Six question sets for the sous chef hire, covering kitchen leadership, food safety, cost control, menu, and performance under pressure, plus a weighted scoring rubric. Built for small restaurant owners and chefs running the interview themselves. Download as DOCX.
Hiring a sous chef is not like hiring a line cook. A sous chef is your second in command in the kitchen: the person who runs the line, leads the cooks, holds the food-safety and quality standards, and takes over when the head chef is out. That makes the interview longer and the stakes higher, because you are hiring a leader, not just a cook. A generic question list misses what actually predicts success here.
At FirstHR, we build for the people who run their own interviews, including the small restaurant owner or head chef hiring a sous chef directly. These six question sets cover the role end to end: background and fit, kitchen leadership, food safety, cost control, and menu and pressure, with a weighted scoring rubric to compare candidates fairly. The interview, plus a trade test, is how you tell a real leader from a great cook who cannot run a line.
TL;DR
A sous chef is the kitchen's second in command: running the line, leading cooks, enforcing food safety, controlling cost, and stepping up for the head chef. Interview for leadership and food safety first, then cost, menu, and composure under pressure, and use a trade test as the final check. Pick the sets you need from six, ask for real examples, and score on a 1 to 5 rubric weighted toward leadership and safety. Pay is often salaried and may be exempt. Download six sets as DOCX.
What a Sous Chef Does
A sous chef is the second in command in the kitchen and the head chef's right hand. They run the line during service, supervise and train cooks, expedite tickets, enforce food-safety and quality standards, help control food cost and inventory, contribute to the menu, and run the kitchen when the head chef is away. The role is part cooking and part leadership, and a sous chef is expected to be one of the best cooks on the team.
The closest federal occupation is chefs and head cooks, who oversee daily food preparation and the kitchen team. In a small restaurant, the sous chef is often the floor leader the owner relies on most after the head chef, which is why this hire deserves a structured interview and a trade test rather than a quick conversation.
Sous Chef vs Line Cook: Why the Interview Differs
Before you interview, be clear on what you are hiring. A line cook and a sous chef share a kitchen, but the sous chef role adds leadership, standard-enforcement, and cost responsibility on top of cooking. That difference is exactly what your interview has to test, and it is why a sous chef interview is more involved than a cook's.
Dimension
Line cook
Sous chef
Core focus
Cooks their station to standard
Runs the line and owns the whole kitchen's output
Team
Works the line
Supervises, delegates, and trains cooks
Standards
Follows food-safety rules
Enforces food safety and quality for the team
Cost
Minimal cost responsibility
Helps control waste, portions, and ordering
Pay and status
Usually hourly, non-exempt
Often salaried, and may be exempt (see below)
You Are Hiring a Leader Who Can Cook
The most common mistake hiring a sous chef is treating it like hiring a senior line cook and judging mostly on cooking skill. A sous chef who cooks beautifully but cannot lead a line, train a cook, or hold a food-safety standard is the wrong hire for this role. Weight leadership and food safety alongside cooking, and use the trade test to watch both at once: how they cook, and how they carry themselves in your kitchen.
Sous Chef Duties to Interview Around
Sous chef duties cluster into four areas: leadership and line, food safety, cost and inventory, and menu and quality. A strong interview probes each with a real example, and a trade test lets you see several of them at once. Use this as the map for which questions matter most in your kitchen.
Leadership and line
Run the line and expedite during service
Supervise, delegate, and train cooks
Step up as the head chef's second
Food safety
Hold temperature and storage standards
Prevent cross-contamination on the line
Keep the kitchen inspection-ready
Cost and inventory
Control food cost, waste, and portioning
Order and manage inventory for stations
Protect margins without cutting quality
Menu and quality
Hold plate consistency to standard
Contribute to menu and specials
Keep quality up under service pressure
For a structured way to scope the role before you interview, the small business hiring guide walks through defining a position and running the process around the interview.
Which Question Set Should You Use?
Open with the general set, then use the leadership, food-safety, cost, and pressure sets to cover the full role. Most interviews pull from several sets in one or two conversations, followed by a trade test. Use this guide to choose, and ask the same questions of every candidate for the role.
General Sous Chef
Background and fit, start here
Opens the interview with experience, scope, and what makes the candidate a sous chef rather than a senior line cook: ownership of the line and the team.
