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.
Sample job post
Copy this, then change the words in brackets to match your business.
Line Cook: [station] at [restaurant name] in [city]
[Restaurant name] is a [style of restaurant] hiring a line cook for our [grill / sauté / fry / pantry] station. You will cook and plate our menu to recipe during busy service and work closely with our chef and kitchen team.
Pay: [pay rate or range]. Schedule: [days and hours], including [evenings / weekends / holidays]. Start: [start date].
- Set up and stock your station before service.
- Cook and plate menu items to recipe, portion and presentation standards.
- Keep pace with tickets, and speak up early if you fall behind or run out of an item.
- Follow food safety rules for temperatures, storage, labeling and handwashing.
- Clean your station, equipment and floors during and after service.
- Requirements: [kitchen experience, or willing to train], [food handler card where required], and the ability to stand for long shifts and lift [weight].
- We provide: [training, uniform and apron, staff meal, other benefits].
Interview questions for a line cook
- Which stations have you worked, and which do you like best?
- Walk me through how you set up your station before service.
- Tickets are stacking up and you are out of an item. What do you do?
- How do you check that chicken or other proteins are cooked safely?
- Tell me about a time a chef sent a plate back. How did you handle it?
- How do you keep your station clean during a rush?
- Can you work evenings, weekends and holidays?
Ask every candidate the same questions so you can compare answers fairly. HRGP keeps your questions, notes and scores with each applicant.
Questions and answers
What does a line cook do?
A line cook prepares menu items at one station in a restaurant kitchen, such as grill, sauté, fry or pantry. They set up the station, cook and plate food to recipe, keep pace with orders, follow food safety rules and clean during and after service.
What are the requirements for a line cook?
Line cook requirements usually include some kitchen experience or willingness to train, the ability to stand for long shifts and work in a hot kitchen, and availability for evenings and weekends. Many states or counties require a food handler card, and the rules differ by place, so check what applies where you are.
What is the line cook definition, and how is it different from a prep cook?
A line cook is the cook who prepares orders on the line during service, at a set station. A prep cook gets ingredients ready before service by washing, cutting, portioning and making sauces. In small kitchens one person may do both, so a cook job description should say which work is expected.
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