Line cook job description template: station, volume, schedule and food handler card lines
On this page
A cook reading your posting wants to know four things before anything else: which station, how busy, which shifts, and what it pays. "Line cook wanted, fast-paced kitchen, competitive pay" answers none of them, so the cooks you want skip it and the calls you get are from people who will not fit the station or the schedule. A good line cook job description is short and specific: the cuisine and style of service, the station, the volume on a busy night, the hours and the pay. Below is a copy-ready template, the food handler card and age lines with sources, how each must-have becomes a screening question and scorecard row, and the mistakes that cost kitchens their cooks in the first month. The general method is in how to write a job description that screens.
Describe the kitchen in five lines
| Fact | Example wording (illustrative) | Why cooks care |
|---|---|---|
| Concept and service | "Full-service Italian, open kitchen, à la carte" or "high-volume brunch" | Cooks know which styles they are fast in |
| Station | "Sauté and pasta" or "grill and fry, rotating to pantry" | A strong grill cook may never have worked sauté |
| Volume | "About 250 covers on a Saturday" | Separates a neighborhood spot from a volume house |
| Prep and close | "Cooks prep their own station; closing cooks break down and clean" | Decides start times and real hours |
| Team | "Six cooks on a busy line, a sous chef expediting" | Shows how much support there is during a push |
The figures above are examples only; use your own. Agree with the chef whether you are hiring for one station or for someone who can rotate across several, because that is the biggest difference between a cook who fits in a week and one who struggles.
The line cook job description template
Line Cook — [Station: Grill / Sauté / Fry / Pantry / Rotating],
[Evenings / Days / Weekends]
[Restaurant], [neighborhood or street area, city]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] per hour [plus tip share, if your state allows
and you have one: describe how it works]. [Benefits summary, if
required.] [Weekly / biweekly pay.]
ABOUT THE KITCHEN
[Concept and style of service]. [N] covers on a typical [weekday /
Saturday]. You will work [station] on a line of [N] cooks with
[chef / sous chef] expediting.
SCHEDULE
[N] shifts a week, about [N] hours. Shifts run [start time] to
[close, usually around time], including [Friday and Saturday
nights / weekend brunch]. [Holiday expectations.]
WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Set up and prep your station to the par sheet before service.
- Cook [station] items to recipe and plate spec during service,
keeping ticket times to [target].
- Label, date and rotate product; keep hot and cold holding at
the right temperatures and log them.
- Keep your station clean during service and break it down at close.
- [Help with receiving and weekly deep cleaning.]
YOU MUST HAVE
- Worked a [station] or similar station on a line during busy
service.
- Availability for the shifts above, including [nights / weekends].
- Ability to perform the physical work below, with or without
reasonable accommodation.
- [Get a food handler card within 30 days of hire; we pay for the
training and the time.]
NICE TO HAVE
- Experience with [cuisine / technique: wood fire, wok, pastry].
- Experience in a kitchen of similar volume.
If you meet the must-haves and none of these, please apply.
KITCHEN CONDITIONS
- Stands for the whole shift near grills, fryers and ovens.
- Lifts stock pots and cases of up to [N] pounds.
- [Uses knives and [slicers / mixers]; operating the meat slicer
is limited to staff 18 and over.]
HOW WE HIRE
[Short phone call; a paid working interview of about [N] hours on
your station; decision within [N] days.]
[EEO STATEMENT]
If you need an adjustment to apply or interview, call or text
[contact].Food handler cards, age limits and pay
Not legal advice. The rules below were checked against state statutes and agencies, the FDA and the U.S. Department of Labor as of October 2026. Counties and cities can add their own requirements; confirm locally.
Food handler cards are set by states and localities. The FDA describes its Food Code, now in a 2026 edition, as a model that jurisdictions use to develop or update their own food safety rules. Whether a cook needs a card, and when, depends on where they work. Two examples:
- California: food handlers must obtain a card within 30 days after hire, and cards are valid for three years. The statute also says an employer "shall not condition employment on an applicant or employee having an existing food handler card," must treat the training and exam as paid hours worked, and must cover the costs (Health and Safety Code § 113948; several types of facilities are exempt). A California posting should not say "current food handler card required."
- Texas: food employees must complete an accredited food handler course within 30 days of employment; a certificate without an expiration date is valid for two years (Texas DSHS).