Kitchen Leadership
Running the line and team
Tests how they run the line, delegate, train, and handle conflict. For a small kitchen, often the most important set, since the sous chef is your floor leader.
Food Safety and Sanitation
Non-negotiable
Probes temperature control, cross-contamination, and how they enforce standards when a cook gets sloppy. A weak answer here is a serious red flag.
Cost Control and Inventory
Protecting margins
Tests portioning, waste control, and ordering, the difference between a sous chef who only cooks well and one who protects your thin margins.
Menu and Pressure
Consistency when it breaks
Behavioral questions on menu contribution, holding consistency, and performing when a rush, breakdown, or 86'd ingredient hits mid-service.
Scoring Rubric
1 to 5, weighted
Rates five areas 1 to 5 with red flags, weighted toward leadership and food safety, so you compare candidates on evidence instead of a gut feeling.
Build the Interview From These Sets
A typical sous chef process: open with the General set, then dig into Kitchen Leadership and Food Safety, the two highest-weighted areas. Add Cost Control and the Menu and Pressure set to round out the picture. Score every candidate on the Scoring Rubric, weighting leadership and food safety, and finish with a trade test on the line. Pull what fits your concept and volume rather than asking all six sets in full.
6 Free Sous Chef Question Sets to Download
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual sets. Each follows the same structure: when to use it, the questions with good-answer notes, what to listen for, and space for notes. The scorecard adds weighted rating columns and red flags. Fill in the candidate details and use.
Download All 6 Sous Chef Question Sets
General, kitchen leadership, food safety, cost control, menu and pressure, and a weighted scoring rubric. All in one DOCX.
Set 1: General Sous Chef Question Set
Opens the interview with background, scope, and what makes the candidate a sous chef rather than a senior line cook: ownership of the line, the standards, and the team. Start here.
General Sous Chef Question Set
GENERAL SOUS CHEF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Candidate: __
Restaurant: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
HOW TO USE THIS SET
A sous chef is the second in command in the kitchen: the head chef's right hand who
runs the line, supervises cooks, holds food-safety and quality standards, and steps up
when the chef is out. That makes this interview longer and more important than hiring a
line cook. This set opens with background and fit. Ask 5 to 8 questions, probe each for
a real example, then use the leadership, food-safety, cost, and pressure sets and score
on the rubric.
BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
1. Walk me through your kitchen experience and your path to sous chef.
2. What size and style of kitchens have you worked in?
(Good answer: matches your volume and concept.)
3. What makes you a sous chef rather than a line cook? What do you own that they do not?
ROLE FIT
4. Describe a service you ran when the head chef was not there.
5. How do you work with a head chef? Where do you take direction and where do you lead?
6. Why this restaurant, and why this role for you right now?
JUDGMENT
7. Tell me about a time you stepped up beyond your job to save a service.
8. You join a small kitchen with loose systems. What do you fix first?
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Real second-in-command experience, not just senior line work
•Owns the line, standards, and the team, not just their station
•Works well under a head chef and leads when needed
•Steps up without being asked
NOTES
__
Set 2: Kitchen Leadership and Supervision Set
Tests how the candidate runs the line, delegates, trains, and handles conflict. For a small kitchen, often the most important set, since the sous chef is the floor leader you rely on.
Kitchen Leadership and Supervision Set
SOUS CHEF KITCHEN LEADERSHIP INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Candidate: __
Restaurant: __
Interviewer: __
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
Leadership is what separates a sous chef from a cook. This set tests how the candidate
runs the line, delegates, trains, and handles the people problems that come with a
kitchen team. For a small restaurant, this is often the most important set, because the
sous chef is the floor leader you cannot afford to get wrong.
QUESTIONS
1. How do you run the line and keep tickets moving during a rush?
2. How do you delegate stations and keep cooks accountable?
3. Two cooks are in a heated argument mid-service. What do you do?
4. How do you train a new cook to your standards quickly?
5. A cook keeps cutting corners on prep. How do you handle it?
6. How do you give feedback to someone older or more experienced than you?
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Calm, clear command of the line under pressure
•Delegates and holds people accountable
•Defuses conflict without losing the service
•Trains and gives feedback directly and fairly
NOTES
__
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
Automate documents, training assignments, task management, and track onboarding progress in real time.
Probes temperature control, cross-contamination, and how the candidate enforces standards when a cook gets sloppy. A weak answer here is a serious red flag for this role.
