Skills Testing as Part of Job Interviews

[Fat Guy]

I've heard of this happening a few different ways. There are definitely some chefs who will ask you to cook an omelet or a roast chicken. There are others who couldn't care less about how you handle those basic technique tests and will instead ask you to cook a meal from certain ingredients, or follow recipes from their in-house binders, or work backup at a station on the line for a shift. In the latter cases there's not a lot you can do to prepare. In the former cases you can grab an old Julia Child book and practice some basics.

[nickrey]

I know that Marco Pierre White uses egg cooking as a basic skills test. For example, you may be asked to cook Eggs Benedict. This not only shows if you can poach an egg to perfection but also how well you can make a Hollandaise from scratch.

[a.lee.hagen]

I've had a simple knife skills test, then a basic proficiency w/ sauteing those vegetables that I just cut.

[Old Timer]

Thanks guys.

That all seems pretty simple and straightforward

[MattyC]

My trailing before a new job has almost always been either basic knife skills, or as it usually is, just being tossed onto the line - it's been a while since i've trailed and actually just had to cook a certain dish. While to me that one is a little harder, I tend to like that one a little bit more, always seems more fun - plus when they do that, it's also a test of how you handle the line, deal with the people working it, etc.

I actually just did this last week, applied for a new job down in Boston, trailed, and got stuck with bitch work and basic herb chopping, then got tossed onto the line for the rest of the night on a pretty busy night, so it was an entire shift worth of testing. Ended up nailing the job though, so worked out well.

[judiu]

<snip>

I actually just did this last week, applied for a new job down in Boston, trailed, and got stuck with bitch work and basic herb chopping, then got tossed onto the line for the rest of the night on a pretty busy night, so it was an entire shift worth of testing. Ended up nailing the job though, so worked out well.

CONGRATULATIONS!

[MattyC]

<snip>

I actually just did this last week, applied for a new job down in Boston, trailed, and got stuck with bitch work and basic herb chopping, then got tossed onto the line for the rest of the night on a pretty busy night, so it was an entire shift worth of testing. Ended up nailing the job though, so worked out well.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Thanks :-p I figured since i've done it plenty of times, and just had to go through it myself, I may as well chime in.