Free chef job description templates for small restaurants: chef, executive chef, sous chef, head chef, line cook, and pastry chef. Download 6 as one DOCX.
6 free templates by kitchen role. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
The chef job description is one most small restaurants copy from a generic template that was written for a hotel group, not a single-location kitchen. The versions online list grand executive-chef duties and skip what actually matters when an independent restaurant hires: titling the role for your size, the tip rules that exclude cooks and chefs from the front-of-house pool, and the food-safety certification your state requires. The result is a posting that attracts the wrong candidates at the wrong pay.
At FirstHR, we build for small businesses that hire without an HR department, and an independent restaurant hiring a chef is a textbook case: kitchen turnover is constant, the brigade titles are confusing, and the posting carries tip and food-safety stakes a generic template ignores. The six templates below cover the kitchen by role: chef, executive chef, sous chef, head chef, line cook, and pastry chef. Fill in the brackets and post. For the principles behind any posting, the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
TL;DR
Six free chef job description templates by kitchen role: Chef, Executive Chef, Sous Chef, Head Chef, Line Cook, and Pastry Chef. Download all six as one DOCX. A chef runs the kitchen, plans menus, leads staff, and owns food quality and cost, but the scope changes by title, so the posting should match the role to your restaurant's size and name it honestly.
What Is a Chef? What Does a Chef Do?
A chef oversees daily food preparation in a restaurant: planning menus and cooking dishes, maintaining food quality, supervising and training kitchen staff, managing inventory and food cost, and keeping the kitchen to food-safety standards. The federal classification, chefs and head cooks, describes the role as directing the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of food and overseeing kitchen staff and operations.
The scope changes with the title, which is the key thing for hiring. A line cook works a single station; a sous chef runs the line as second-in-command; an executive chef owns the menu, the budget, and the whole team. In a small restaurant the chef is hands-on every service. That range is why one generic template rarely fits, and why the six templates on this page split by kitchen role so the summary and duties match the actual job.
Chef Duties and Responsibilities
Chef duties and responsibilities center on four areas: food and menu, kitchen leadership, cost and inventory, and safety and compliance. The role shifts the weights, a line cook lives in food and station execution while an executive chef carries the cost and leadership load, but these four categories hold across nearly every chef role. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
Food and menu
Plan menus and develop dishes
Cook and plate to a consistent standard
Maintain quality, portioning, and recipes
Kitchen leadership
Supervise, train, and schedule staff
Run the line and expedite service
Build kitchen systems and standards
Cost and inventory
Manage food cost and labor cost
Order supplies and manage inventory
Control waste and vendor relationships
Safety and compliance
Maintain food-safety and sanitation
Meet health-code requirements
Keep the kitchen clean and safe
A strong posting grounds these in your specifics: the cuisine, the kitchen size, the volume, and who the role reports to. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Kitchen Roles: Chef to Line Cook
The kitchen brigade is a hierarchy, and titling a role correctly is what makes your posting accurate. Here is how the main kitchen roles differ, which decides which template you need.
Pick the template by the kitchen role and your restaurant's size. All six share the same skeleton, but each one emphasizes the duties, leadership, and pay basis that fit a specific role. Use this guide to choose.
Chef (Restaurant)
Small full-service restaurants
The base version for a small restaurant: running the kitchen day to day, menus, food quality, staff, inventory, and food-safety standards. Start here if no specialized version fits.
Executive Chef
Senior culinary leadership
The senior version: owning the menu, kitchen P&L, food cost, purchasing, and staffing. For an experienced chef who runs the business of the kitchen, not just the line.
Sous Chef
Second-in-command
The number-two version: running the line day to day, supervising cooks, managing prep and stations, and stepping up when the head chef is out.
Head Chef
Back-of-house lead, smaller ops
The kitchen-lead version for a smaller operation: hands-on cooking plus menu, team, and food-cost ownership. Close to executive chef, sized for a single location.
Line Cook
Station-level, high-volume hiring
The station version: setting up and cooking to order at an assigned station, to recipe and standard. The highest-volume kitchen hire and a strong culinary entry point.