That is why the template's card line reads "get a card within 30 days; we pay," which works in either state. A certified food protection manager credential is a different, higher-level requirement, usually for the person in charge, not each line cook.
Age. Federal Hazardous Occupations Order No. 10 bars workers under 18 from operating power-driven meat processing machines such as meat slicers, and from cleaning them, including hand-washing the disassembled parts. Workers aged 14 and 15 may cook only within narrow limits, for example on electric or gas grills without an open flame and deep fryers with automatic basket lowering, and may not bake (DOL Fact Sheet #43). If you hire teens, see hiring minors and work permits for state permits.
Pay and EEO. Post the hourly range and how any tip share works. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook covers cooks, including restaurant cooks (last modified September 14, 2026), and notes that cooks typically learn their skills on the job; this page does not quote its pay figures. Check posting rules in pay transparency laws by state, and close with your EEO statement covering the characteristics the EEOC lists.
From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows
| Must-have | Screening question | Scorecard competency | Evidence of a strong answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worked the station in busy service | "Which station did you work last, how many covers on your busiest night, and what was on it?" | Station experience | Names the station, dishes and a realistic cover count |
| Keeps up during a push | "You have 14 tickets on the rail and you are out of a prepped item. What do you do?" | Composure and communication | Calls it to the expo or sous right away, keeps firing what they can |
| Food safety habits | "How do you know your cold well is at temperature, and what do you do if it isn't?" | Food safety | Checks with a thermometer, logs it, tells the chef, moves product |
| Schedule availability | "The shifts are Thursday to Sunday, 3 p.m. to close, usually around 11. Does that work every week?" | Not scored | Knockout confirmed, including holidays |
| Prep and close | "Walk me through how you set up your station before service." | Organization | Uses a par or prep list and sets up in a consistent order |
The full call, including allergen questions and how cooks overstate certifications, is in line cook screening questions. For the cook who will run the line, use sous chef screening questions. The paid working interview is where skills show; set it up with how to run a job trial day.
Common mistakes in line cook job descriptions
No station, no volume
"Line cook, all stations" with no cover count attracts cooks who have only worked one station in a quiet room. Name the station and the busy-night volume.
"Must have current food handler card"
In California that line conflicts with the statute, and elsewhere it can screen out good cooks who would get the card in their first weeks. Say when it is needed and who pays.
Hiding close and cleanup
A shift that "ends at 10" but really ends after breakdown at 11:30 is a reason cooks leave. Post the real finish time.
Unpaid "stages" for experienced cooks
If the candidate cooks for your guests, it is work. Pay for the working interview and say so in the posting; it attracts more experienced applicants.
Culinary school as a requirement
Most good line cooks learned on the line. Ask for the station and volume instead.
Before you publish
- Concept, station, volume, shifts and hourly pay are in the first lines.
- The food handler card line matches your state's rule and says who pays.
- Age limits appear only where duties such as the meat slicer require them.
- Kitchen conditions are real, with an accommodation line.
- The working interview is paid, and the EEO statement and a call or text contact close the posting.
Questions people ask
Can a line cook posting require a food handler card?
It depends on the state. California's Health and Safety Code says an employer shall not condition employment on an applicant or employee having an existing food handler card, and requires the employer to pay for the training time and costs; the cook has 30 days from hire to get one. Texas requires food employees to complete accredited training within 30 days of employment. Check your state and local rules before adding a card requirement.
Can a 16 or 17 year old work as a line cook?
Federal rules allow 16 and 17 year olds to cook in many settings, but Hazardous Occupations Order No. 10 bars workers under 18 from operating, and even cleaning, power-driven meat slicers and similar meat processing machines. Workers aged 14 and 15 face much tighter limits on cooking duties and hours. State rules can be stricter, so only add an age line where the duties require it.
Should a line cook posting ask for culinary school?
Rarely. Most line cooks learn on the job, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics says cooks typically learn their skills that way. Ask for experience on a comparable station and volume instead, and confirm skills with a short paid working interview.
What schedule details should a line cook job description include?
State the shifts, typical start and finish times including close and cleanup, weekend and holiday expectations, and roughly how many hours a week the role offers. Schedule surprises are a leading reason cooks leave in the first weeks, and cooks compare postings on exactly these points.