Prep cook job description template: restaurant, commissary or catering prep, food handler rules, slicers and minors
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"Prep cook, morning shift, will train" is a fine start, but it leaves out what decides whether a candidate will be good at the job: how much they prep, from what kind of recipes, with which equipment, and at what time. A prep cook in a neighborhood restaurant may break down produce and make sauces from a prep list for one dinner service. A prep cook in a commissary kitchen may batch hundreds of pounds of product for several locations to a written spec. A catering prep cook works to event sheets that change daily, and an institutional prep cook in a hospital or school works to standardized recipes, portions and diets. A useful prep cook job description names the kitchen, the volume, the equipment, the shift and the food safety training. Below are the kitchen types, the food handler and age lines with sources, a copy-ready template, screening and scorecard rows, and common mistakes. The general method is in how to write a job description that screens.
Not legal advice. The food handler and child labor points below were checked against the Washington State Department of Health, the Illinois Compiled Statutes, the Department of Labor, 29 CFR Part 570 on Cornell's Legal Information Institute and BLS as of October 2026. Counties and cities can add their own food rules.
Name the kitchen and the volume
| Kitchen type | What the shift looks like | Must-have that separates it |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurant | Prep list for the day's service: produce, proteins, sauces, dressings; sometimes moves to the line at service | Knife skills and working from a prep list and par levels |
| Commissary or central kitchen | Batch production for several locations, large kettles and mixers, packaging and labeling to spec | Scales recipes accurately and follows batch records |
| Catering and banquets | Event sheets, large counts, packing for off-site events, changing menus | Reads event sheets and preps to exact counts and timelines |
| Hospital, school or senior living | Standardized recipes, special diets and textures, portion control, tray lines | Follows diet orders and standardized recipes without substitutions |
| Fast casual | Morning prep of every ingredient for the day, then cleanup or line work | Speed and consistency on repetitive prep |
Add the numbers with the chef: about how many covers or meals the prep supports (an estimate), the start and end times, and whether the prep cook also works the line at service. BLS describes food preparation workers as doing tasks other than cooking, such as preparing fruits and vegetables, cleaning and sanitizing work areas and equipment, and taking and recording food temperatures, and notes that they typically get short-term on-the-job training lasting several weeks (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, last modified August 27, 2026). If the job is mostly cooking on a station, use the line cook job description template instead.
Food handler rules, with two examples
Food handler requirements are set by states and sometimes localities, and they differ on timing, renewal and who pays. Two examples:
- Washington: all food workers must have a valid food worker card. A new worker may work up to 14 days before getting the card, but only if the employer provides food safety training. The first card is valid for 2 years, and renewals for 3 years, or 5 years with qualifying additional training (Washington State Department of Health).
- Illinois: food handlers employed by a restaurant must complete ANSI-accredited training in basic safe food handling within 30 days after employment and every 3 years after that; certified food service sanitation managers are excepted (410 ILCS 625/3.06).
A card line that works in both: "Get your [state] food handler card within [the state's deadline]; we [pay for / provide] the training." In California, the statute bars conditioning employment on an existing card, which the line cook template covers in detail.
Slicers, mixers and minors
Prep kitchens are full of the machines federal child labor rules restrict:
- Under 18: Hazardous Occupations Order 10 bars operating power-driven meat processing machines such as meat slicers, and cleaning them; HO 11 covers power-driven bakery machines (DOL Fact Sheet #43).
- Ages 14 and 15: they may do kitchen work and food preparation, but may not operate, set up, clean or repair power-driven food slicers, grinders, choppers, processors, cutters or mixers, and may not bake (29 CFR 570.33). Cooking is limited to equipment such as electric or gas grills without an open flame (29 CFR 570.34), and hours are limited to 3 on a school day and 18 in a school week, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day).
Early-morning prep shifts and food processors make most prep cook jobs unsuitable for 14- and 15-year-olds. If you hire 16- and 17-year-olds, list the machines they will not use. See hiring minors and work permits for state permits.
The prep cook job description template
Prep Cook — [Restaurant name / Commissary / Catering / Hospital
Kitchen], [Mornings / Days], [Full-Time / Part-Time]
[Employer], [neighborhood or street area, city, state]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] per hour [plus tip share, if your state allows
and you have one: describe how it works]. [Benefits summary, if
required.]