Pastry Chef
Desserts and baking
The pastry version: developing and producing desserts and baked goods, plating, and pastry-station management, with its own recipes and certifications.
Title the Role for Your Size
The fastest way to choose is by the real job. One person running a small kitchen and cooking every service? Use Chef or Head Chef, not Executive Chef. A senior leader who owns the budget and a full team? Executive Chef. A strong number two running the line? Sous Chef. Station-level cooking? Line Cook. Desserts and baking? Pastry Chef. Once you pick, fill in the real duties, certifications, and pay range for your specific role.
6 Free Chef Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: job summary, key responsibilities, qualifications and certifications, and compensation and how to apply. Fill in the brackets and confirm your state food-safety rules before you post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
Chef, executive chef, sous chef, head chef, line cook, and pastry chef. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Chef (Restaurant)
The base version for a small restaurant: running the kitchen day to day, menus, food quality, staff, inventory, and food-safety standards. Start here if no specialized version fits.
[One or two sentences: your restaurant, your cuisine and concept, and the
kitchen team this chef will lead.]
JOB SUMMARY
[Restaurant Name] is hiring a Chef to run our kitchen day to day. You will
plan and prepare menu items, maintain food quality and consistency, manage
kitchen staff and inventory, and keep the kitchen running to food-safety and
sanitation standards. This is a hands-on leadership role in a [fast-paced /
high-volume / scratch] kitchen.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Plan menus and prepare dishes to a consistent standard
•Oversee daily kitchen operations and the line during service
•Supervise, train, and schedule kitchen staff
•Manage food and supply inventory and control food cost
•Maintain food-safety, sanitation, and health-code compliance
•Ensure plating, portioning, and quality standards
•Coordinate with front of house on timing and specials
•Keep the kitchen clean, organized, and safe
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Culinary experience in a professional kitchen
•Strong cooking, menu, and kitchen-management skills
•Knowledge of food-safety and sanitation standards
•Ability to lead a team in a fast-paced environment
•Able to stand for long shifts and lift [up to 50 lbs]
CERTIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED
•ServSafe or food handler certification [where required by your state]
•Culinary degree or apprenticeship a plus
•Experience in [your cuisine / concept]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year [+ benefits]
(National median for chefs and head cooks is about $60,990, per BLS.)
Schedule: __
To apply, email __ with your resume.
[Restaurant Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 2: Executive Chef
The senior version: owning the menu, kitchen P&L, food cost, purchasing, and staffing. For an experienced chef who runs the business of the kitchen, not just the line.
The number-two version: running the line day to day, supervising cooks, managing prep and stations, and stepping up when the head chef is out.
Sous Chef Job Description
SOUS CHEF JOB DESCRIPTION
Restaurant: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Executive Chef / Head Chef]
Employment type: [ ] Full-time
FLSA status: [ ] Exempt [ ] Non-exempt
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year
JOB SUMMARY
[Restaurant Name] is hiring a Sous Chef to be second-in-command in our
kitchen. You run the line day to day, support the head chef, manage prep and
stations, and step up when the chef is out. This is a hands-on leadership
role for a cook ready to grow into running a kitchen.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Run the line and expedite during service
•Supervise and train line cooks and prep staff
•Manage prep lists, stations, and mise en place
•Maintain food quality, plating, and consistency
•Step in as the lead when the head chef is off
•Help control food cost, waste, and inventory
•Enforce food-safety and sanitation standards
•Support menu execution and specials
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Line and station experience in a professional kitchen
•Leadership skills and the ability to run a shift
•Strong cooking fundamentals and speed under pressure
•Knowledge of food-safety and sanitation
•Able to stand for long shifts and lift [up to 50 lbs]
CERTIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED
•ServSafe or food handler certification [where required]
•Culinary training a plus
•Experience in [your cuisine / concept]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year [+ benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
[Restaurant Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 4: Head Chef
The kitchen-lead version for a smaller operation: hands-on cooking plus menu, team, and food-cost ownership. Close to executive chef, sized for a single location.
