Line Cook Job Description

Summary

A line cook prepares menu items at a station in a restaurant kitchen. The work is fast, hot and team-based: orders arrive together, and every plate has to be right and on time.

Name the station or stations in your posting, such as grill, sauté, fry, pantry or prep, and the kind of food you serve, so candidates know what they will cook.

Duties and responsibilities

• Set up and stock a station before service with ingredients, tools and sauces.
• Cook and plate menu items to your recipe, portion and presentation standards.
• Keep pace with order tickets, and call out early when you are behind or out of an item.
• Follow food safety rules for temperatures, storage, labeling and handwashing.
• Check quality as you cook and tell the chef or kitchen manager when something is off.
• Clean the station, equipment and floors during and after service.
• Receive and put away deliveries when asked.
• Work with servers and other cooks so food leaves the kitchen together.

Skills and qualities

• Stays calm and focused on a busy night.
• Knife skills and basic cooking methods.
• Follows recipes and prep lists exactly.
• Short, clear communication with the team.
• Able to stand through a full shift.
• Cares about cleanliness and food safety.
• Takes feedback and learns new stations.

Typical requirements

• Some restaurant kitchen experience, or willingness to be trained.
• A food handler card or certificate where your state or county requires one.
• Ability to stand for long shifts, lift the weight you name and work in a hot kitchen.
• Availability for evenings, weekends and holidays if the job needs them.
• Minimum age that meets your state’s rules for kitchen work.

Requirements differ by state, city and employer. Check the licensing, age, safety and pay rules that apply to your business before you post. This page is a starting point, not legal advice.

Schedule and conditions

Restaurant shifts follow meal service. Give the usual days, start and end times, and whether weekends, holidays or split shifts are required.

Kitchens are hot, busy and loud. Say so plainly, along with your break and staff meal policy.

Nice to have

• Experience on a grill, fry or sauté station.
• Culinary school or formal kitchen training.
• Prep and inventory experience.
• Knowledge of your style of cooking.
• Ability to work more than one station.

Tips for posting this job

• Name the station and the style of cooking.
• List the hours exactly, including closing shifts.
• Say whether you provide uniforms, aprons and a staff meal.
• Explain how new cooks are trained.
• Say how far ahead schedules are posted and whether shift swaps are allowed.

Put your real pay, schedule and location in the posting. Candidates skip posts that leave them out.