How to hire a food preparer

How to hire a food preparer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step food preparer 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 preparer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new food preparer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a food preparer do?

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

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the food preparer you need to hire. Certain food preparer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   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 preparer 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of food preparers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Food Preparer	Description	Hourly rate
   Food Preparer	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.	$9-17
   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
   Line Server	A line server is responsible for assisting the guests with their needs to ensure an overall satisfying dining experience with the highest quality service. Line servers take and verify guests' orders, provide recommendation for orders, respond to the guests' inquiries regarding the menu, manage the food preparation and serving, assist guests with additional requests, and ensure strict adherence to the sanitary standards and hygienic procedures at all times... Show more	$10-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Food Handling
   • Work Ethic
   • Food Products
   • Kitchen Utensils
   • Safety Standards
   • Customer Service
   • Cleanliness
   • Basic Math
   • Food Service
   • Beverage Products
   • Sanitation Standards
   • Groceries
   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Display Cases

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maintain cleanliness, organization and time management of order preparation, customer service
   • Follow closing procedures and maintain cleanliness of food preparation area and bathrooms.
   • Operate on a POS system, and would prep and serve food.
   • Clean fryers daily, closing shop with overhaul of cleaning routines and stocking freezers.
   • Operate a variety of commercial cooking equipment including grills, deep fryers, and ovens.
   • Clean and sanitize workstations, utensils and equipment according to sanitation guidelines.

   More food preparer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the food preparer job description is a good way to get more applicants. A food preparer salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a food preparer in West Virginia may be lower than in New Hampshire, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level food preparer. Additionally, a food preparer with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average food preparer salary

   $13.33hourly

   $27,717 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level food preparer salary

   $20,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average food preparer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$32,191	$15
   2	Massachusetts	$31,996	$15
   3	Vermont	$31,089	$15
   4	California	$30,898	$15
   5	Minnesota	$28,390	$14
   6	District of Columbia	$28,375	$14
   7	Wisconsin	$27,745	$13
   8	North Carolina	$27,464	$13
   9	Michigan	$26,740	$13
   10	Tennessee	$26,441	$13
   11	Hawaii	$26,364	$13
   12	Ohio	$25,414	$12
   13	Illinois	$25,350	$12
   14	Virginia	$22,980	$11
   15	Texas	$22,753	$11
   16	Mississippi	$22,393	$11
   17	Florida	$22,289	$11
   18	Oklahoma	$21,652	$10
   19	Georgia	$20,668	$10

   Average food preparer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Mount Sinai Health System	$32,713	$15.73	10
   2	Whole Foods Market	$31,785	$15.28	148
   3	Sysco	$29,602	$14.23	5
   4	BJ's Wholesale Club	$29,221	$14.05
   5	Kelly Services	$29,212	$14.04	48
   6	SusieCakes Bakery	$29,181	$14.03
   7	HMSHost	$28,431	$13.67	26
   8	Samaritan Healthcare	$28,361	$13.64	4
   9	PeopleReady	$28,322	$13.62	35
   10	The Reserves Network	$28,128	$13.52	3
   11	Adecco	$28,084	$13.50	8
   12	PSEA	$28,083	$13.50	7
   13	Dream Dinners	$27,845	$13.39
   14	Delaware North	$27,283	$13.12	46
   15	Culver's	$27,267	$13.11	229
   16	Randstad North America, Inc.	$26,927	$12.95
   17	Buffalo Wild Wings	$26,551	$12.76	94
   18	LSG Sky Chefs	$26,472	$12.73	6
   19	Gate Gourmet Inc	$26,437	$12.71	6
   20	Northern Lights	$26,162	$12.58

4. Writing a food preparer job description

   A food preparer 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a food preparer job description:

   Food preparer job description example

   Food Preparer E- Food Service- Mount Sinai Hospital-Part Time/Days - 2802226) Description Strength Through Diversity
   Ground breaking science. Advancing medicine. Healing made personal.
   The Food Preparer 'E' assists Butchers in preparing and apportioning butchered meats, poultry and fish, maintains storage of food supplies, performs cleaning tasks.
   
   Roles & Responsibilities:
   
   Under direction of Butchers: Cuts, slices, grinds and apportions meats, poultry, fish and cheeses to be served to patients and employees. Uses such equipment as band saw, slicer grinder and various utensils.
   Stores food supplies, racks and hangs meats in refrigerator, rotates stock in refrigerators and ice boxes. Places bacon, ham, and sausage in pans. Obtains food from refrigerators as required.
   Cleans refrigerators, works areas, equipment and utensils. Follows safety and sanitary regulations.
   May perform work of Cook's Helper as assigned.
   
   Education:
   High School Diploma or GED
   
   Experience:
   0-1 year experience
   
   Strength Through Diversity
   The Mount Sinai Health System believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion are key drivers for excellence. We share a common devotion to delivering exceptional patient care. When you join us, you become a part of Mount Sinai's unrivaled record of achievement, education, and advancement as we revolutionize medicine together. We invite you to participate actively as a part of the Mount Sinai Health System team by:
   
   Using a lens of equity in all aspects of patient care delivery, education, and research to promote policies and practices to allow opportunities for all to thrive and reach their potential
   Serving as a role model confronting racist, sexist, or other inappropriate actions by speaking up, challenging exclusionary organizational practices, and standing side-by-side in support of colleagues who experience discrimination
   Inspiring and fostering an environment of anti-racist behaviors among and between departments and co-workers
   We work hard to acquire and retain the best people and to create an inclusive, welcoming and nurturing work environment where all feel they are valued, belong, and are able to professionally advance. We share the belief that all employees, regardless of job title or expertise, contribute to the patient experience and quality of patient care.
   
   Explore more about this opportunity and how you can help us write a new chapter in our history!
   
   Who We Are
   
   Over 38,000 employees strong, the mission of the Mount Sinai Health System is to provide compassionate patient care with seamless coordination and to advance medicine through unrivaled education, research, and outreach in the many diverse communities we serve.
   
   Formed in September 2013, The Mount Sinai Health System combines the excellence of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with seven premier hospitals, including Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai Brooklyn, The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Queens, Mount Sinai West (formerly Mount Sinai Roosevelt), Mount Sinai Morningside ( Formerly St Luke's), and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.
   
   The Mount Sinai Health System is an equal opportunity employer. We comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate, exclude, or treat people differently on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
   
   EOE Minorities/Women/Disabled/Veterans
   
   Shift : Part-time - Day JobPrimary Location : The Mount Sinai Hospital (New York-New York) Support ServicesBargaining Unit : SEIU 1199 at Mount Sinai HospitalSchedule Details : weekends, varied Department Name : Food Service - MSH

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right food preparer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting food preparers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 preparer

   Once you've selected the best food preparer 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.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new food preparer. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a food preparer?