Hiring a line cook: job description template and interview questions
Everything you need to post a line cook job and interview candidates: a template you can copy and edit, interview questions with what a good answer shows, and pay benchmarks from federal data.
Pay data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Job content: O*NET 31.0. Updated 2026-10-26.
Line Cook job description template
Copy this template and replace the parts in [brackets]. Keep only the responsibilities and requirements that are true for your job.
Line Cook
Location: [City, State or remote] · Schedule: [Full-time, part-time, shifts] · Pay: [$X to $Y per hour]
We are hiring a line cook to prepare dishes on our line to recipe and on time, keep a clean and organized station, and follow food safety standards. Kitchen experience is preferred; we will train the right person on our menu.
Responsibilities
- Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
- Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment, work surfaces, and serving areas, to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
- Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons.
- Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock.
- Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience.
- Coordinate and supervise work of kitchen staff.
- Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.
Requirements
- High School Diploma or the equivalent or equivalent experience
- Speaking skills
- Critical Thinking skills
- Monitoring skills
- Time Management
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Reliable attendance and availability for the scheduled shifts
What we offer
- [Pay range and how often you pay]
- [Benefits, such as health insurance, paid time off or an employee discount]
- [Training and growth, such as promotion paths]
How much to pay a line cook
The U.S. median annual wage for cooks, restaurant was $37,390 in May 2025 ($17.98 an hour). Pay differs a lot from state to state.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $13.80 | $28,700 |
| 25th | $16.35 | $34,010 |
| Median (50th) | $17.98 | $37,390 |
| 75th | $21.45 | $44,620 |
| 90th | $23.03 | $47,900 |
| Mean | $18.62 | $38,730 |
Line Cook salary in every state
Line Cook interview questions
- Which stations have you worked, and which is your strongest?
What to listen for: Honest detail about what they can actually run. - Ten tickets come in at once. How do you organize yourself?
What to listen for: Reading the board, grouping items, communicating with the expo. - How do you keep a dish consistent every time?
What to listen for: Following specs, measuring, tasting. - What do you do when you are running low on a prepped item mid-service?
What to listen for: Telling the chef early, not waiting until it is gone. - Walk me through how you prevent cross-contamination.
What to listen for: Separate boards, handwashing, storage order, temperatures. - Tell me about a time a plate was sent back. What did you do?
What to listen for: No ego, fixing it fast, learning from it. - How do you leave your station at the end of a shift?
What to listen for: Clean, labeled, stocked for the next cook. - Can you work nights, weekends and holidays?
What to listen for: Realistic availability for restaurant hours.
Skills to look for
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Time Management
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Social Perceptiveness
Source: O*NET importance ratings for this occupation.
Hiring line cooks?
Post the job on Jobder, add an optional video of up to 45 seconds, and review applications one at a time with a yes or a pass. Free signup is open for job seekers and employers.
Hiring kits for related roles
- Fast Food and Counter Worker hiring kit
- Server hiring kit
- Bartender hiring kit
- Hotel Front Desk Clerk hiring kit
- Retail Sales Associate hiring kit
- Cashier hiring kit
Line Cook career guide · Line Cook salary by state
Sources and methodology
Wage and employment estimates: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, cross-industry estimates for all ownerships. Figures are as published; BLS does not publish some estimates for some states. As defined by BLS, wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses, and exclude overtime pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and other premium pay. BLS OEWS
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Jobder has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET Database
Written and maintained by the Jobder team. Last updated 2026-10-26. Questions or corrections: support@jobder.pro.
Frequently asked questions
What should a line cook job description include?
A short summary of the role, the main responsibilities, the qualifications you actually require, the schedule, the location and the pay range. Listing pay helps candidates decide quickly, and some states and cities require pay ranges in job postings.
How much should I pay a line cook?
The U.S. median annual wage for cooks, restaurant was $37,390 in May 2025 ($17.98 an hour), and the middle half of workers earned between $34,010 and $44,620. Pay varies a lot by state, so check the state table before you set a range.
What are good interview questions for a line cook?
Ask about real situations the person will face on the job, and listen for how they think, not only for the right answer. The questions on this page each come with what a strong answer shows.