How to hire a food prep

How to hire a food prep, step by step

Here's a step-by-step food prep hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a food prep job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new food prep
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a food prep do?

Post a food prep job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your food prep job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a food prep for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect food prep also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents food prep salaries for various positions.

   Type of Food Prep	Description	Hourly rate
   Food Prep	Food and beverage serving and related workers perform a variety of customer service, food preparation, and cleaning duties in restaurants, cafeterias, and other eating and drinking establishments.	$9-16
   Kitchen Staff	The kitchen staff consists of preparation workers who execute several routine tasks as directed by chefs, food service managers, and cooks. These works should have the ability to follow cooking instructions and deliver well-prepared meals... Show more	$11-17
   Prep Cook/Dishwasher	A prep cook and dishwasher is responsible for cleaning and sanitizing kitchen items and utensils, and performing basic cooking tasks under the supervision of chefs or cooks. It is also their responsibility to prepare ingredients by washing, chopping, weighing, and ensuring that they are the correct quantity and quality... Show more	$12-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Food Service
   • Food Handling
   • Taking Care
   • Cleanliness
   • Good Communication
   • Math
   • Cash Handling
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Safety Standards
   • Clean Kitchen
   • Food Products
   • Customer Service
   • Kitchen Utensils
   • Dishwashers

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide quality customer service while providing assistance in food preparation and maintaining store cleanliness.
   • Operate blenders, stoves, and steamers.
   • Fast pace and quick learning worker also good math skills.
   • Clean dishes, meat and cheese slicers, refrigerators and coolers.
   • Detail cleaning include, broilers, fryers, walk in refrigerator/freezer, dining and restrooms.
   • Operate flat top grill, salamander grill, deep fryer, mixer and tortilla steamers.

   More food prep duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your food prep job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A food prep salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a food prep in Florida may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level food prep usually earns less than a senior-level food prep. Additionally, a food prep with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average food prep salary

   $12.42hourly

   $25,840 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level food prep salary

   $19,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 17, 2026

   Average food prep salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$32,273	$16
   2	New Jersey	$29,460	$14
   3	Maine	$29,268	$14
   4	New York	$29,015	$14
   5	California	$27,492	$13
   6	Washington	$27,465	$13
   7	Maryland	$26,965	$13
   8	Oregon	$25,689	$12
   9	Colorado	$25,673	$12
   10	Texas	$25,587	$12
   11	Illinois	$25,006	$12
   12	Utah	$24,640	$12
   13	Missouri	$24,318	$12
   14	Minnesota	$24,177	$12
   15	Arizona	$24,134	$12
   16	North Dakota	$22,936	$11
   17	Tennessee	$22,914	$11
   18	Hawaii	$22,876	$11
   19	Georgia	$22,821	$11
   20	Michigan	$22,322	$11

   Average food prep salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Grand Ledge High School	$38,798	$18.65
   2	Target	$36,762	$17.67	467
   3	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$35,177	$16.91	16
   4	Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital	$34,201	$16.44
   5	Bertucci's	$33,457	$16.09	1
   6	DoorDash	$33,107	$15.92	8
   7	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	$32,865	$15.80
   8	P&S Surgical Hospital	$32,636	$15.69	14
   9	Mercy Corps	$32,479	$15.61
   10	Massachusetts General Hospital	$32,351	$15.55
   11	FirstEnergy	$32,179	$15.47
   12	PCC Community Markets	$32,068	$15.42
   13	NBCUniversal	$31,959	$15.36	2
   14	Compass Group USA	$31,829	$15.30	5,234
   15	Nordstrom	$31,821	$15.30	4
   16	The Field Museum	$31,818	$15.30
   17	Hackensack Meridian Health	$31,816	$15.30	37
   18	BayCare Health System	$31,728	$15.25	2
   19	UC Health	$31,698	$15.24	5
   20	Trinity Health	$31,693	$15.24	67

4. Writing a food prep job description

   A food prep job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a food prep job description:

   Food prep job description example

   Spring Arbor Senior Living of Severna Park, MD is seeking qualified Food Service Prep team member responsible for preparing desirable and healthy foods for residents, team members and guests under sanitary conditions and the direction of the Food Service Director. Candidates should have the ability to work in a caring manner for residents and work well with co-workers to promote a team environment. This is a part time position with a consistent schedule of 8am to 4pm Tuesdays and Friday as well as every other weekend. Reliability is a must.

   Responsibilities

   • Prepare meals adhering to daily menus and modified resident diets
   • Serve meals and beverages to residents
   • Clean dining room, kitchen and items used to prepare and serve meals

   Just as a family makes a house a home, our family of dedicated professionals makes Spring Arbor a place where our residents feel loved, like an extension of the family. Spring Arbor has continued to build on its successes, owning and operating 24 senior living communities throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland. From Residential Assisted Living to Memory Care, our team nurtures each resident's independence by promoting dignity and choice in a setting of compassionate care. Join our team and work with us here. You’ll love it!

   As a progressive organization meeting the needs of a diverse workforce, in addition to the standard competitive benefits package we also offer 10 paid holidays as well as a paid birthday off, excellent health care benefits, and education assistance-to name just a few. To learn more about this exciting opportunity to join a great organization, visit www.springarborliving.com.

   Our company follows all CDC COVID-19 safety guidelines. Team safety and the care of our residents comes first! To join the Spring Arbor team, you must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. If there is a medical or religious reason preventing you from receiving an available COVID-19 vaccination, and you are selected as a candidate for consideration, we have an accommodations process in place to evaluate those requests.

   Spring Arbor Senior Living is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

   
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right food prep for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with food preps they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit food preps who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your food prep job on Zippia to find and recruit food prep candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with food prep candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new food prep

   Once you've selected the best food prep candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a food prep?