Federal rules let cooks under sixteen cook only on grills with no open flame and fryers that lift the baskets on their own, and keep everyone under eighteen off power slicers and commercial mixers.

• SkipHave you ever been badly burned or hurt in a kitchen?

  AskWalk me through how you work a fryer station safely, from setup to filtering the oil at close.

Common mistakes when hiring a line cook

• Hiring the fastest cook on the stage

  Speed is easy to see. The skipped probe and the reused tongs on the allergy ticket are not. Rate the allergy reset and the temping as hard as the ticket times, and have the sous chef watch for them.

• Trusting the names on the résumé

  A cook from a well-known kitchen may have worked one station, or only prep. Ask which stations they ran alone, then let the stage and the references show you.

Line cook interview FAQ