Food Safety and Sanitation Set
SOUS CHEF FOOD SAFETY AND SANITATION INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Candidate: __
Restaurant: __
Interviewer: __
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
A sous chef owns food safety on the line, so this is non-negotiable. This set tests
temperature control, cross-contamination, and how the candidate enforces standards when
a cook gets sloppy. A weak answer here is a serious red flag, because the cost of
getting it wrong is a health risk and your license.
QUESTIONS
1. Walk me through how you keep temperatures safe from delivery to service.
2. How do you prevent cross-contamination on a busy line?
3. A cook is not following a food-safety rule. What do you do, right then?
4. How do you handle a cooler going down or food held out of temperature?
5. What food-safety certifications do you hold?
(Good answer: a food-handler or manager certification.)
6. How do you keep the kitchen inspection-ready on a normal day, not just before one?
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Knows temperature control and cross-contamination cold
•Enforces food safety in the moment, not later
•Has a real plan for equipment and temperature failures
•Holds the standard every day, not just for inspections
NOTES
__
Set 4: Cost Control and Inventory Set
Tests portioning, waste control, and ordering, the difference between a sous chef who only cooks well and one who protects the thin margins of a small restaurant.
Cost Control and Inventory Set
SOUS CHEF COST CONTROL AND INVENTORY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Candidate: __
Restaurant: __
Interviewer: __
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
A sous chef helps protect your margins through portioning, waste control, and ordering.
This set tests whether the candidate thinks about cost, not just food. For a small
restaurant where margins are thin, a sous chef who controls waste and portions is worth
far more than one who only cooks well.
QUESTIONS
1. How do you control food cost and waste on the line?
2. How do you keep portions consistent across different cooks?
3. Walk me through how you would handle ordering and inventory for your stations.
4. Tell me about a time you cut waste or food cost. What did you do?
5. How do you handle a delivery that comes in short or wrong, mid-prep?
6. How do you balance food cost against quality when prices rise?
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Thinks in cost and waste, not just flavor
•Keeps portions consistent across the team
•Handles ordering and inventory responsibly
•Protects quality while controlling cost
NOTES
__
Companies Using FirstHR Onboard 3x Faster
Join hundreds of small businesses who transformed their new hire experience.
Behavioral questions on menu contribution, holding consistency, and performing when a rush, a breakdown, or an 86'd ingredient hits mid-service. Ask for specific past situations.
Menu, Consistency, and Pressure Set
SOUS CHEF MENU AND PRESSURE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Candidate: __
Restaurant: __
Interviewer: __
WHEN TO USE THIS SET
Service breaks things, and a sous chef has to hold quality and consistency anyway. This
set tests menu contribution, how the candidate keeps every plate to standard, and how
they perform when a rush, a breakdown, or a missing ingredient hits. Behavioral
questions here, asking for a real past situation, predict the job better than opinions.
QUESTIONS
1. How do you keep every plate consistent when the kitchen is slammed?
2. Tell me about a dish or menu change you contributed. How did it go?
3. A key piece of equipment fails mid-service. Walk me through what you do.
4. You 86 a main ingredient during a busy dinner. How do you handle it?
5. Tell me about the worst service you have been through. What happened and what did
you do?
6. How do you stay calm and keep the team steady when everything goes wrong at once?
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR
•Holds consistency and quality under pressure
•Contributes to the menu, not just executes it
•Has a real plan when equipment or stock fails
•Keeps the team calm and the service moving
NOTES
__
Set 6: Sous Chef Interview Scorecard
A weighted scorecard rating five areas 1 to 5, with a red-flag checklist, weighted toward leadership and food safety, so you compare candidates on evidence instead of a gut feeling.
Sous Chef Interview Scorecard (1 to 5)
SOUS CHEF INTERVIEW SCORECARD
Candidate: __
Restaurant: __
Interviewer: __
Date: _
HOW TO SCORE
Score each area from 1 to 5 right after the interview, while it is fresh. Anchor every
score to something the candidate actually said. If more than one person interviews, each
scores independently first, then compare. Use the same rubric for every candidate for
the role. For a sous chef, weight leadership and food safety most, since those are what
the role lives or dies on. A trade test or stage on the line is the best final check.
Rating scale:
5 = Strong, specific evidence 4 = Solid evidence 3 = Some evidence
2 = Weak or mixed evidence 1 = No evidence or red flags
SCORING AREAS (WEIGHTED)
Kitchen leadership (highest weight): runs the line, delegates, handles people
NOTE: Use the same questions, the same rubric, and a trade test for every candidate.
