Sous Chefs are excellently skilled when it comes to preparing, cooking and presenting food. They’ll be able to help design and prepare a menu, as well as to guide a team to success during every shift in the kitchen. They’ll have the necessary confidence to stand in for the Head Chef if needed.
These are the Sous Chef skills your candidate should have:
• A certificate, qualification, or degree in the food industry.
• Experience crafting and cooking a variety of dishes.
• Excellent knowledge of food and kitchen safety.
• Basic level of management experience.
• High level of experience with kitchen equipment and tools.
Interviewing a Sous Chef
A Sous Chef can be the difference between a good restaurant and a great one. They will have input in all areas of the kitchen, whether it is taking note of supply levels, helping guide the team through the dinnertime rush, or pitching in and preparing dishes.
Their direct impact on the customer’s experience and ability to keep the kitchen calm and productive means that asking the right questions during the interview process is essential. So, we’ve assembled this guide to ensure you don’t miss any of these critical questions out.
As these questions are designed for use at the start of the process, they are kept quite general. As the candidate progresses through the stages, more business-specific questions may be needed.
How to open the job interview
Even the most skilled Sous Chef is bound to feel nervous during their initial interview. However, this can impact their interview performance. To combat this, you can ask a couple of lightweight opening questions at the start of the interview.
These opening questions are designed to get the conversation flowing, so you can assess the candidate’s skills and cultural fit in your company better.