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Line cooks are a key part of the restaurant team and responsible for preparing the meals. They typically prepare food using knives and cutting implements, as well an oven or grill to cook meats, vegetables, fish etc.
The “line cook resume” is a job description for a line cook. It includes free templates that can be downloaded and used to create your own resume.
During restaurant service, a line cook sets up a single kitchen workstation and produces food from that station. Line cooks are in the kitchen’s middle echelon, reporting to sous-chefs and, eventually, the chef. A line cook job description should contain a list of daily responsibilities as well as the level of experience necessary.
The median salary for line cooks is $12.12 per hour, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. If your restaurant offers a higher-than-average compensation, your job ad will stand out. If you’re searching for a line chef, use the templates and advice provided below to assist you in your quest.
Job Description Templates for Line Cooks
Finding the proper expertise for your kitchen is a vital component of restaurant management. Because each restaurant’s demands will differ, it’s critical that your job description accurately matches what your kitchen requires. Because line cooks are defined by their workstation on the kitchen line, it’s critical to clarify whether you need a grill cook, a pantry cook, or a pastry cook for your operation. You may use one of the three distinct templates below to modify your job description: one for fast service restaurants, another for full service casual restaurants, and a third for fine dining restaurants.
Download the template in PDF, Docx, or Google Doc format.
1. Restaurant Quick Service Template
The fastest-growing segment of the restaurant business is quick service. Cooking jobs are in great demand. In a fast service restaurant, a line cook works similarly to a short order cook, processing many orders at once. A skilled quick service line chef is swift and can operate in small places. This is the template to use if you need someone to manage many orders of burgers, eggs Benedict, or crepes.
Line cooks are needed at certain fast service restaurants to accept orders at the counter.
Download the template in PDF, Docx, or Google Doc format.
2. Casual Full-Service Restaurant
Some of the issues of both fast service and fine dining are present in a full service casual restaurant kitchen. In a full-service casual restaurant, a line cook must combine the quickness and flexibility of a quick-service chef with the high-polish attention to detail required in fine dining. In a full-service setup, a willingness to work through numerous stations is also beneficial. This design is suitable for kitchens with a few stations—for example, salads, grill, and saute’—but don’t have a complete crew of chefs.
Line cooks are often expected to plate food according to recipe instructions.
Download the template in PDF, Docx, or Google Doc format.
3. Fine dining restaurant with full service
Line cooks at a fine dining establishment are searching for a difficult kitchen where they may continue to develop as cooks. Fine dining establishments looking for line cooks will wish to highlight their head chef’s qualifications or their menu options. The possibility to work under the tutelage of a well-known member of the culinary industry will attract the most qualified candidates.
Fine dining restaurants often feature the most cooking stations, as well as space for a floating line chef who can cross trains to fill in at any station as required.
Alternative Job Description Template for Line Cooks
You may already have a wonderful tool for drafting a line cook job description if your restaurant employs a third-party software for personnel scheduling. Editable work descriptions that publish straight from the app to job listing websites are included in scheduling apps like Homebase. Homebase interacts with a variety of POS systems to assist restaurant owners plan, communicate, and enforce employee schedules, as well as provide real-time labor data to help reduce labor expenditures. You may also try it out for free to see whether you like it.
You may quickly incorporate any candidate recruited using the Homebase app into your scheduling system.
What Should Every Line Cook Job Description Contain?
Regardless of service type, there are a few items that should be included in all job descriptions. A good job description will include a short explanation of the restaurant, a clear overview of the daily activities the chef will be required to do, a list of the job’s basic professional qualifications, and a description of where this role fits into the larger restaurant operation.
Restaurant Description in Brief
This area should consist of a few phrases that highlight your service style, food style, and brand identity. This is a fantastic spot to provide a brief description of your restaurant’s goal, any honors your restaurant has received, and any mentoring opportunities your culinary crew may provide.
A Detailed Schedule of Daily Tasks
The core of the job description is here. If your kitchen has many stations, make sure your job description specifies which one this line cook will work at. Will this chef be in charge of anything on the menu that is fried, grilled, or chilled, such as salads and desserts? Being specific here can assist guarantee that applicants replying to your job ad are both interested in and capable of doing the job. This line chef should also be included if you need him to help with monthly inventory counts or create chicken stock once a week.
Line cooks should be able to operate with hot cooking equipment in a safe manner.