Consistent, evidence-based scoring is both fairer and easier to defend.
How to Ask: Real Examples and a Trade Test
The way you evaluate matters as much as the questions. Ask for a specific past situation, not an opinion, because anyone can describe an ideal kitchen in theory. Then probe, especially on leadership and food safety, and use a trade test to see the real thing: how they cook, organize, and carry themselves on your line.
After they answer, ask
What it reveals
Which service, and what did you do?
Real leadership versus rehearsed talk
What did you do when the cook ignored you?
How they actually enforce standards
What was your food cost, and how did you cut it?
Genuine cost awareness
Can you cook and run a station for us?
The trade test: the truest signal
If a candidate is fluent talking about leadership but vague on a real service they ran, or casual about food safety, treat that as a signal. The situational interview questions guide covers asking how someone would handle a hypothetical, which pairs well with the real-example questions and the trade test.
What to Listen For (and Red Flags)
Knowing what a strong answer sounds like is half the interview. Strong candidates describe real command of a line, treat food safety as non-negotiable, think in cost and waste, and stay steady when service breaks; weak ones are vague on safety, cannot describe leading a team, or fall apart recounting a bad service. Use this as a quick reference while you listen and take notes.
Signals of a strong sous chef
Real command of the line and the team
Treats food safety as non-negotiable
Thinks in cost, waste, and portions
Holds steady when service breaks
Red flags to watch for
Casual or vague about food safety
Cannot describe leading a team
No sense of food cost or waste
Falls apart describing a bad service
How to probe an answer
Ask for a specific service they ran
Ask exactly what they did, step by step
Ask how they handled a sloppy cook
Run a trade test or stage on the line
Keep it fair and consistent
Ask every candidate the same questions
Score against the same rubric
Anchor each score to real evidence
Use the same trade test for everyone
Leadership and Food Safety Are the Tells
For a line cook you weigh skill and speed. For a sous chef, weigh leadership and food safety just as heavily, because the role is responsible for the team and for standards that protect your guests and your license. A candidate who cannot describe leading a line, or who is casual about temperature and contamination, is showing you something important, no matter how well they cook. Let the full picture, especially the trade test, guide the decision.
Scoring Candidates With the Rubric
Score each candidate on the rubric right after the interview and the trade test, while it is fresh. A rubric does not remove judgment; it makes judgment consistent, so you compare candidates on the same evidence instead of a gut feeling. Rate each area from 1 to 5, weight leadership and food safety, and anchor every score to something the candidate actually said or did.
Scoring area
What a 5 looks like
Kitchen leadership (weighted)
Real command of the line and the team
Food safety (weighted)
Enforces standards in the moment, every day
Cost control
Thinks in waste, portions, and ordering
Menu and consistency
Holds quality; contributes to the menu
Performance under pressure
Stays steady when service breaks
If more than one person interviews, each should score independently first, then compare. The same questions, the same scorecard, and the same trade test for every candidate is the heart of a structured interview, and the scores feed a clean interview feedback step before you decide.
Sous Chef Pay and FLSA Classification
Sous chef pay generally falls in the mid-fifty to mid-sixty-thousands a year, and the role is often salaried. Whether it is exempt depends on duties, education, and pay, so do not assume. Set your range using government data as a baseline, then adjust for your concept and market.
Median $60,990 a Year for the Occupation (BLS, May 2024)
For the broader federal occupation of chefs and head cooks, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median annual wage of $60,990 in May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent under $36,000 and the highest 10 percent over $96,030. Sous chefs typically sit below the executive-chef end of that range, with pay highest in upscale restaurants and hotels.
Exempt or Not? Do Not Assume
Unlike a line cook, who is almost always hourly and non-exempt, a sous chef may be exempt. The U.S. Department of Labor has noted that chefs, including sous chefs, with a four-year culinary degree can meet the duties test for the learned professional exemption, while routine cooks do not. Exemption also requires meeting the salary-basis test, and sous chef pay can sit near that threshold, so confirm current federal and state rules and the role's duties before classifying.
The occupation is projected to grow about 7 percent through 2034, much faster than average, which keeps skilled kitchen leaders in demand. Benchmark to your local market and concept, and get the offer and classification right from the start.
