How to hire a line chef

How to hire a line chef, step by step

Here's a step-by-step line chef hiring guide:

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

What does a line chef do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the line chef you need to hire. Certain line chef 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 line chef's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, line chefs 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.

   Here's a comparison of line chef salaries for various roles:

   Type of Line Chef	Description	Hourly rate
   Line Chef	Chefs and head cooks oversee the daily food preparation at restaurants and other places where food is served. They direct kitchen staff and handle any food-related concerns.	$8-17
   Food Service Coordinator	Food service coordinators are responsible for organizing the food preparation for a considerable section of a huge operation such as the bakery, catering, and pantry section. They arrange, prepare, and synchronize the preparation of main entrees... Show more	$11-20
   Chef De Cuisine	A chef de cuisine, also known as an executive chef, oversees a kitchen's daily operations in public and private establishments to ensure food quality and efficient services. Their duties require cooking and leadership skills because they involve leading menu development and meal preparation, coordinating staff, delegating responsibilities, selecting and sourcing ingredients, and handling customer issues and concerns promptly and professionally... Show more	$17-35

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Kitchen Equipment
   • Sanitation Standards
   • Food Handling
   • Customer Service
   • Cleanliness
   • Broilers
   • Culinary
   • Patients
   • Chefs
   • Mix Ingredients
   • Steam Meats
   • Dinner Service
   • Food Products
   • Safety Standards

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage food expo; facilitate food temp logs; creation of menu specials; management and supervision of production staff
   • Clean stoves, ovens, shrowds, floors, stainless steel tables.
   • Prepare food for special groups including those who have eating disorders or allergies.
   • Close down the kitchen after each shift, making sure all BOH staff follow closing checklist for kitchen stations.
   • Maintain highest level of cleanliness and sanitation
   • Maintain company and government standards of preparation, safety and cleanliness.

   More line chef duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average line chef salary

   $12.81hourly

   $26,651 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level line chef salary

   $18,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average line chef salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$40,183	$19
   2	New York	$38,082	$18
   3	Michigan	$37,848	$18
   4	New Jersey	$37,479	$18
   5	Pennsylvania	$36,573	$18
   6	Illinois	$36,342	$17
   7	Minnesota	$34,058	$16
   8	Ohio	$33,166	$16
   9	California	$32,834	$16
   10	Hawaii	$30,166	$15
   11	Oregon	$29,395	$14
   12	Nevada	$29,020	$14
   13	Colorado	$28,279	$14
   14	Maryland	$27,802	$13
   15	Virginia	$26,923	$13
   16	North Carolina	$25,521	$12
   17	Texas	$24,026	$12
   18	Georgia	$23,814	$11
   19	Florida	$22,209	$11
   20	Arkansas	$20,845	$10

   Average line chef salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Syracuse University	$45,043	$21.66	6
   2	Dartmouth	$43,035	$20.69	9
   3	Woodfield Country Club	$34,971	$16.81	2
   4	Catholic Health Care System	$34,675	$16.67	1
   5	Yale University	$33,920	$16.31	1
   6	Brown University	$33,900	$16.30	3
   7	Mount Sinai Health System	$33,846	$16.27	1
   8	Highmark	$32,522	$15.64
   9	Beaver Run Resort & Conference Center	$32,325	$15.54
   10	Northwell Health	$31,524	$15.16	9
   11	Napa County, California	$30,420	$14.63	1
   12	University of Rochester	$30,041	$14.44	24
   13	COUNTY OF MERCED	$30,041	$14.44
   14	Brandywine Living	$30,038	$14.44
   15	SHASTA COUNTY	$29,952	$14.40
   16	Westaff	$29,635	$14.25
   17	Trinity Health	$29,602	$14.23	64
   18	Marriott International	$29,568	$14.22	388
   19	Brinker International	$29,550	$14.21
   20	Compass Group USA	$29,360	$14.12	5,512

4. Writing a line chef job description

   A good line chef 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 line chef job description:

   Line chef job description example

   Apply Now! Join our Dynamic Team! Plus $500 Sign-On Bonus!
   
   

   Providence Place of Lancaster is seeking an experienced Line Chef to prepare wonderful scratch-made meals for 150 senior residents. Our goal is to delight residents with home-cooked meals, demonstration cooking, resident's recipes, cooking classes, local ingredients and other special treats. The Line Chef should be able to read and follow recipes to ensure consistency of product. Provides hands-on supervision for all aspects of food production. The Line Chef should be knowledgeable in every area of food preparation, presentation and shows leadership qualities. The Line Chef prepares and serves food items for either breakfast and lunch or dinner. The Line Chef assists with meeting or exceeding resident dining expectations!

   Hours:

   • Full Time: 10:30am - 7:00pm
   • Must be able to work EOW & EOH

   Critical Success Factors:

   • A passion for great, home-made meal
   • Great culinary skills and experience
   • Willing to help train others
   • Outstanding customer service
   • Able to work as part of a team

   Minimum Qualifications:

   • Previous Line Chef / Cook experience required.
   • Successful candidate will have an outgoing personality, solid communication skills and strong customer service orientation.

   Benefits:

   Generous Benefits Package including: Outstanding health insurance, Dental, Vision, Matching 401K, PTO, your Birthday as a Holiday, and much more!!

   EOE

   Other1

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right line chef 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 line chefs they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit line chefs 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 line chef job on Zippia to find and recruit line chef candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit line chefs, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 line chef

   Once you've selected the best line chef 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 also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new line chef first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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 line chef?