Job Requirements at a Minimum
It’s important to be realistic in your expectations. A seasoned chef with a year or more of expertise preparing eggs in numerous forms is required by quick service restaurants who sell hundreds of daily orders of their famous breakfast sandwich. A casual restaurant that needs a pantry chef to plate salads and pieces of cake could be willing to teach a recent culinary school graduate. Consider what experience your ideal applicant will possess and include that information in the job description.
It’s tempting to ask for three years’ experience in a job ad to reduce the amount of training a new worker would need. Applicants with greater experience, on the other hand, may get bored in roles that do not challenge them and quit, requiring a restaurant to resume the hiring and recruitment process.
Description of Your Role in the Bigger Picture
Let candidates know ahead of time if your kitchen need additional help for supper services Tuesday through Saturday, as well as every significant holiday. Mention whether or if this grill chef will be required to learn the saute’ station as well. This is also an excellent spot to highlight the benefits of working in your kitchen if you didn’t include them in your restaurant description. Potential candidates are drawn to opportunities to study a new cuisine, work with cutting-edge technology, or be mentored by a well-known chef.
A primary necessity for every chef is to follow health code laws (such as wearing gloves while handling specific dishes).
Hiring a Line Cook: Some Pointers
The position of line cook is directly above the centre of the kitchen’s command structure. Some line cooks choose to stay at the line cook level for the rest of their careers since it enables them to concentrate on cooking rather than taking on the leadership duties that sous chefs and chefs de cuisine are required to take on. Most line cooks, on the other hand, anticipate continuing to gain expertise and moving up the line.
Most line cooks will be enticed by the opportunity to obtain valuable experience in their kitchen. With it comes the responsibility for you or your kitchen crew to actively assist line cooks in learning new skills. When there are lulls in service, this might involve cross-training on a different station, or offering training in making orders, receiving deliveries, doing inventory, or team leadership abilities.
- Look for passion: Cooks that are passionate about what they do are always studying on their own time. An eager-to-learn entry-level chef may need more instruction than a cook with years of expertise. A rookie chef, on the other hand, may bring good energy into your kitchen if they are thrilled to be a part of your team.
- You’ll need to train a cook: Restaurant operators who know what they’re doing search for folks who can teach them. Employees who obtain extensive training are more likely to remain in their positions for a longer period of time than those who receive just rudimentary training. According to a LinkedIn survey, 94% of workers said they would remain at a firm if it invested in their professional development.
- Reach out to your community: Former supervisors are a great way to obtain work as a chef. Typically, this takes the form of a chef from one restaurant recommending strong chefs to another chef who is launching a new restaurant. Chef communities are notoriously tight-knit, so if you’re having difficulties finding the right cook, ask a chef you like for a recommendation.
Restaurant operators with foresight understand that the community network can operate both ways. Maintaining excellent connections with the chefs who have been through your kitchen helps you to solicit recommendations from them. If, on the other hand, your kitchen crew is suffering significant turnover due to a hostile work environment, word will quickly travel to prospective candidates that your restaurant is a bad place to work.
Recognize the Brigade de Cuisine
The line cook position is located directly above the centre of the brigade de cuisine. If this seems militaristic, that’s because it is. Auguste Escoffier, a French Army soldier and the “Emperor of Cuisine,” devised the method to replicate the organizational efficiency he saw during World War I. Escoffier divided the culinary process into tasks and created staff jobs to carry out each duty.
The duties were well defined in Escoffier’s day, but current kitchens are more open to cross-training and cross-utilizing workers. Knowing the basics of the contemporary kitchen brigade can help restaurant owners communicate effectively with their back-of-house personnel and ensure that they hire workers with the appropriate skill set.
Most contemporary kitchens use some variation of the Brigade de Cuisine:
- Chef de cuisine (chef de cuisine)
- Sous chef
- Cooking on the Line (also known as Chef de Partie)
- Prepare to cook (also known as Commis Chef)
- Porter in the kitchen
- Dishwashing machine (aka Plongeur)
While some cooks attend culinary school to get chef certification, the brigade system allows many cooks to quickly advance from dishwasher to porter to prep cook and beyond. Working as a line cook is seen as a stepping stone for further professional growth. The majority of line cooks do not finish their careers as line cooks. At the absolute least, a restaurant owner should anticipate to recruit new line cooks every year or two. Other food preparation job titles, such as bartender or baker, may be more suited to your needs.
Job Opportunities for Line Cooks in the Best Places
Restaurant employees, like the rest of the workforce, look for jobs on sites like Indeed or Ziprecruiter. Candidates in the culinary area, on the other hand, should look into industry-specific locations first.
