How to hire a food service specialist

How to hire a food service specialist, step by step

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

What does a food service specialist do?

Post a food service specialist job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the food service specialist you need to hire. Certain food service specialist 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

   A food service specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, food service specialists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents food service specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Food Service Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Food Service Specialist		$9-20
   Pastry Cook	The Pastry Cook's responsibilities include preparing quality pastry items such as breakfast items, desserts, breads, ice creams, creams, simple syrups, amenities, and others. They are also responsible for minimizing waste and maintaining control to attain forecasted food cost.	$12-21
   Line Cook	Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line... Show more	$12-19

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Preventive Maintenance
   • MOS
   • Customer Service
   • Cleanliness
   • Patients
   • Food Handling
   • ServSafe
   • Basic Math
   • Math
   • Sanitation Standards
   • Safety Standards
   • Strong Customer Service
   • Food Service Operations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Regulate temperatures of ovens, broilers, and grills.
   • Apply a vast number or USDA and USDC Standards/Specifications to determine compliance with contractual requirements.
   • Maintain a safe work environment for the preparation of food through sanitation and HACCP procedures.
   • Inspect prepared foods place on the serving line to ensure temperature and quality follow ServSafe protocols.
   • Utilize the techniques of roasting, broiling, frying, grilling, steaming, and baking.
   • Ensure that food purchase and procure for multiple units is in accordance with DOD and USDA standards and contractual documents.

   More food service specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the food service specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A food service specialist 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 service specialist in Mississippi may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level food service specialist. Additionally, a food service specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average food service specialist salary

   $14.08hourly

   $29,286 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level food service specialist salary

   $19,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average food service specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$44,070	$21
   2	California	$37,007	$18
   3	Minnesota	$36,293	$17
   4	Colorado	$34,460	$17
   5	Hawaii	$33,342	$16
   6	Oregon	$31,339	$15
   7	Maryland	$31,137	$15
   8	Nebraska	$30,507	$15
   9	Virginia	$29,122	$14
   10	Nevada	$28,899	$14
   11	Indiana	$28,114	$14
   12	Texas	$27,275	$13
   13	Utah	$27,199	$13
   14	Missouri	$26,414	$13
   15	North Carolina	$26,020	$13
   16	Oklahoma	$26,011	$13
   17	Arizona	$25,974	$12
   18	Arkansas	$23,970	$12
   19	Mississippi	$23,888	$11
   20	South Carolina	$23,757	$11

   Average food service specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Brookhaven National Laboratory	$72,940	$35.07
   2	Delaware State Government	$41,663	$20.03	3
   3	United States Institute of Peace	$39,270	$18.88
   4	San Diego College of Continuing Education	$37,862	$18.20
   5	Louisiana State Police	$36,125	$17.37
   6	PSEA	$35,382	$17.01	7
   7	East Alabama Health	$33,949	$16.32	3
   8	HonorHealth	$33,943	$16.32
   9	P&G	$33,065	$15.90
   10	DCH Health System	$32,813	$15.78	3
   11	SpaceX	$32,611	$15.68	6
   12	Gillette	$32,573	$15.66
   13	The State of Oregon	$32,149	$15.46	2
   14	Anderson Community Schools	$31,989	$15.38	2
   15	Avera Health	$31,782	$15.28	11
   16	HealthTrust	$31,721	$15.25
   17	HireLevel	$31,488	$15.14
   18	Prince William County	$31,378	$15.09	1
   19	Whole Foods Market	$31,280	$15.04	146
   20	Kelly Services	$31,249	$15.02	55

4. Writing a food service specialist job description

   A good food service specialist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a food service specialist job description:

   Food service specialist job description example

   It takes energy to keep the Army National Guard marching on, and that's where you take the lead. As a Food Service Specialist for the Guard, it's your duty to provide the sustenance your fellow Soldiers need to put their best foot forward and protect the nation.
   
   In this role, you will take care of all dietary and nutritional needs of fellow Soldiers, ensuring their ability to face the challenges before them. You'll learn how to plan and prep menus, how to prepare and serve food, and how to ensure food safety and facility sanitation, whether you're feeding 25 Soldiers or 2,500, in the field or in a fixed facility.
   Bake, fry, braise, boil, simmer, steam and saut as prescribed by Army recipes
   Operate, maintain and clean field kitchen equipment
   Perform preventive maintenance on garrison and field kitchen equipment
   
   Some of the Skills You'll Learn
   Standard and dietetic menus and recipes
   Food and supply ordering
   Storage of meats, poultry and other perishable items
   
   Helpful Skills
   Interest in cooking, home economics, health, mathematics, accounting and chemistry
   
   Through your training, you will develop the skills and experience to enjoy a civilian career in restaurants or organizations that have their own dining facilities. Depending on which specialty you pursue, you'll be able to pursue a career as a cook, chef, meat cutter, butcher, or baker.
   
   Earn While You Learn
   Get paid to learn! Join the Army National Guard and you will learn valuable job skills while earning a regular paycheck and qualifying for tuition assistance.
   
   Food Service Specialist job training requires 10 weeks of Basic Training, where you'll learn fundamental Soldiering skills, and nine weeks of Advanced Individual Training (AIT). Part of this time is spent in the classroom and part in the field.
   
   Benefits/Requirements
   
   Benefits
   Paid training A monthly paycheck Montgomery GI Bill Federal and State tuition assistance Retirement benefits for part-time service Low-cost life insurance (up to $400,000 in coverage) 401(k)-type savings plan Student Loan Repayment Program (up to $50,000, for existing loans) Health care benefits available VA home loans Bonuses, if applicable Most non-prior service candidates will earn between $200 and $250 per drill weekend, subject to change
   Requirements Military enlistment in the Army National Guard Must be at least a junior in high school, or have a high school diploma or a GED certificate Must be between the ages of 17 and 35 Must be able to pass a physical exam and meet legal and moral standards Must meet citizenship requirements (see NATIONALGUARD.com for details)
   
   Requires military enlistment. Programs and benefits are subject to change. Ask your Army National Guard recruiter for the most up-to-date information. Actual MOS assignment may depend on MOS availability.
   
   Other Job Information
   
   Job Category: Supply and Logistics
   Age Requirements: Must be between the ages of 17 and 35 Cook Chef Sous Line short order restaurant diner cafeteria restaurateur manager executive

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find food service specialists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any food service specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level food service specialists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting food service specialists 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.

   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 service specialist

   Once you've found the food service specialist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new food service specialist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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 service specialist?