Hiring a Sous Chef for a Small Restaurant
Plenty of sous chef hiring happens not at large restaurant groups but at a small, owner-operated restaurant, where the owner or head chef runs the interview personally between prep and service. That direct hire is different: no recruiter, a leadership role you cannot afford to get wrong, and a pay classification that actually matters. Here is how to do it well.
Most sous chef interview guides are written for big kitchens
A lot of sous chef interview content is written for large restaurants, hotels, and restaurant groups with a recruiter and a chef-led hiring panel. But plenty of sous chef hiring happens at a small, owner-operated restaurant, where the owner or head chef runs the interview personally between prep and service. These sets are written for that reality: the person closest to the kitchen running the interview directly, with a clear structure and a scorecard they can use without a dedicated recruiter.
A sous chef is a leadership hire, so the interview is different from a cook's
Hiring a line cook is mostly about technical skill and speed. A sous chef is your second in command, so the interview has to test leadership, food-safety enforcement, and cost control on top of cooking. Weight those areas, ask for real examples of running a line and handling people, and use a trade test or a stage on the line as the final check. A candidate who cooks beautifully but cannot lead a team or hold a food-safety standard is the wrong hire for this specific role.
Get the pay classification right, because a sous chef may be exempt
A line cook is almost always hourly and non-exempt. A sous chef is often salaried, and depending on duties, education, and pay, may qualify as exempt, which changes how overtime works. Because sous chef pay sits near the federal salary threshold for exemption, this is worth getting right rather than assuming. Once you hire, onboarding is where this gets locked in. FirstHR fits the people side: e-signature for the offer letter that sets pay and classification, task workflows for a structured first week, training modules for your standards and food-safety process, and document management for signed records. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a kitchen or POS system, and it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with those. Applicant tracking is coming soon.
A Fast-Growing, In-Demand Field
Chefs and head cooks are projected to grow about 7 percent through 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 24,400 openings a year (BLS and O*NET). With skilled kitchen leaders in steady demand, a clear, structured interview and a fair trade test help a small restaurant compete for a strong sous chef.
From Interview to Onboarding
The interview and trade test are step one. Once you find the right sous chef, the work shifts to the offer, getting the pay classification right, and a ramp on your menu and standards. For this role, the offer matters more than for a line cook, because a sous chef may be salaried and exempt, and that has to be set correctly from the start.
Send the offer
Confirm the role, pay, salaried or hourly status, and start date in writing. An offer letter template makes this fast and gets the exempt classification right.
Train to your standards
A structured ramp on your menu, recipes, food-safety process, and line setup, so the new sous chef can hold your standards from the start.
Set up the kitchen handoff
Define how the sous chef and head chef split the line and decisions, and confirm food-safety certifications are current.
Store the records
Keep the signed offer, food-handler or manager certifications, and onboarding documents organized and easy to find.
Once your decision is made, the offer letter template handles the offer and the salaried or hourly classification, and an onboarding template gives the new hire a structured ramp on your menu and food-safety standards. FirstHR connects the offer, e-signatures, food-safety and standards training, and onboarding workflow in one place, so a small restaurant can manage the full process from interview to a productive sous chef from one system. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a kitchen or POS tool, and it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect those separately. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
A sous chef is the kitchen's second in command: running the line, leading cooks, enforcing standards, and stepping up for the head chef.
Interview for leadership and food safety first, then cost control, menu consistency, and performance under pressure.
A sous chef is a leadership hire, so the interview is longer and more involved than hiring a line cook.
Use a trade test or stage on the line as the final check; it is the single best signal of how a candidate will perform.
Get pay classification right: a sous chef is often salaried and may be exempt, unlike an hourly, non-exempt line cook.
The closest occupation reports a median wage near $61,000 a year, with sous chefs typically below the executive-chef end.
Frequently Asked Questions
What questions should I ask a sous chef in an interview?
Ask questions that test kitchen leadership, food safety, cost control, menu consistency, and performance under pressure, since those define the role. Strong examples include: how do you run the line and keep tickets moving during a rush; a cook is not following a food-safety rule, what do you do right then; how do you control food cost and waste; tell me about a service that went wrong and how you handled it; and what makes you a sous chef rather than a line cook. Ask for specific past examples rather than opinions, and probe each answer for what the candidate actually did. The best final check is a trade test or a stage on the line, where you watch them cook and lead in your kitchen. This page provides six ready-to-use sets and a weighted scorecard.