Head Chef Job Description
HEAD CHEF JOB DESCRIPTION
Restaurant: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Owner / General Manager]
Employment type: [ ] Full-time
FLSA status: [ ] Exempt (salaried)
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year
JOB SUMMARY
[Restaurant Name] is hiring a Head Chef to lead the back of house in our
[single-location / small] restaurant. You run the kitchen, the menu, and the
team, combining hands-on cooking with day-to-day kitchen leadership. This
role suits a chef who wants to own a kitchen at a smaller operation.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Lead daily kitchen operations and cook on the line
•Develop and execute the menu with ownership
•Supervise, train, and schedule kitchen staff
•Manage food cost, ordering, and inventory
•Maintain food-safety, sanitation, and health-code compliance
•Set quality, plating, and consistency standards
•Coordinate with front of house on service
•Keep the kitchen organized, safe, and efficient
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Strong professional cooking and kitchen-leadership experience
•Menu development and food-cost management skills
•Ability to lead and train a small kitchen team
•Knowledge of food-safety and sanitation standards
•Able to work a full kitchen shift on your feet
CERTIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED
•ServSafe or food handler certification [where required]
•Culinary degree or apprenticeship a plus
•Experience in [your cuisine / concept]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year [+ benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
[Restaurant Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 5: Line Cook
The station version: setting up and cooking to order at an assigned station, to recipe and standard. The highest-volume kitchen hire and a strong culinary entry point.
Line Cook Job Description
LINE COOK JOB DESCRIPTION
Restaurant: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Sous Chef / Head Chef]
Employment type: [ ] Full-time [ ] Part-time
FLSA status: Non-exempt (hourly)
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per hour
JOB SUMMARY
[Restaurant Name] is hiring a Line Cook to prepare and cook menu items at an
assigned station. You will set up your station, cook to order during
service, follow recipes and standards, and keep your area clean and safe.
This is a hands-on, fast-paced role and a strong entry into a culinary
career.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Set up and stock your station before service
•Cook menu items to order, to recipe and standard
•Maintain speed, quality, and consistency during service
•Follow plating and portioning standards
•Keep your station clean and follow food-safety rules
•Manage prep and mise en place for your station
•Communicate with the line and expo during service
•Break down and clean your station after service
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Cooking experience preferred; we will train the right person
•Speed, focus, and the ability to work under pressure
•Knowledge of basic food-safety and sanitation
•Strong team player who takes direction
•Able to stand for long shifts and lift [up to 50 lbs]
CERTIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED
•Food handler card [where required by your state]
•Prior line or prep experience
•Familiarity with [your cuisine / equipment]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per hour
(National median for cooks is about $17.19 per hour, per BLS.)
To apply, email __ or apply in person.
[Restaurant Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
Template 6: Pastry Chef
The pastry version: developing and producing desserts and baked goods, plating, and pastry-station management, with its own recipes and certifications.
Pastry Chef Job Description
PASTRY CHEF JOB DESCRIPTION
Restaurant / Bakery: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Executive Chef / Owner]
Employment type: [ ] Full-time [ ] Part-time
FLSA status: [ ] Exempt [ ] Non-exempt
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year
JOB SUMMARY
[Restaurant Name] is hiring a Pastry Chef to create and produce our desserts
and baked goods. You will develop the dessert menu, bake and plate pastries,
manage pastry prep and inventory, and maintain quality and food-safety
standards in the pastry kitchen.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Develop and produce desserts, pastries, and baked goods
•Create and update the dessert menu with the chef
•Bake, decorate, and plate to a consistent standard
•Manage pastry prep, recipes, and mise en place
•Order and manage pastry inventory and food cost
•Maintain food-safety and sanitation standards
•Coordinate dessert timing with the kitchen and service
•Keep the pastry station clean and organized
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Pastry or baking experience in a professional kitchen
•Strong baking, decorating, and plating skills
•Recipe development and consistency under volume
•Knowledge of food-safety and sanitation
•Attention to detail and creativity
CERTIFICATIONS AND PREFERRED
•ServSafe or food handler certification [where required]
•Pastry or culinary training a plus
•Experience with [your style / specialties]
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay range: $_____ to $_____ per year [+ benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume and a portfolio.