ABOUT THE KITCHEN
[Concept or operation]. Prep supports about [N] covers / meals a
day (an estimate). You will work with [N] prep cooks under the
[chef / kitchen manager].
SCHEDULE
Shifts start at [time] and usually end by [time], [days], including
[weekends]. About [N] hours a week.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Prep produce, proteins, sauces and dressings from the daily prep
list and par sheet.
- Follow recipes and scale batches accurately.
- Label, date and rotate product; record cooling and cold-holding
temperatures.
- Use [knives, food processors, mixers, slicer] after our training.
- Keep allergens separated and labeled.
- Clean and sanitize your station and equipment.
YOU MUST HAVE
- Basic knife skills (we will check on a short paid working
interview).
- Availability for the shifts above.
- [Food handler card within [deadline]; we pay for the training.]
- [Age line: "18 or older to operate the meat slicer" if the job
requires it.]
- Ability to stand for the shift and lift up to [N] pounds, with or
without reasonable accommodation.
NICE TO HAVE
- Kitchen or prep experience; [bakery / butchery / diet kitchen]
experience.
New to kitchens? We train. Please apply.
[EEO STATEMENT]
To request an adjustment to apply or interview, call or text
[contact].Pay and EEO
Post the hourly range and explain any tip share; under federal rules, cooks can share in a tip pool only when the employer pays the full minimum wage and takes no tip credit. The BLS food preparation workers profile linked above (last modified August 27, 2026) publishes pay data; this page does not quote figures. Check pay transparency laws by state and close with a short 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early start | "Prep starts at 6 a.m., Tuesday to Saturday. Can you be here on time every week?" | Not scored | Knockout confirmed, with a realistic plan for getting there |
| Prep list and pars | "You have a prep list with 20 items and four hours. How do you decide the order?" | Organization | Long-cooking and cooling items first, groups by equipment, checks pars, asks about the day's specials |
| Food safety | "You made a 5-gallon batch of stock. How do you cool it before it goes in the walk-in?" | Food safety | Divides into shallow pans or uses an ice wand or bath, checks and logs temperatures, labels and dates |
| Allergens | "How do you keep a nut-free sauce from contact with the pesto you just made?" | Guest safety | Separate or sanitized tools and boards, labels, storage above or apart, tells the chef |
| Knife and recipe accuracy | "Show me a medium dice on this onion, then scale this recipe from 10 to 35 portions." (working interview) | Technical skill | Even dice at a steady pace; correct scaling with units converted |
Pay for the working interview and keep it short; how to run a job trial day explains how. The line cook screening questions help if the prep cook will also work service, and the sous chef screening questions cover the person running the kitchen.
Common mistakes in prep cook job descriptions
No start time
"Mornings" can mean 5 a.m. or 9 a.m. Post the real start time.
"Must have food handler card" with no deadline
Most rules give new hires time to get the card. State the deadline and who pays.
Slicer work in a teen posting
Under-18 workers may not operate or clean meat slicers. List the equipment and set the age to match.
Hiding the line work
If prep cooks move to the line at service, say so; it changes who applies.
Before you publish
- Kitchen type, volume estimate and start time are in the title and summary.
- The food handler line matches your state's deadline and says who pays.
- Equipment and age lines match the slicer, mixer and hour rules.
- Pay, any tip share, EEO statement and accommodation contact are present.
Questions people ask
Does a prep cook need a food handler card?
It depends on the state and sometimes the county. Washington requires food workers to hold a food worker card and allows up to 14 days of work first if the employer provides food safety training. Illinois requires restaurant food handlers to complete ANSI-accredited training within 30 days of employment and every 3 years. Check your state and local health department before writing the card line.
Can a 16-year-old prep cook use the meat slicer?
No. Federal Hazardous Occupations Order 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. A posting that includes slicer work should set the age at 18 or assign the slicer to adults.
Can a 14- or 15-year-old work as a prep cook?
Only in a narrow way. Federal rules allow 14- and 15-year-olds to do kitchen work and food preparation, but they may not operate power-driven food slicers, grinders, choppers, processors, cutters or mixers, may not bake, and may cook only with limited equipment such as electric or gas grills without an open flame. Their hours are also limited.
What should a prep cook posting say about the schedule?
The start time, which is often early morning, the days, weekend expectations and roughly how many hours a week the job offers. Prep starts before service, so say when the shift begins and when it usually ends, and whether prep cooks also work the line.