What does a Line Chef do?
Line Chefs are in charge of cooking or preparing meat, vegetables, soup, and other ingredients according to area guidelines. Their responsibilities include managing and supervising kitchen staff, coordinating with fellow chefs, replenishing supply inventories, and setting-up cooking areas, ensuring adequate and high-quality ingredients. Among their other usual tasks involve cutting vegetables and meat, preparing sauces, and resolving issues should any arise. Moreover, they must maintain their designated area's cleanliness, all while enforcing and adhering to the health and sanitation standards.
Line chef responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real line chef resumes:
- 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.
- Collaborate with culinary team to create attractive and appetizing signature presentations as central component of catering events.
- Prepare and cook food at a high intensity culinary establishment using a newly acquire set of culinary techniques.
- Work broiler station preparing entr e proteins as well as LTO's.
- Prevent waste by returning food items not used to the designated storage area; cover and date perishables.
- Return all food items not used on next shift to design storage areas, being sure to cover/date all perishables.
- Investigate customer complaints and operate equipment, food expediter
Line chef skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Line Chefs are proficient in Kitchen Equipment, Sanitation Standards, and Food Handling. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Line Chefs that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Kitchen Equipment, 16%
Maintained strict safety standards and organized all kitchen equipment to maximize productivity.
- Sanitation Standards, 11%
Maintained and encouraged productivity, consistency, and acceptable safety and sanitation standards.
- Food Handling, 8%
Followed proper food handling methods and maintained correct temperature of all good products and consistently kept clean and safe environment.
- Customer Service, 8%
Collaborated with staff and management to provide superior customer service and creating an excellent dining experience.
- Cleanliness, 8%
Maintained highest level of cleanliness and sanitation
- Broilers, 7%
Line chef responsible for saute, fryer, and broiler.
"kitchen equipment," "sanitation standards," and "food handling" are among the most common skills that line chefs use at work. You can find even more line chef responsibilities below, including:
Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a line chef to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what line chefs do because "executive chefs and chefs who run their own restaurant need to know how to budget for supplies, set prices, and manage workers so that the restaurant is profitable." Additionally, a line chef resume shows how line chefs use business skills: "improved the reputation of the clubs ala carte business"
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling line chef duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "chefs must convey their instructions clearly and effectively to staff so that patrons' orders are prepared correctly." According to a line chef resume, here's how line chefs can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "make sure the proper communication is maintained between the kitchen staff and the wait staff regarding food orders. "
Creativity. This is an important skill for line chefs to perform their duties. For an example of how line chef responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "chefs and head cooks need to develop and prepare interesting and innovative recipes." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a line chef: "ensured fresh produce was available inspected kitchen cleanliness monitored food temperatures maintained and ordered inventory".
Leadership skills. line chef responsibilities often require "leadership skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "chefs and head cooks must be able to motivate kitchen staff and to develop constructive and cooperative working relationships." This resume example shows what line chefs do with leadership skills on a typical day: "worked to provide the highest quality of customer service developed strong communication skills through interacting with customers and other employees leadership:"
Time-management skills. Another crucial skill for a line chef to carry out their responsibilities is "time-management skills." A big part of what line chefs relies on this skill, since "chefs and head cooks must ensure efficiency in meal preparation and service, especially during busy hours." How this skill relates to line chef duties can be seen in an example from a line chef resume snippet: "use all kitchen equipment to complete tasks on time. "
Dexterity. Another skill commonly found on line chef job descriptions is "dexterity." It can come up quite often in line chef duties, since "chefs and head cooks need agility to handle knives properly for cutting, chopping, and dicing." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day line chef responsibilities: "provided hands-on expertise in areas that included menu planning, cost control and analysis, staffing, budgeting, and marketing. "
The three companies that hire the most line chefs are:
- Compass Group USA52 line chefs jobs
- University of Rochester18 line chefs jobs
- Caesars Entertainment15 line chefs jobs
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Compare different line chefs
Line chef vs. 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. Also, they coordinate and prepare all snacks and meals at a distinct facility as well as supervise the performance of food service specialists and student assistants in preparing food. Qualifications for the job include agility and physical strength to lift and reach kitchen materials and supplies as well as working in a hot environment while standing for a long period.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, line chef responsibilities require skills like "broilers," "chefs," "mix ingredients," and "steam meats." Meanwhile a typical food service coordinator has skills in areas such as "meal preparation," "food safety," "servsafe," and "cash handling." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Food service coordinators really shine in the media industry with an average salary of $33,827. Comparatively, line chefs tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $28,064.The education levels that food service coordinators earn slightly differ from line chefs. In particular, food service coordinators are 3.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a line chef. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Line chef vs. Food service associate
A food service associate performs fundamental functions in the food industry. Food service associates prepare and serve food items. They cater to special events, which involve facility preparation, food presentation maintenance, and setting up tables. Their duties include cleaning preparation and service equipment. They restock the work stations for the essential supplies. The skills they need to perform their job include customer service, teamwork, work with diverse cultural, ethnic, and academic backgrounds, and learn safety and health regulations.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real line chef resumes. While line chef responsibilities can utilize skills like "broilers," "chefs," "mix ingredients," and "steam meats," food service associates use skills like "excellent interpersonal," "math," "basic math," and "food trays."
On average, food service associates earn a higher salary than line chefs. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, food service associates earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $33,477. Whereas line chefs have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $28,064.In general, food service associates achieve similar levels of education than line chefs. They're 1.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Line chef vs. 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. Moreover, a chef de cuisine leads and empowers staff to reach the kitchen's daily goals while implementing health standards and regulations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from line chef resumes include skills like "patients," "chefs," "mix ingredients," and "steam meats," whereas a chef de cuisine is more likely to list skills in "menu development," "food safety," "food service," and "wine. "
Chef de cuisines earn the highest salary when working in the hospitality industry, where they receive an average salary of $53,893. Comparatively, line chefs have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $28,064.chef de cuisines typically earn similar educational levels compared to line chefs. Specifically, they're 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Line chef vs. Chef de partie
A Chef De Partie is responsible for supervising a section of the kitchen, such as pastry, butchery, fish, or sauces. They enforce strict health and hygiene standards.
Types of line chef
Updated January 8, 2025