[Restaurant Name] is an equal opportunity employer.
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Chef qualifications weight cooking skill, leadership, and food-safety certification over formal degrees. Keep the requirements concrete, and separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves.
Weak requirement
Strong requirement
Cooking experience
Professional kitchen experience in [your cuisine]
Leadership skills
Supervises, trains, and schedules a kitchen team
Knows food safety
ServSafe or food handler certification per your state
Manages costs
Controls food cost and inventory to target margins
Culinary background
Culinary training or apprenticeship preferred, not required
Food-safety certification like ServSafe is often required by state, while a culinary degree is valued but not mandatory, since many chefs build their careers through experience. Keep the language neutral and job-related, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics. For a fuller framework, the SHRM guide to writing a job description covers the standard sections.
Chef Salary Benchmarks
Chef pay varies sharply by role, region, and establishment, but federal data gives a reliable center for setting a range before you write the posting.
Chef Pay Anchor (BLS, May 2024)
The median annual wage for chefs and head cooks was $60,990 in May 2024, about $29.32 per hour, with the lowest 10 percent under $36,000 and the highest 10 percent over $96,000. Employment is projected to grow 7 percent through 2034, much faster than average, with about 24,400 openings each year, and cooks earn a median of about $17.19 per hour (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Role drives the spread: an executive chef sits well above the median, a sous chef below it, and a line cook is paid hourly. These are the most recent confirmed federal estimates, useful as a baseline you adjust for your role and market.
Role
Pay basis
Benchmark reference
Executive Chef
Salaried
Above the chef median
Head Chef / Chef
Salaried
Around the $60,990 chef median
Sous Chef
Salaried or hourly
Below the chef median
Line Cook
Hourly
Around the $17.19 cook median
Pastry Chef
Salaried or hourly
Varies by operation
Hotels and resorts tend to pay above independent restaurants, so anchor on your segment and local market, set an honest range, and state it in the posting, since several states require it.
Hiring a Chef: Compliance
Two compliance points belong in every kitchen hire: food-safety certification and tip rules. Both affect the posting and the pay structure.
On food safety, many states require a food handler card for kitchen staff and a food manager certification, such as ServSafe Manager, for whoever runs the kitchen, often within a set window after hire. The ServSafe program from the National Restaurant Association is the common standard. List the requirement and your state's timeline in the posting, and build it into onboarding.
Cooks and Chefs Are Excluded From the Tip Pool
Under federal law, a valid tip pool that involves a tip credit cannot include employees who do not customarily receive tips, such as cooks, chefs, dishwashers, and janitors, and managers and supervisors can never keep employees' tips (U.S. Department of Labor). Pay your kitchen in wages and confirm the rules for your state.
How to Write a Chef Job Description
A strong chef posting takes about fifteen minutes once you settle the kitchen role, the duties, the certifications, and the pay. Here is the process the templates are built around. If you are building out your team, the small business hiring guide covers the steps around the posting itself.
1
Pick the kitchen role
Chef, executive chef, sous chef, head chef, line cook, or pastry chef, matched to the real role and titled honestly for your restaurant's size.
2
List the actual responsibilities
Name the concrete menu, cooking, leadership, cost, and food-safety duties for that role, not a generic list copied from a corporate kitchen.
3
State certifications and physical demands
List the food handler or ServSafe requirement and your state's timeline, and state the standing and lifting demands plainly.
4
Set pay honestly
Anchor on the BLS median of about $60,990 for chefs or $17.19 per hour for cooks, adjust for role and local market, and state the range.
5
Add a simple way to apply
Give one clear application step, and plan the offer, food-safety certification, and onboarding so you can move fast given constant turnover.
Hiring a Chef for a Small Restaurant
A hotel group hires chefs through an HR team and a leveled pay grid. An independent restaurant makes the same hire directly, usually the owner, and does it often given kitchen turnover. The posting also carries title, tip, and food-safety stakes a generic template ignores. Here is how to do it well.
