Chef Interview Questions

Chef Interview Questions

In an interview for a position as a chef, you can expect to get questions about how passionate you are about food, your experience in a commercial kitchen, and your ability to work under pressure. A chef must also be a good leader, so expect questions about how you can lead a team in the kitchen.

Top Chef Interview Questions & How To Answer

Question 1

Question #1: Have you ever been responsible for updating a menu or creating your own seasonal menu?

How to answer
How to answer: The interviewer wants to get an idea of your experience with this question. Explain what type of menu you would create, making sure to tie the dishes in with the restaurant's theme and atmosphere.
Question 2

Question #2: Tell me about a time you handled a disappointed customer. What did you do, and what was the result?

How to answer
How to answer: This two-part question will give the interviewer some insight into how you deal with customers and your conflict resolution skills. You can first acknowledge that most chefs have food returned at some point in their career. Tell them how you calmly asked what the problem was and prioritized replacing the dish.
Question 3

Question #3: What is your signature dish?

How to answer
How to answer: The interviewer wants to get an idea of what type of chef you are with this question. Make sure to research the restaurant's menu before the interview and incorporate your signature dish to fit in the overall style of the menu.

9,002 chef interview questions shared by candidates

how long have you been a chef? what is your main dishes or culinary choice? Do you understand how to present food for client interest and tastes? Are you comfortable with creating dishes off the cuff? How comfortable are you with presenting your creations and then defending the ingredients or substituting ingredients per clients request.
avatar

Chef

Interviewed at Culinary Sales Support, Inc.

3
Sep 13, 2015

how long have you been a chef? what is your main dishes or culinary choice? Do you understand how to present food for client interest and tastes? Are you comfortable with creating dishes off the cuff? How comfortable are you with presenting your creations and then defending the ingredients or substituting ingredients per clients request.

managers and Chef asked "how many hours are you willing to give us"?? replied that I can do up to 70 hours a week pretty much without a change in high output production. After that number I may slow down a bit....they replied by simultaneous laughing...i ask; "what is funny in my reply"?? they say 70 hours a week would be an "easy" week...typical week is 80 hours and above...
avatar

Sous Chef

Interviewed at Bon Appétit Management

3.3
Dec 15, 2015

managers and Chef asked "how many hours are you willing to give us"?? replied that I can do up to 70 hours a week pretty much without a change in high output production. After that number I may slow down a bit....they replied by simultaneous laughing...i ask; "what is funny in my reply"?? they say 70 hours a week would be an "easy" week...typical week is 80 hours and above...

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