The following are some ideal venues to post your line cook job:
- Culinary Agents: Pay-as-you-go postings cost $49 each placement, while monthly memberships cost $100-$200 per month if you have many positions. When you don’t have any vacancies, this site includes a “I want to work here” function that enables candidates to discover your business.
- Single job postings over the last 30 days cost $49 each. Employers that sign up for a monthly membership ($10 per month) save 20% on posting expenses. Poached jobs also publishes your job ad on Indeed, Glassdoor, and Ziprecruiter, among other sites, and provides tools like an interview scheduler.
- Local employment boards for culinary schools: Culinary schools are keen to assist their alumni in finding jobs. If your restaurant is close to a culinary school, inquire about their career services.
Line Cooks in Today’s Market: What to Expect
Restaurant chefs are expected to rise by 11% between 2018 and 2028, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is more than double the overall employment market’s predicted growth rate, implying that strong line cook candidates will face intense competition. By building a nice work atmosphere, implementing extensive training programs, and giving benefits like health insurance and commuting discounts, as well as incentives like family meals and dining discounts, savvy restaurant owners will make their companies strong rivals for the finest personnel.
Cooks may be enticed to work at your restaurant by the possibility to work with unusual foods.
The “stage” (rhymes with “dodge”) is a custom among chefs who have worked their way through the ranks in fine dining kitchens or culinary schools. A stage is a chance to perform as a guest chef. In a normal stage, a chef seeking experience may want to labor for free for a period ranging from a single service to many weeks. This permits the cook to learn from more experienced chefs while also demonstrating his or her abilities to a chef with whom they desire to work.
If a restaurant allows staging, be sure that the staging chefs are protected by their insurance plans. If a staging chef is injured while working in your facilities, make sure your workers’ compensation or general liability coverage covers them. Because certain local labor regulations prohibit free labor, you may need to draw clear borders for phases that adhere to local rules or provide remuneration. This might be a flat rate per shift or course credit toward the cook’s culinary school education.
A stage enables a cook to demonstrate their abilities to a chef.
Job Description for a Line Cook Most Commonly Asked Questions (FAQs)
Understanding the core tasks of a line cook in a restaurant kitchen is an important part of the job description puzzle, but there are a few more details to consider.
What does a line cook earn?
Cooks earn an average of $12.12 per hour, with a median annual salary of $25,200, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the United States, half of cooks are paid more, while the other half are paid less. Restaurant operators should invest between $20,000 and $30,000 per year for a full-time line cook in a competitive market like New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles. However, keep in mind that that figure excludes payroll taxes, insurance, overtime, bonuses, and benefits.
What kind of education and training does a line cook require?
A culinary degree is advantageous, but it is not required to work as a chef. A person can still learn almost all they need to know in a restaurant kitchen via on-the-job training. In fact, many chefs prefer to train their own cooks. A line cook who understands the five mother sauces is a valuable asset to any restaurant team, but a cook who is willing to learn, who picks up new skills fast, and who arrives on time when required is priceless.
What exactly is a “stage”?
The stage (which rhymes with “dodge”) is a restaurant custom of allowing an unknown chef to work in your kitchen for free for a shift. Culinary students may contact restaurant owners who are operating at a specific level and ask to perform at their establishment. This technique is seen to have two advantages: it enables less experienced chefs to learn how other kitchens run while also giving them the chance to demonstrate their abilities to a chef they wish to work for one day.
In conclusion, the job description for a line cook is as follows:
Line cooks are the brains behind a restaurant’s operation. With a positive attitude, a competent line cook will keep your restaurant operating smoothly. A well-written line cook job description will highlight not just the cook’s daily responsibilities, but also the prospects for advancement that your restaurant provides. The templates described above may be used to create a work description for a line cook.
A scheduling system like Homebase, on the other hand, contains customizable job descriptions that you can submit straight to major job boards. The Plus membership is $40 a month and includes scheduling functions as well as labor analytics that are compatible with a variety of POS systems. Given that single job listings on specialty employment sites may cost up to $49 apiece, this might be a cost-effective choice for eateries in need of workers.
Pay a visit to Homebase
A line cook is a person who prepares and cooks food in the kitchen of a restaurant. The responsibilities of a line cook vary depending on the type of establishment they work at, but generally include cooking large quantities of food quickly and efficiently. Reference: line cook resume skills.
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