Ask Jon: What’s the Best Way to Interview a Line Cook?

Jonathan Deutsch

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Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D., CHE, CRC is Professor/Vice Chair of Health Sciences, which encompasses Culinary, Food, Nutrition, Exercise and Health Sciences at Drexel University. He is the Founding Program Director of Drexel’s Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programs. He is a classically trained chef and co-author or -editor of eight books including Barbecue: A Global History (with Megan Elias), Culinary Improvisation, and The Anti-Inflammatory Family Cookbook, and articles in journals of food studies, public health and hospitality education.

Dear Jon: What are some good interview questions for line cooks? I’ve been burned before where cooks talk a big game in the interview and then can’t cook their way out of a paper bag.

These days, some chefs are so desperate for cooks that the interview might go something like this: “Can you cook? When can you start?”

Let’s take a step back and think about the purposes of an interview. Here are a few that immediately come to mind:

• Get a sense of the candidate’s basic interpersonal skills and abilities: do they show up on time, sober, with acceptable hygiene, and can carry a conversation? (It seems basic, but we all know folks who don’t meet that low bar).
• Discuss the transactional aspects of the job to be sure expectations are met on both sides: hours, responsibilities, ballpark compensation, workplace culture. 
• Inquire into skills, knowledge and abilities from past experience that could transfer to your needs. What other places has the candidate worked? What stations? What kind of volume? Why did past employment end?

You will note that nowhere in the above objectives for an interview is anything about cooking. That is because, in my opinion, an interview is a perfectly good way to learn about the personality, goals, and passions of a candidate, and a horrible way to try to learn whether they can actually cook.

Chef Kevin Tien of Washington, D.C.’s Moon Rabbit says, “During interviews I always like to ask a few food-related questions. We can always teach technique and how to cook, but we want our team to be passionate about what they do. Some example questions are: What are some of your favorite restaurants right now? What is your favorite food to eat or make? Who do you look up to in the culinary world?”

Questions like Tien’s are a great place to start to understand the candidate. However, I think your question really should be, “What is the best way to know whether a candidate for a line cook position is a good cook?” 

The best way to determine whether a prospective line cook would be a good hire is to have them cook for you. Knowing cooks, it doesn’t surprise me if they don’t interview well. There are many positions in a restaurant, particularly in the front-of-house, where being articulate and charming in an interview is a sign of a great hire. Not necessarily so for cooks.

Brian Howard, executive chef/owner of Las Vegas-based Spaghetti on the Wall Hospitality (Sparrow + Wolf, Half Bird Chicken & Beer) agrees. Howard a three phase interview process: initial phone screen, interview, and stage. Like Tien, Howard asks interview questions that help him, “really get to know as much as possible about the cook as a human. Here are a few examples of questions we like to ask: If you only got to cook with three ingredients in your life what would they be and why? What books are you reading? What do you do to manage stress outside of work?”

If the interview goes well, Howard will invite them for what he calls a paid “play date,” typically on a busy night. “This allows us and the team members to see if it’s a good fit for everyone.”

Howard keeps an eye on station setup as an indicator of cleanliness and organization and then has the candidate cook an egg to get a sense of attention to detail, seasoning, style and comfort. After that, the potential hire helps with kitchen tasks so Howard can assess skills and speed. On top of that, candidates are thrown a mystery basket assignment to cook a dish in 30 minutes. “We can then see how someone reacts under pressure, how creative they are, what foundational skills they possess, and most importantly, if they’re having fun,” says Howard. “The last is important to us: Can they have fun, hold themselves up professionally, work clean, and bring something more to what we’ve already established? At that point we always know if it’s a fit or not.”

Overall, my advice is to match your hiring process with what you want to know. Don’t hire anyone based on how well they answer questions, particularly about their cooking skills. If the goal is to know whether someone can cook, there is no better way than having them cook!