Kitchen Assistant interview questions and practice.
Preps ingredients, helps cooks with basic tasks and keeps the kitchen clean and stocked.
No card for the taster. Full interviews are paid one at a time. Nothing renews.
Last reviewed
This page is still being written: no authored question bank for this competency family. The role is fully supported in the interview itself; only the published question bank is outstanding.
What interviewers for Kitchen Assistant actually ask
The question bank for this role is still being written. These are the first three competencies in the model the interview is scored against.
Works to HACCP and food safety regulations: temperature control, labelling and dating, allergen management, cleaning schedules and personal hygiene, and does not compromise when busy.
Executes recipes and techniques to specification consistently, plates to standard, and can cook across sections with sound fundamentals (knife skills, sauces, seasoning, cooking methods).
Plans and completes prep to prep lists and par levels before service, keeps a clean and organised section, and labels and rotates stock so service runs without shortages.
What they are really assessing
Interviewers rarely score whether you seemed nice. They score against a model like this one, usually without telling you it exists. Each competency has a weak, adequate and strong shape, and the difference is almost always the level of specific detail you volunteer without being asked.
Food safety, hygiene & HACCP
Works to HACCP and food safety regulations: temperature control, labelling and dating, allergen management, cleaning schedules and personal hygiene, and does not compromise when busy.
- Weak
- Talks about 'keeping clean' but cannot describe a critical control point, temperature limits, labelling rules or an allergen procedure at a kitchen they worked in.
- Adequate
- Describes HACCP controls and allergen handling correctly but no example of a failure caught (temperature breach, cross-contamination) or an inspection.
- Strong
- Describes specific controls with numbers, a breach or near miss found and what was done (discard, corrective action, record), an allergen incident avoided, and a health inspection or audit outcome.
Cooking skills, technique & consistency
Executes recipes and techniques to specification consistently, plates to standard, and can cook across sections with sound fundamentals (knife skills, sauces, seasoning, cooking methods).
- Weak
- Cannot describe a dish they cook step by step, a technique in detail, or how consistency is kept across covers and days.
- Adequate
- Describes techniques and dishes with some detail but no example of a consistency problem fixed or a difficult dish mastered.
- Strong
- Walks through a specific dish or technique in detail, a consistency problem (seasoning, portioning, cooking times) and how it was fixed with recipe cards or checks, and a chef's or guest's feedback.
Mise en place, organisation & prep planning
Plans and completes prep to prep lists and par levels before service, keeps a clean and organised section, and labels and rotates stock so service runs without shortages.
- Weak
- Cannot describe how they plan prep for a shift, a par level or what happens when prep runs out during service.
- Adequate
- Describes prep lists and organisation but no example of a prep shortfall and how it was handled or how they improved prep planning.
- Strong
- Describes a specific prep plan with par levels, a day prep was short and what they did, and an improvement (prep lists, rotation, timing) with the effect on service.
Working the line under pressure
Delivers during peak service: reads tickets, times courses, communicates with the pass and other sections, and stays composed and safe when in the weeds.
- Weak
- Says they 'thrive under pressure' but cannot describe a specific service, cover numbers, how tickets were managed or a crash they recovered from.
- Adequate
- Describes a busy service with cover numbers and how they coped, but is vague on communication with the pass or what went wrong.
- Strong
- Recounts a specific service: covers, a point where the section got behind, how they communicated and recovered, safety maintained, and what they changed for the next service.
Food cost, portion control & wastage
Understands food cost and GP, controls portions and wastage, uses stock rotation and creative use of trim, and contributes to menu costing.
- Weak
- Cannot quote a food cost percentage or portion spec, or describe a wastage problem they reduced.
- Adequate
- Knows food cost targets and portion control but no example of a saving, a stock take variance or a menu costing they did.
- Strong
- Quantifies food cost and a specific improvement (wastage log, portioning, using trim, supplier change) with before and after numbers, and describes a dish they costed.
