Interviewing a pro chef

April 12, 2007 5:49 PM

Interviewing people: I will be almost literally "thrown" into a potential new job opportunity , but I never ever interviewed a professional Chef...and its my first assignment ! Help , suggest me some questions you think a pro-chef would like to be asked !
posted by elpapacito to human relations (24 comments total)

What's your regular comfort meal?
posted by ColdChef at 5:55 PM on April 12, 2007

Kitchen disaster stories are always interesting.
posted by ColdChef at 5:57 PM on April 12, 2007

ask to look at his hands. there should be physical evidence of cooking.
posted by Infernarl at 6:17 PM on April 12, 2007

You're stranded on a desert island. What five foods would you want with you? What would you make?
posted by acoutu at 6:27 PM on April 12, 2007

If you were being executed tomorrow, what would be your last meal? stolen from Anthony Bourdain

What is the most essential item in your kitchen?

What do you cook at home that you never cook at the restaurant?
posted by macadamiaranch at 6:30 PM on April 12, 2007

90% of what a chef does is buying the best possible ingredients: ask him how he chooses his suppliers.

Cooking is mostly learned in a kitchen from masters. Ask him with whom he learned and what he kept or adapted from each of his previous boss.

What does he considers to be his best creations, and what are the the classics that he like to put on his menu?

The look of a plate is very important. Ask him what he considers his best color, texture and taste matching.

Is he curious of other cuisines (Chinese? Italian? etc.). Has he ever adapted a recipe from another country?

Where does he go when he wants to eat at a restaurant?
posted by bru at 6:38 PM on April 12, 2007

Ooops, I see that you live in Roma, so Italian is not a foreign cuisine. :-)

Also: it is more important to know who you readers are and what your editor wants than "what the chef would like". If it is possible, you should eat at the restaurant first: ask the chef to choose your menu and ask question about what you'll eat rather than "general" questions. Like: where does this salad comes from? What olive oil do you use? Where does this steak (fish) comes form? Etc. He will make you taste what he wants you to write about.
posted by bru at 6:48 PM on April 12, 2007

When you're designing a complete meal, what factors do you take into account? How do you achieve harmony/balance?

What's your favorite kitchen tool? (This can be turned into a question about knives; chefs love to talk about knives.)

Name three great wines you love to drink. (or, that my readers would love to drink.)

In your restaurant, who would be your "ideal diner?"

If you weren't a chef, or in the food business, what would you be?

What's your favorite thing about (neighborhood the restaurant is in)?
posted by ikkyu2 at 7:35 PM on April 12, 2007

I 100 percent agree with the above question about suppliers.

I would also ask him common management questions, because a chef will also manage a lot of other people.

Also, a chef is deeply involved with merchandising the food -- ask him about building a menu from the point of view of sales (what sells, what doesn't, how to feature items on a menu, etc).

As for specifics that haven't already been mentioned, you should blind him with a little science:

* Name the most common foodborne illnesses and food allergies and what kinds of common practices should a professional kitchen be undertaking to avoid problems with them?
* What are trans-fatty acids and why should a restaurant care about them?
* Grease fire in the kitchen! Quick, whaddya do?
posted by frogan at 7:41 PM on April 12, 2007

Specific menus are good to ask about, as are numbers. For example, what's the largest number of people you've ever cooked for, and how many different dishes were served, or the largest number of eaters with the smallest staff, what was on the menu, or other permutations of that kind of question. Or, do you ever cook for yourself, and if so, is it usually experimental or quick and easy? Who did you learn the most about cooking from, and what was the most useful thing they taught you? What do you do in case of disaster (if a staple ingredient isn't available, what's the best way to modify the menu, what happens when the staff is sick, your stoves don't work, etc.)?
posted by breezeway at 7:44 PM on April 12, 2007

The questions to ask have a lot to do with your goals as an interviewer? What kind of interview is this? Is this for print? Audio? Video? Are you doing journalism? Putting together something promotional? Is it OK to be hard hitting? Is it important for the chef to like you?
posted by croutonsupafreak at 7:53 PM on April 12, 2007

frogan writes "* Name the most common foodborne illnesses and food allergies and what kinds of common practices should a professional kitchen be undertaking to avoid problems with them? "

ikkyu2 writes "What's your favorite thing about (neighborhood the restaurant is in)?"

Infernarl writes "ask to look at his hands. there should be physical evidence of cooking."

elpapacito: This question is causing confusion! Some people think you're interviewing this chef out of journalist interest; others think you are interviewing him as a prospective employee. Can you clarify?
posted by mr_roboto at 7:57 PM on April 12, 2007

In my limited experience in the professional kitchen, I'd suggest that most chefs that have been working more than five or ten years are all basically the same when it comes to inventiveness and talent (blasphemy, I know), but what really matters is day-to-day performance. Specifically, can they get the food out quickly and keep orders together, or are they the sort of chef that has to keep things on the back-burners because they get quickly overwhelmed.