Title the role for your size, because chef means different jobs
Chef titles map to a kitchen brigade built for large operations, and copying a corporate title onto a small restaurant misleads candidates. An executive chef at a hotel group owns a P&L and several outlets; at a five-table bistro, what you actually need is a head chef who cooks the line and also runs the kitchen. The fix is to title the role for your operation. If the chef will be hands-on every service, head chef or chef is more honest than executive chef, and it sets the right pay and the right expectations. Reserve executive chef for a genuine senior leadership role with budget and multi-station staffing, and use the variation here that matches the real job.
Know that cooks and chefs are excluded from the tip pool
Tip rules trip up a lot of small restaurants. Under federal law, a valid tip pool that involves a tip credit cannot include employees who do not customarily receive tips, such as cooks, chefs, dishwashers, and janitors, and managers and supervisors can never keep employees' tips. That means a salaried chef or a line cook generally is not part of the front-of-house tip pool when you take a tip credit on servers. Pay your kitchen with wages, not by routing them tips they are not eligible to share, and state the pay structure plainly in the posting. Getting this wrong is a common and expensive wage-and-hour mistake, so confirm the rules for your state and how you pay your tipped staff.
Plan food-safety and the fast onboarding before you post
Kitchen turnover is high, so you will hire cooks and chefs repeatedly, and the slow part is the paperwork and certification, not the interview. Many states require a food handler or food manager certification, often within a set window after hire, so build it into onboarding rather than discovering it later. Before you post, know how you will handle the offer, the I-9 within three business days, tax forms, the food handler or ServSafe requirement, and a quick orientation on your kitchen, recipes, and safety standards. A small restaurant without an HR department needs a simple, repeatable system that turns an accepted offer into a trained, certified cook on the line fast, because the kitchen cannot run a station short.
After You Hire: Onboarding a Chef
Chef onboarding combines standard new-hire steps with food-safety requirements, and a kitchen cannot run a station short, so getting a new hire productive fast matters. The basics come first: the offer with the pay stated, the I-9 completed within three business days, tax forms, and state new-hire reporting. Then come the kitchen-specific requirements: any food handler or ServSafe certification your state requires, and a quick orientation on your menu, recipes, equipment, and safety standards before the first full service. For the broader flow, the new hire paperwork guide covers the documents and the restaurant employee onboarding checklist covers the kitchen-specific version of the process.
FirstHR fits this directly: e-signature for the offer, I-9, and tax forms, document management for food handler cards and ServSafe certificates, training assignments with completion records for food-safety orientation, and an HRIS with an org chart and employee profiles to map your kitchen brigade, all built for restaurants without an HR department, which helps when you rehire for the same role often. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR; today the platform handles onboarding and document tracking once the candidate signs.
Key Takeaways
A chef runs the kitchen: menus, food quality, staff, cost, and food-safety standards, while a cook prepares food at a station.
Pick the role that fits and title it for your size: chef, executive chef, sous chef, head chef, line cook, or pastry chef.
For a small restaurant, head chef or chef is usually more honest than executive chef, which implies a senior role with a real budget and large team.
Cooks and chefs are excluded from a front-of-house tip pool when a tip credit applies, so pay the kitchen in wages and state the structure clearly.
Anchor pay on the BLS median of about $60,990 for chefs or $17.19 per hour for cooks, and adjust for role, segment, and local market.
Build food-safety certification like ServSafe into onboarding, and plan the fast offer-to-line process since kitchen turnover is constant.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a chef do?
A chef oversees the daily food preparation in a restaurant or other food-service operation. The core duties are planning menus and preparing dishes, maintaining food quality and consistency, supervising and training kitchen staff, managing inventory and food cost, and keeping the kitchen to food-safety and sanitation standards. In a small restaurant the chef is hands-on every service, cooking the line as well as leading it. The scope grows with the title: a line cook works a single station, a sous chef runs the line as second-in-command, and an executive chef owns the menu, the budget, and the whole kitchen team. In every version, the chef is responsible for what comes out of the kitchen and how the kitchen runs.
What is the difference between a chef and a cook?