What does a sous chef do?
A sous chef is the second in command in a kitchen, the head chef's right hand. They run the line during service, supervise and train cooks, expedite tickets, enforce food-safety and quality standards, help control food cost and inventory, contribute to the menu, and step up to run the kitchen when the head chef is away. The role is part hands-on cooking and part leadership: a sous chef is expected to be one of the best cooks in the kitchen and also to manage the people and the systems that keep service running. In a small restaurant, the sous chef is often the floor leader the owner relies on most after the head chef.
What is the difference between a sous chef and a line cook?
The difference is leadership and scope. A line cook works a station and cooks their part of the menu to standard, usually hourly and non-exempt. A sous chef runs the whole line, supervises and trains the cooks, enforces food safety and quality across the kitchen, helps control cost and inventory, and acts as the head chef's second in command, often as a salaried role. A sous chef is expected to be an excellent cook and a capable leader. When you interview a sous chef, you have to test leadership, food-safety enforcement, and cost awareness on top of cooking skill, which is why the interview is longer and more involved than hiring a line cook. Match the questions and the scorecard to that higher bar.
Is a sous chef exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on duties, education, and pay, so do not assume. Unlike a line cook, who is almost always hourly and non-exempt, a sous chef is often salaried and may qualify as exempt. The U.S. Department of Labor has noted that chefs, including sous chefs, who hold a four-year specialized culinary degree generally meet the duties test for the learned professional exemption, while cooks who perform routine work do not. However, exemption also requires meeting the salary-basis test, and sous chef pay can sit near that threshold, so the classification is not automatic. Because the rules are nuanced and the salary threshold has changed in recent years, confirm the current federal and state requirements and each role's specific duties with a qualified advisor before classifying. This is general information, not legal advice.
How much does a sous chef make?
Sous chef pay generally falls in the mid-fifty to mid-sixty-thousands a year, varying by region, restaurant type, and experience. For the broader federal occupation of chefs and head cooks, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median annual wage of $60,990 in May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $36,000 and the highest 10 percent earning more than $96,030. Sous chefs typically sit below the executive-chef end of that range. Pay is highest in upscale restaurants and hotels and in major metropolitan and resort areas. The occupation is growing about 7 percent through 2034, much faster than average, which keeps the market for skilled kitchen leaders competitive. For a posting, benchmark to your local market and concept, and publish a range where required. This is general information, not legal advice.
Should I give a sous chef candidate a trade test?
Yes. A trade test, often called a stage, where the candidate cooks and works the line in your kitchen, is the single best way to evaluate a sous chef. It shows you what an interview cannot: how they actually cook, how clean and organized they are, how they handle pressure, and how they interact with your team. Keep it fair and consistent by giving every finalist the same setup, the same time, and the same brief, and by scoring the trade test on the same criteria you use in the interview. Pair the trade test with the structured questions and the scorecard so your decision rests on both what they say and what they do. Be sure to follow local rules on paying candidates for working trade tests.
What food-safety certification should a sous chef have?
A sous chef should hold a recognized food-safety certification, and in many areas a manager-level food-safety certification is expected or required for someone supervising a kitchen. At minimum, a sous chef should have current food-handler training and a strong working knowledge of temperature control, cross-contamination prevention, and safe storage. Because a sous chef enforces food safety for the whole line, this is not a box to check but a core qualification. Requirements vary by state and locality, so confirm what your jurisdiction requires for a kitchen supervisor, and make a current certification part of your hiring and onboarding checklist. Verifying certification during hiring protects both your guests and your license. This is general information, not legal advice.
Are these sous chef interview questions legal to ask?
Yes. Questions about how a candidate has run a line, supervised cooks, enforced food safety, controlled cost, and handled pressure are job-related and permitted, because they ask about real work behavior and skills. A trade test is also appropriate as long as every finalist gets the same fair setup and you follow local rules on paying for work performed. The legal caution is general to all interviewing: avoid questions that touch protected characteristics such as age, race, religion, national origin, disability, or family status, and keep every question focused on the job and applied consistently to all candidates. Using the same structured questions and the same scorecard for every candidate is itself a safeguard, since it shows you evaluated everyone on the same job-related criteria. For the boundaries of what you can and cannot ask, consult EEOC guidance or a qualified advisor. This is general information, not legal advice.
