Hiring a chef is one of the highest-stakes decisions a venue makes. The right person transforms your kitchen. The wrong one costs you months of problems, team turnover, and in the worst cases, your food reputation.
The difference usually comes down to how thoroughly you ran the process.
Before You Post: Be Honest About What You're Hiring For
The most common mistake in chef hiring is advertising a role without being specific about what it involves. Before you write a word of the ad, answer these:
What's the kitchen's actual level? A chef who thrives in a 50-seat neighbourhood café is not the same as one who can run a 200-seat hatted restaurant. Be honest with yourself about the complexity of your operation.
What does the role span? Is this person responsible for menu creation? Ordering? Managing junior staff? Or are they executing someone else's food? A chef who loves creating menus will leave a purely execution-focused role within three months.
What are the three to five non-negotiable skills? For a head chef: menu costing, managing a team of 4+, fine dining technique at pace. For a CDP: running a grill section independently, mise en place management, training commis. Know what matters before you start reading resumes.
What's the actual pay? Put it in the ad. Chefs are in demand. They skip listings that say "competitive salary" because they've learned it usually means below market.
Writing the Chef Job Ad
A strong kitchen job ad includes:
- Exact title — "Head Chef" not "Passionate Kitchen Leader"
- Venue type and style — "Modern Australian, 80 seats, 2 sittings Friday–Saturday, 1 sitting Tuesday–Thursday"
- Cuisine and expected covers — "We do 120–150 covers on a Saturday service"
- Salary or hourly rate — always
- Required qualifications — Cert III, specific years, specific roles
- What you offer — team size, rostered days off, super, learning opportunities
- Your hiring process and timeline — when do you want someone to start?
What to Look for in a Chef's Resume
Experience depth vs. breadth: A chef with three years at one quality venue is often more reliable than someone who's been at six venues in three years. But context matters — a structured development path (commis → CDP → sous) across multiple venues is a good story.
Short tenures: Ask about them directly, without judgment. Some have valid reasons (venue closed, contract role, family circumstances). Some reveal instability.
Specificity in how they describe their roles: The best chef resumes are precise: "Ran the hot larder section at [Venue], managing mise en place and service for 150 covers Monday–Saturday." Vague resumes — "responsible for kitchen duties" — often reflect limited experience or limited awareness of what makes kitchens work.
The Phone Screen: 10 Minutes That Save 2 Hours
Do a brief phone screen before anyone comes in face-to-face. Cover:
- Their current situation (notice period, why they're leaving)
- The specific kitchens they've worked in and their exact role
- Availability
- Salary expectations — confirm there's no gap before you invest more time
A chef who can't communicate clearly about their own experience on a phone call will often struggle to communicate clearly in a kitchen.
Face-to-Face Interview: What to Ask
"Walk me through a typical Saturday service at your current or most recent venue."
This reveals real-world experience better than any abstract question. You want to hear about volume, their specific responsibilities, how they handled problems, and how the kitchen was structured.
"Tell me about the most challenging service you've worked and how you handled it."
You're looking for composure, problem-solving, and self-awareness. Candidates who blame others or describe chaos without any resolution are red flags.
"How do you approach a new menu or a seasonal change?"
For a head chef, this reveals their creative process, how they think about cost, and how they bring the team along. For a CDP, it reveals their interest in the craft beyond their section.
"What's the biggest mistake you've made in a kitchen and what did you learn from it?"
The answer tells you almost everything about character and self-awareness. A candidate who can't name a genuine mistake is either inexperienced or not someone you want running your kitchen.
"What's your approach to food cost and managing waste?"
Any chef at CDP level or above should be able to speak to this with specificity. If a head chef candidate can't tell you roughly what food cost percentage they target in their current kitchen, that's a concern.
"What would you want to understand about this kitchen before you decide to take the role?"
Good chefs have standards. The ones who ask good questions — about team structure, supplier relationships, current food cost, why the previous chef left — are showing the same diligence you want them to apply in your kitchen.
The Trial Shift: The Most Important Part
A great interview doesn't guarantee a great kitchen performance. The trial shift is where you find out.
How to run it properly:
- Brief the candidate beforehand — what will they be working on? What do you want to see?
- Put them in a realistic environment — a quiet prep shift isn't enough. You want to see some pressure.
- Assign them to a section they know — don't set a trap. You want to see their real capability.
- Pay them — trial shifts must be paid at the applicable award rate under the Fair Work Act. Unpaid trial shifts are illegal.
- Observe without hovering — give them space to work. Watch how they treat junior staff, how they organise their station, how they handle a mistake.
- Brief your existing team — tell your kitchen staff it's a trial so they treat the candidate fairly and you can get honest feedback afterward.
After the trial, ask your existing team. The people who'll be working alongside this person every day have a more useful read on fit than the person who ran the interview.
Red Flags Worth Knowing
They don't ask any questions. A chef who doesn't ask about the team, the equipment, the suppliers, or why the previous person left either isn't interested or isn't thinking clearly about what they're walking into.
They can't explain their food cost. For a head chef role, this is disqualifying. If a chef has been running a kitchen and can't describe the food cost percentage they target, you're taking on a financial risk.
They speak poorly about previous employers. Consistent complaints about past venues signal poor professional relationships. Every chef has worked in difficult kitchens — how they talk about those experiences is the signal.
Vagueness about specific techniques or responsibilities. "I did a bit of everything" in response to direct questions is a yellow flag. Experienced chefs can speak precisely about what they owned in a kitchen.
They haven't looked into your venue. A serious head chef or sous chef candidate should have researched your kitchen. Someone who clearly knows nothing about your food style or reputation isn't genuinely interested.
Making the Offer
The best chefs have multiple offers. If you've decided this is the right person, move quickly.
Be specific and put it in writing:
- Role title
- Start date
- Hours and roster
- Salary and superannuation
- Trial period (if any) and review date
- Reporting structure
A slow offer process in a tight market loses candidates.
Post your kitchen role on Tavro — salary shown on every listing, and every applicant has a verified profile with their experience, certifications, and availability upfront.