ChefTalk.com › ChefTalk Cooking Forums › Professional Food Service Forums › Professional Chefs Forum › whats your test for line cooks????
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

whats your test for line cooks????

post #1 of 23
9/3/09 at 11:13am
Thread Starter 
when needing to fill a line postition i always have them make a hollandaise for me. I simple put all the ingedents on the line, but not together, and ask them to make me a hollandaise. I am sooooo suprised at how many cooks aplying for a line cooks job at a country club can't even make this basic sauce. this seems to weed out the bad ones pretty quick.......whats your tricks???
Reply
post #2 of 23
9/3/09 at 12:01pm
I actually like that idea.

I asked one of my fellow cooks one time to go to the cooler to gather the ingredients for hollandaise. She returns with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, etc. but no eggs or butter

Our Chef shows potential employees around the kitchen, pointing out where everything is. Then they get 3 random proteins and have to make 3 dishes.
Reply
post #3 of 23
9/3/09 at 12:11pm
No tricks, just see how they perform on the line.

But, I once interviewed a guy that went on and on about their extensive knowledge in Greek foods from their years and years of cooking in New York.
Worked in a Greek restaurant and could do anything, blah blah blah.

I said "Oh, so you must know how to make Spina Bifida?".

His reply? "Oh, no, someone else always did that".

He wasn't hired.
Reply
post #4 of 23
9/3/09 at 12:46pm
My experience was just see how they do on the line, too. Some of my best had very little experience but the quickness and desire to learn was there. I liked teaching them "my way"...cause some of the 'experienced" ones had a few really bad habits that were even harder to undo.
Reply
post #5 of 23
9/3/09 at 1:45pm
Here in Florida first test I give is a drug test Most applicants fail( 5 out of 6 last year)
Good thing you didn't ask him to make Stanakopita, or Pastassio or Dolmas:chef:

They did not serve that where he worked!:crazy:
Reply
post #6 of 23
9/3/09 at 2:33pm
We give all applicants a drug test too.
I would prefer that they were given an I.Q. test, but that's not my call.
:D

P.S. - I hope you know that I know how to actually pronounce and spell spanakopita
Reply
post #7 of 23
9/3/09 at 5:06pm
I ask them to make me eggs over easy, eggs over medium, and an
omelet.....pretty much tells me if they can cook....once a high paced
breakfast job is mastered, you can pretty much teach them the rest.
I continue to be amazed by the amount of cooks that cannot toss eggs or
cook breakfast. Most think its beneath them and a low skill position, until the
try it.
Reply
post #8 of 23
9/3/09 at 5:35pm
mystery basket. i provide 2 or 3 proteins, 1 type of pasta, usually 2 weird ingedients , for example i love to give people leechies cause no one knows what to do with them, lol. i give them the run of the pantry and 1 hour to impress me. i need 3 courses. also i don't expect people to wear a suit to an interview, but i expect people to dress like they want a job from me. finger nails must be clean. look me in the eye. during the practical i watch knife skills, understanding of basic techniques, prep area cleanliness and time management. if you pass all that, then i'll hire someone on a probationary basis. my turn over rate is very low because i hire the right people at the very beginning and don't bother to waste my time with the wanna be's.
Reply
post #9 of 23
9/3/09 at 6:59pm
For a "line cook", I'm looking for:
  • Good sanitation practices
  • Ability to follow directions
  • knowledge of basic cooking skills
  • a history of "on-time" performance
Of course, they must:
  • pass a drug test
  • have the documentation necessary to complete an I-9
Then an oral interview and, if all of the above is satisfactory, I "might" set up a practical exercise to further demonstrate their abilities to do what we require.

Once that is done, we check references, and we DO check!
Reply
post #10 of 23
9/4/09 at 3:57am
I'm a line cook and I didn't have to do a drug test (mind you I'd have passed if I had to do one I don't do drugs) and what got me my position was performance based. I work in a breakfast place and I am one of the few people who do the egg station and do it well. (and it's ironic because I am very allergic to eggs... I can handle them just not ingest them) I had to train people this week on eggs and the one I thought would be the better on the station was the worst. He has been to culinary school so I thought he'd do well with presentation but I was mistaken.. while he knew how to make eggs, his inexperience on a hot line did show. He will in time overcome that but I was surprised by it because I didn't expect that from him.
Reply
post #11 of 23
9/4/09 at 4:01am
I think eggs are the hardest to do and do well. I was the only cook at the last place I worked at and eggs were on our menu but not easy, well etc.. they were part of a breakfast sandwich or wrap and they were all simply fried eggs. Now that I cook at a breakfast place and I am the only one who was trained for eggs that is still employed there I know how challenging eggs can be. They're easy enough to cook and also too easy to screw too.. if I had a dollar for every yolk that I broke I'd be retired now!:chef:
Reply
post #12 of 23
9/4/09 at 6:18am
I've been saying this for years.
It's not a glamorous job, it's not promoted on the food channel, so the up and comers think it's not a skillset they need, and they do indeed turn their noses up at it.