So: What's the largest table you've ever served, and how did you manage the preparation to get everything out at the same time?

I'd also be interested in knowing how he/she would deal with the waitstaff. Give a hypothetical scenario like, One of the waiters keeps staggering the apps and main courses instead of putting them all on the same ticket. How do you deal with this from a cooking standpoint, and from an interpersonal standpoint?

I've found that the best chefs are rarely the hotshots, they're the stoic workhorses that get the job done no matter what gets thrown at them. Hotshots tend to be hotheads. Workhorses keep their cool. And in the long run, that's far more important.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:10 PM on April 12, 2007

I had a friend who worked as a cook. In one interview, the boss handed him an onion and a knife and told him to chop. His technique was solid and fast, and he got the job in about thirty seconds.

Of course, he was a cook, not a chef, but perhaps there is some corresponding task.
posted by bingo at 10:04 PM on April 12, 2007

OK, I'm assuming job interview:

I've found the problem with problem employees is not their skills so much as it is their ability to work with other people or keeping their head in a tense moment. I like to them about jobs they really liked and jobs they really hated. Sometimes what they say makes a job the best or the worst will tell you more about them than anything else.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 10:55 PM on April 12, 2007

No clue what you might ask a prospective chef, but I found this to be a fascinating read.
posted by jazzkat11 at 11:00 PM on April 12, 2007

IANAC, but perhaps try something like:
"So, there is nothing wrong with the menu but we're having problems attracting a customer base. We've decided to completely revamp the restaurant. This includes completely changing the menu - how would your revised menu look?"

It'll push him/her out of their comfort zone and will get rid of any pre-prepared answers. I've had similar things in interviews, albeit in wildly different industries.
posted by dcbarker at 12:04 AM on April 13, 2007

Thanks for all the answer so far and excuse me for coming back so late (aaghh i need a palmpc!)

roboto: Can you clarify?
I am going to interview him for a local journal whose boss isn't exalted about cousine at all, but like the prestige thang. So I am supposed to fetch him a celebrity chef (can try) but he didn't go into specific of questioning...I think he is more interested into putting a name on paper. As for the chef he is evidently very media aware and also as others say, management aware.

I managed to get some of the previous questioning done to him , but given that I don't know if he has got a ego the size of an inflated baloon (i will err on the side of caution) I don't wanna pinch him with

Grease fire in the kitchen! Quick, whaddya do?
which is a very nice question, but what if he doesn't know ? An embarassment ! If I had to expose him I'd rather for unsafe cooking practice...

All the angles above are fine and make sense but as roboto say I misconstructed

a. want to ask him something about cooking (you name it)
b. that he would like to be asked
c. that wouldn't EVERY time be asked (what is your favourite food ? How can I make mayonase ?)
posted by elpapacito at 1:38 AM on April 13, 2007

that a.b.c is what I am looking for
posted by elpapacito at 1:39 AM on April 13, 2007

* Have the tastes of customers changed during your career?

* Has the heightened interest in celebrity chefs and cooking in general been good or bad for the industry?

* What ingredients should every home have in the cupboard/refrigerator?

* If I can invest in only five things for my kitchen (meaning, spend more than I normally would), what should I buy as a home cook?

* Are you affected by reviews at all? What is your opinion on food writers? (that should get a rise out of him)
posted by Atom12 at 7:20 AM on April 13, 2007

Grease fire in the kitchen! Quick, whaddya do?
which is a very nice question, but what if he doesn't know ? An embarassment ! If I had to expose him I'd rather for unsafe cooking practice...

Agreed that if you're interviewing him from a journalistic bent, this is not an appropriate question. As mr_roboto noted above, your question led me and others to believe you were interviewing a chef for employment purposes.
posted by frogan at 9:21 AM on April 13, 2007

1) what did he learn from his mother/grandmother that he uses every day in the kitchen.
2) what dish is he most proud of
3) what dish just didn't work
4) what's his favorite newly discovered ingredient(s)
5) how does he feel about the molecular gastronomy trend (every chef has an opinion on this!)
posted by culberjo at 10:59 AM on April 13, 2007

Thanks for all your help, I used the following, here's the answers

If you weren't a chef, or in the food business, what would you be?

Apparently, a scuba diver ! Go figure.

You're stranded on a desert island. What five foods would you want with you? What would you make?

Flour, salt, sugar, beer and a mix of spices. He said he really never tought about that, but probably would fish and look for meat and invent something.

Are you affected by reviews at all? What is your opinion on food writers?

He said that he welcomes critics, but would like some food critic to actually taste the food before writing :)

On a side note , one of the compliments paid to him was that his stuff didn't taste like a soup of salt.

Thanks for all your help, also for the questions I didn't pick !
posted by elpapacito at 5:30 PM on April 13, 2007

Egads, I thought you meant you were going to be interviewing a new chef for a restaurant job you just got (like, manager). I didn't realize this was a piece for a story. You could have made that clearer.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:17 AM on April 14, 2007