The difference is leadership and responsibility. A cook prepares food, usually at an assigned station and to set recipes, and a line cook is the classic station-level role. A chef leads the kitchen: planning menus, setting standards, supervising and training staff, managing food cost, and owning what the kitchen produces. The federal data reflects this, classifying chefs and head cooks separately from cooks, with chefs earning substantially more because of the leadership and business responsibility. When you write a job description, decide whether you need someone to execute at a station, which is a cook or line cook, or to run the kitchen, which is a chef. Posting the right title attracts the right candidates and sets accurate pay.
What is the difference between an executive chef, a head chef, and a sous chef?
These are levels of kitchen leadership. An executive chef is the most senior, owning the menu, the kitchen budget and food cost, purchasing, and overall staffing, often across a larger or multi-outlet operation, and may not cook the line daily. A head chef leads the back of house and is common in smaller operations, combining hands-on cooking with kitchen leadership; in many small restaurants head chef and executive chef describe the same job. A sous chef is the second-in-command who runs the line day to day, supervises cooks, manages prep, and steps up when the chef is out. For a small restaurant, head chef or chef usually fits better than executive chef, which implies a senior role with a real budget and a large team.
What should a chef job description include?
A strong chef job description includes a clear job summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications and skills, any certifications, the pay range, and how to apply, all matched to the specific kitchen role. Because chef titles span line cook to executive chef, the most important step is to choose the level that matches the real job and title it honestly for your size. State the food-safety and certification requirements like ServSafe or a food handler card, the physical demands such as standing and lifting, and an honest pay range, since several states now require a range in the posting. The templates on this page are each written for a specific kitchen role so the summary, duties, and requirements match the actual job.
How much should I pay a chef?
Federal data gives a useful anchor. The median annual wage for chefs and head cooks was about $60,990 in May 2024, roughly $29.32 per hour, with the lowest earners under $36,000 and the highest over $96,000, and pay varies sharply by role, region, and establishment type. An executive chef sits well above the median, a sous chef below it, and a line cook is paid hourly, with cooks at a national median around $17.19 per hour. For a small restaurant, anchor on your local market and the specific role, set an honest range, and state it in the posting. Hotels and resorts tend to pay above independent restaurants, so adjust for your segment and market.
Do chefs and cooks get tips?
Generally no, not through the front-of-house tip pool when the employer takes a tip credit. Under federal law, a valid tip pool that involves a tip credit cannot include employees who do not customarily and regularly receive tips, which specifically includes cooks, chefs, dishwashers, and janitors. Managers and supervisors can never keep employees' tips under any circumstances. This means a salaried chef or an hourly line cook is normally paid in wages rather than tips when servers are on a tip credit. Some restaurants that pay the full minimum wage without a tip credit can include back-of-house in a pool, but the rules are specific. Pay your kitchen in wages and state the pay structure clearly, and confirm the tip rules for your state.
Does a chef need a certification?
A chef does not need a license to cook, but food-safety certification is often required. Many states require a food handler card for kitchen staff and a food manager certification, such as ServSafe Manager, for the person running the kitchen, frequently within a set window after hire. Beyond food safety, certifications and a culinary degree are valued but not mandatory; many chefs build their careers through experience and apprenticeship rather than formal schooling. When you post, list the required food-safety certification clearly, note your state's timeline for obtaining it, and treat culinary credentials as preferred. Build the certification into onboarding so a new hire is compliant before or shortly after starting on the line.
What happens after I hire a chef?
Once a candidate accepts, the hire moves into onboarding, which in a kitchen combines standard new-hire steps with food-safety requirements. The first steps are the offer and paperwork: the offer letter with the pay stated, the I-9 completed within three business days, tax forms, and state new-hire reporting. Then come the kitchen-specific requirements: any food handler or ServSafe certification your state requires, and a quick orientation on your menu, recipes, equipment, and safety standards before the first full service. FirstHR fits this directly: e-signature for the offer, I-9, and tax forms, document management for food handler cards and ServSafe certificates, training assignments with completion tracking for food-safety orientation, and an HRIS with an org chart and employee profiles to map your kitchen brigade, all built for restaurants without an HR department. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR; today the platform handles onboarding and document tracking once the candidate signs.