It's amazing how many people make a living out of cooking eggs poorly.
I'm always impressed when I go out and see some talent reflected in the eggs I receive.
I've always felt that I can train more people more easily to do lunch or dinner, but when I find a qualified breakfast cook, I try to hang on to them.
Reply
post #13 of 23
9/4/09 at 1:05pm
I really like doing breakfasts even though my station gets killed on weekends. Guaranteed I am busy from 9am right up untul 2pm every day but it does make the shift go by much faster for sure.
Reply
post #14 of 23
9/5/09 at 5:36pm
When I find a breakfast cook that shows up every day, and shows up sober, I do all I can to hang on to 'em!:lol: I don't mind running a man short for lunch or dinner or getting called in on a day off, but getting a call at 6:15 am because the am cook didn't show will definitely chap my arse.
Reply
post #15 of 23
9/6/09 at 2:34pm
That would bug me too! One thing about being a breakfast cook is the ability to get up early and be productive at such an early hour. I'm not saying that they shouldn't drink or whatever, but they have to quit earlier than most other people would.
Reply
post #16 of 23
9/8/09 at 2:32pm
I love eggs and they are in fact the basis of a great chef. If you can not master eggs you are not a chef.
Reply
post #17 of 23
9/8/09 at 2:49pm
One thing that goes a long way with making "good" eggs is a properly seasoned grill!! I do eggs well (I am on the egg station at work) and on Saturday my eggs were sucking monkey butt and I had a ton of remakes because my grill was not seasoned properly by the opener! I opened yesterday and today.. properly seasoned the grills and guess what... I was sending out some hot looking eggs!
Reply
post #18 of 23
9/8/09 at 6:23pm
I usually just get them to peel and cook some vegetables, sort through salad greens, and cook staff meal.

Can usually get a pretty good idea of how they work/cook from watching them do these simple tasks. Unfortunately, it's also disappointing how poorly some cooks do these tasks (make a mess peeling vegetables, cook them wrong, can't sear meat, etc...). If I don't want to kill myself watching them peel vegetables or sort greens, it's a start. At least then they can be somewhat useful in a kitchen...

Likewise, in the pastry kitchen, I get them to crack eggs and scale ingredients. If they can do that, again, they might be useful...

Personally, I could care less how well someone does a complex recipe/technique. I can teach that. You can't always teach work ethic and attention to detail.
Reply
post #19 of 23
9/10/09 at 9:23am
why is a drug test so important?
i mean if you're able to work well, be promt on time, and know your cooking. then why should the fact that someone partakes be an issue for hire?
Reply
post #20 of 23
9/10/09 at 9:42am
Because if you get hurt on job, many places now do a spot drug test. If you are found to be under the influence, there is no work -mans comp payments or benefits to you, and you can't hold anyone responsible. By giving pre -drug test employees insurance rate is also cheaer.

Also I never ran across anyone who was under influence that I could not spot by actions, temperament or some other tell-tale trait. and I am not a Doctor or authority.:chef:
Reply
post #21 of 23
9/10/09 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
first, this thread really was'nt about drug testing but about what test do you have for someones competency........and second, for gods sake use your brian man, this is all about liability and sure you may be able to do things right for a while but it will catch up to you.....
Reply
post #22 of 23
9/10/09 at 11:48am
Because all of those things rarely go hand in hand.
Maybe short term, but not long term.
Anyone who thinks differently is kidding themselves.

I should tell you that I used to "partake", and heavily so.
I even went through a period where I would, on a half hour break, drive 10 minutes home, take 10 minutes worth of bong hits, then 10 minutes back.
The first thing I'd do upon arriving back at work was to try to come down enough so I could function at the proper level.
I'm sure I didn't consistently achieve that.
Getting stoned also saps motivation.
I don't know how many pot smokers I've worked with that would, last minute, lose motivation to show up to work.
Let's not even get started on speed, it really takes a person out of their game.
Sure, at first it seems like they are dynamos, but shortly they can't even function at a low level without doing the drug.
Yeah, I speak from experience.
I was young and stupid once.

I'm older now.
Reply
post #23 of 23
9/10/09 at 1:34pm
I am glad that you are up front. Your past makes you who you are today. Everyone here has a past.

But going back to why this thread is here, I think making people do a sauce is terrific.
Its important to know who has a true knowledge of cooking.

Have someone make a crepe ..... (like on ****'s Kitchen) that will tell you alot.
Or fillet a fish, basic souffle ,a soft boiled egg........
www.quizrocket.com/cooking-quiz/ simple questions.


Petals
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Professional Chefs Forum
ChefTalk.com › ChefTalk Cooking Forums › Professional Food Service Forums › Professional Chefs Forum › whats your test for line cooks????