Brigade teamwork, communication & respect
Communicates clearly and respectfully in the brigade, supports other sections, takes instruction from the chef, gives it clearly to juniors, and handles conflict without disrupting service.
- Weak
- Talks about 'kitchen banter' or cannot describe a specific conflict or communication problem in the kitchen and how it was handled.
- Adequate
- Describes teamwork during service and one conflict, but is vague on how they communicate under pressure or with juniors.
- Strong
- Describes a specific conflict or communication breakdown, what they did, how they call and respond during service, and how they treat and train juniors.
Reliability, stamina & shift discipline
Arrives on time for early, split and late shifts, works long hours on their feet, keeps standards at the end of a double, and hands over the section properly.
- Weak
- Claims reliability with no detail on shift patterns, hours worked, transport after late shifts or handover.
- Adequate
- Describes shifts and hours but no example of a difficult period (double shifts, staff shortage) and how they maintained standards.
- Strong
- Describes their shift pattern and routines, a specific tough period and how they stayed reliable and safe, and their attendance record.
Menu development & creativity
Develops dishes and menus that fit the concept, season, cost and kitchen capability, tests and documents recipes and takes feedback on the result.
- Weak
- Talks about 'passion for food' but cannot describe a dish or menu they developed, how it was costed or tested, or its result.
- Adequate
- Describes a dish or menu they contributed to but is vague on costing, testing, documentation or how it performed.
- Strong
- Describes a specific dish or menu: the brief or concept, the development and tasting, costing and GP, how it was documented for consistency, and sales or feedback data.
Reading the questions is the easy half. Try answering three of them out loud, to someone who follows up.
Try 5 minutes freeWhat your 30 minutes covers
The same shape as a real first-round interview, pitched at junior Kitchen Assistant and scored throughout.
Warm-up, then Motivation & fit
Build rapport, settle nerves, and get a short walk-through of your background. Why this role, why this employer, and what you are actually looking for.
Your experience
Two or three real situations from your CV in depth: context, what you did, what happened, what you would change.
Pitched at junior scope: commis chef: works a section under a chef de partie, completes prep to list and cooks simple items to spec.
Role-specific questions
The core competencies and domain knowledge for the role, with follow-ups on anything vague.
Drawn from this role's domain: hACCP critical control points, temperature logs and corrective actions, allergen management and labelling and knife skills, mother sauces, stocks and cooking methods, and the rest of the competency model.
Your questions, then Wrap-up
Your questions for the interviewer, and yes, they are assessed. Next steps and a clean finish.
What changes with seniority
The questions barely change between levels. What changes is the answer they will accept.
| Junior | Mid | Senior | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope of ownership | Commis chef: works a section under a chef de partie, completes prep to list and cooks simple items to spec. | Chef de partie: owns a section - prep, service, stock, hygiene records and training commis. | Sous chef: runs the kitchen on shift, expedites the pass, manages rosters, orders, HACCP records and stands in for the head chef. |
| Tolerance for ambiguity | Handles routine prep and service tasks; escalates shortages, equipment issues and anything off spec. | Runs the section through problems (shortages, equipment, rush) and adapts; escalates menu or cost decisions. | Makes calls on menu changes, shortages and staffing during service; handles inspections and complaints. |
| People leadership | No formal leadership. | Leads commis and apprentices on the section. | Leads the brigade on shift; coaches chefs de partie; handles discipline with the head chef. |
| Who they deal with | Chef de partie, sous chef, other sections. | Sous chef, head chef, front of house, suppliers on delivery. | Head chef, restaurant manager, suppliers, health inspectors. |
What your report would say
Every competency above scored from your own answers, the sentence that cost you quoted back, and your weakest answers rewritten the way a strong Kitchen Assistant would have said them.
- Describes a specific prep plan with par levels, a day prep was short and what they did, and an improvement (prep lists, rotation, timing) with the effect on service.
The format, not a result. Scores on your report come from what you actually said.
Is the AI interviewer realistic? See a full sample report