Line Cook
You notice your station is going to run out of a key prepped item halfway through a busy night. What do you do?
What the interviewer is looking for
- This question tests station setup and prep. Explains reading a prep list, setting up their station before service, and stocking enough to get through the rush.
- Strong answers: Telling the chef and expeditor early, getting help or prepping in a lull, and suggesting ways to avoid it with better par levels next time.
- Likely follow-up: How would you adjust your prep for the next shift?
Another way it may be asked: You only have enough sauce for ten more plates and there are thirty tickets coming. How do you handle it?
A structure to follow: Answer, explain, example, limits
- Step 1
Answer
Give your direct answer in the first sentence so the interviewer knows where you are going.
- Step 2
Explain
Say how it works or why you would do it that way, in plain words before jargon.
- Step 3
Example
Anchor it in something you have actually done or seen, with the detail that shows hands-on experience.
- Step 4
Limits
Say when your approach would not be the right one. It shows judgement.
This is guidance on shape, not a script. Use your own real experience and facts; never invent details to fill a gap. See the STAR guide and answer frameworks.
Common slips
- Reciting a definition without showing you have applied it.
- Using terms you cannot explain if asked a level deeper.
- Claiming experience beyond what you can discuss in detail.
How to practise it
Say the answer in 90 seconds, then answer the follow-up as if it were a new question.
Related questions
- You arrive for your shift and there is a prep list waiting. How do you get your station ready for service?
- How do you keep raw chicken from contaminating other food in the kitchen?
- What do you do to stay safe working around fryers, hot pans and sharp knives?
- Tell me about a time a chef or manager corrected how you were doing something. How did you respond?
- The printer spits out six tickets at once on your station. How do you organize and work through them?