How to Hire a Chef

Why Hire a Chef?

Hiring the right chef requires finding a candidate with a combination of cooking, people, and business skills, as well as a passion for creating a place your customers will love. But where do you start?

A qualified chef will not only serve up crowd-pleasing food, but also create menus, oversee your kitchen, lead a team, manage inventory, and even contribute to business decisions. However, job responsibilities will vary depending on the type of chef you need. The most common chef positions found in the kitchen hierarchy include:

Executive Chef: An executive chef is the leader of your kitchen and guides day-to-day operations of your foodservice facility. Also known as a “Chef de Cuisine,” an executive chef typically possesses formal culinary training and certifications, while many focus on certain type of cuisine.
Sous Chef: A sous chef works under the executive chef (“sous” is French for “under”) and holds a more hands-on role in the kitchen. While a sous chef may take on managerial and team-leading responsibilities, this position involves cooking, plating, and ensuring high-quality dishes.
Line Cook: A Line Cook is below the executive chef and sous chef, but plays one of the most critical roles in the kitchen: prepping, cutting, cooking, frying, plating food – fast. Line cooks may also be called station chefs because restaurants often assign each line cook to a different responsibility (like chopping vegetables) per shift.

Other types of chefs and popular culinary career titles include personal chefs, private chefs, signature chefs, sushi chefs, pastry chefs, banquet chefs, head chefs, and deputy chefs, but one thing remains certain: Hiring a chef is not a quest you can approach by trial and error.

Frequent chef changes can hurt the reputation and bottom line of any restaurant or foodservice organization – you need to recruit and retain someone who will grow your organization, build your brand, and keep your customers coming back for more.

Bringing the right culinary expert aboard requires extra attention to creating a compelling chef job description, asking the right chef interview questions, offering competitive pay, and more. This guide will help you hire a chef for your restaurant, catering business, hotel, facility or even private household or establishment.

Highest Education Level

Chefs offer the following education background

Associate's Degree (30.7%)

High School or GED (23.3%)

Bachelor's Degree (22.6%)

Vocational Degree or Certification (15.8%)

Master's Degree (3.6%)

Some College (2.4%)

Some High School (1.1%)

Doctorate Degree (0.5%)

Licensing and Certification

Chefs offer the following licenses and certifications
- - ServSafe Certified
- - ServSafe Food Handler
Qualifications / Skills

The following top skills are often required or desired to land a chef position

Italian Cuisine, Asian Cuisine, Sushi Making, Japanese Cuisine, Batch Cooking, Menu Engineering, Kitchen Design, Kosher Food, Gluten Free Cuisine, Grocery Shopping, Degree in Culinary Arts, Wok, Seasonal Menus, Menu Writing, Banquet Catering

Average Work Experience

Here's a breakdown of the years of experience offered by chefs

4-6 years (39.3%)

2-4 years (32.1%)

1-2 years (10.7%)

6-8 years (10.7%)

10+ years (3.6%)

8-10 years (3.6%)

Qualifications to Look for When Hiring a Chef

Finding the perfect chef starts with considering candidates’ food-specific skills. Begin by reviewing chef resumes: Have they been professionally trained, or have they learned their skills on the jobs? Do they have experience with the cuisine(s) your restaurant serves? Have they developed the ability to work in your restaurant’s service-style?

While you may prefer hiring a chef who has completed culinary school, that’s not always necessary. Many chefs work their way through the kitchen ranks, learning on the job, so look at candidates’ years of experience when vetting resumes. In lieu of formal schooling, consider chefs who’ve obtained culinary credentials, such as certifications from the American Culinary Federation (ACF).

Qualifications & Skills for a Chef

Take a look at the most common qualifications chefs on iHire have, and what skills employers are looking for.

For location-specific salary details, visit our free Salary Research Tool.

Sample Chef Job Description

While it's possible to find a skilled chef through referrals, via networking, or by promoting from within, you'll likely need a compelling job posting to attract the right talent on the online recruitment platform of your choosing. As with any job posting, your ad needs a short title, details about the role, job responsibilities and qualifications, a bit about your company culture and benefits, and a strong call to action.

Here's a sample chef job description to get you started:

Executive Chef

Restaurant ABC is seeking a seasoned Executive Chef to join our team of culinary professionals at our fine-dining facility in Baltimore, Maryland. You will lead our fast-paced kitchen while crafting top-quality, customer-pleasing dishes for our patrons. As our Executive Chef, you will also be responsible for planning and creating our menu, managing staff, keeping inventory, and ensuring our facility operates according to the highest standards of culinary excellence and customer service.

Job Responsibilities

Overseeing kitchen operations
Crafting high-quality, delicious cuisine
Leading, managing, and training a team of 15 kitchen staff
Creating and planning menus with cost in mind
Ensuring food safety and sanitation standards are followed
Maintaining and replenishing inventory
Assisting in business development and brand growth

Requirements & Qualifications

Culinary degree preferred
Minimum 5 years of experience in culinary arts
Portfolio of signature and mastered dishes
Knowledge of food sanitation and safety
Proven leadership, customer service, and organization skills
Strong work ethic and desire to grow professionally

Interview Questions for Hiring a Chef

When interviewing a chef, be sure to ask these culinary-specific questions:

What type of culinary background, experience, certifications, and training do you possess?
How do you handle stressful situations? Give an example of how you performed under pressure in a previous role.
How do you build morale and maintain a solid team in the kitchen?
How would your teammates describe your management style?
How do you keep yourself organized in the kitchen?
What dish, recipe, or type of cuisine do you excel at and/or enjoy creating the most?
Talk about a time you created or improved a specific menu or menu item.
What would you do if a customer complained about their meal or sent it back?
How do you stay current with today's evolving culinary industry trends?