Author :chef ssentongo Geoffrey

Blog : Chefs career ideas

AND OTHER TYPES OF CHEFS YOUR RESTAURUNT NEEDS!…

Line cooks are the backbone of any restaurant kitchen. Tey work independently on their task’s yet they need to be in tandem with each other to ensure that guests receive their meals exactly as expected and in a timely manner. If you want to know how to hire a line cook, the first step is determining what type of the line cooks you’ll need for your restaurant.

MOST COMMON TYPES OF LINE COOKS

* Traditional line cooks

Your restaurant might need a group of line cooks who can do it all, switching from one station to another each night. For restaurants that run like this, like cooks are often ranked on their level of experience and the high-ranked line cooks may also serve as shift supervisor for the other line cooks.

* short order cook

Most commonly associated with old school diners, short order cooks work in restaurants that have simple menus which allow them to work at a much faster pace than line cooks in other restaurants.

* Prep-cooks

Prep cooks come into the restaurant well before service to help prepare ingredients and other elements ahead of time. A prep cook’s responsibilities include chopping vegetables and other ingredients for mis en Place, defrosting from freezer, prepping stocks or mother sauces and more.

* Saute cook

A Saute cook is responsible for any element on the menu that requires sauteing. Depending on the restaurants menu, you will the Saute cook may also be the saucer, which is a type of line cook that creates sauces, stews, stocks, and gravies.

* Salad cook

The salad cooks is, of course, responsible for plating salads and vegetable sides, appetisers.

QUALITIES OF A GREAT LINE COOK

A great line cook need to be passionate about food and hospitality, work well under pressure, be organised and be reliable and responsible. When it’s time to hire a new line cook for your restaurant, first determine what you are looking for in the perfect candidate.

1- Ar you willing to train someone with less experience but a lot of passion and drive?

2- DO you need someone who already has a particular skill set and is ready to hit the ground running?

3- What personality traits should a new hire have to be a good culture fit for your business?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you can get started on the recruitment, interviewing and hiring process.

# LINE COOK JOB DESCRIPTION

Be clear with the all the responsibilities and expectations of a line cook job in the job description ; this helps the folks applying to know exactly what the job entails and helps you by weeding out any potential candidates who may be less qualified or excited about the job.

LINE COOK JOB DESCRIPTIONS SHOULD INCLUDE!

* Any prep work they will be responsible for.

* Food safety expectations and any licences or permits you require.

* cooking skills needed.

* Organisation and attention to detail.

* Working in a fast-paced environment.

* Soft skills like work ethics, empathy, integrity and good communication.

LINE COOK INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

During a line cook interview, ask them a mix of questions to cover the topics above and see how their answers align with the qualities and skills you are looking for.

# SOME EXAMPLE OF QUESTIONS INCLUDE :

* What is your favourite dish to cook?

* What is your method for staying clean and organized as you work?

* What would you do if you saw a fellow line cook falling behind, but you are busy with your own work?

* How do you manage to be efficient while working at a fast pace?

Ask for them to cook a simple dish. Telling is different than showing and this is the only way to establish their skills, be sure to give them a dish based on their experience.

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