Prep Cooks Are the Backbone of any Efficient Culinary Operation, Here are the Five Skills You Need to Set Yourself Up For Success
Behind every dish on a menu are ingredients that are meticulously cleaned, cut, prepared, braised, and portioned by a Prep Cook. In the wrong hands, these ingredients could be ruined or decimated, making service for the line even harder.
Prep cooks are essential to the success of every kitchen, and you can find these entry-level positions in any setting, from independent brick-and-mortars to Michelin-starred restaurants. You’ll gain valuable experience in fast-paced kitchen environments while perfecting skills that will help you rise through the ranks.
Mastering these technical skills as a prep cook is vital and can really elevate your abilities to be useful to the rest of the back-of-house.
Typical Prep Cook duties include:
- Heavy lifting
- Cutting, chopping, and slicing ingredients
- Maintaining kitchen equipment
- Setting up mise en place
- Cleaning workstations
- Organizing food storage
- Managing inventory
Skills Needed To Be A Prep Cook
Knife Skills
Knife skills are the foundation of any role on the line. Proficient knife techniques streamline the preparation process, reducing the time required to prep ingredients. This efficiency is critical in high-volume kitchens where speed is crucial to meet service demands without sacrificing quality.
Precise cuts mean fewer discarded products or food waste, showcasing your commitment to helping your restaurant save money! (And the planet)
Other than the obvious safety benefits of knowing how to properly yield a knife, skillful knife work reflects professionalism and dedication to your craft. You’ll go a long way in your culinary career developing solid knife skills—and trust me, it won’t go unnoticed by your Chef.
Food Handling
Though it’s not required in every state, you should get a food handlers certification. An up-to-date certificate demonstrates that you’re prepared with current food safety knowledge.
Food safety courses teach workers how to properly prepare and serve food in a way that won’t make guests sick. Find an affordable online resource to get a basic education on what you can do to prevent the spread of foodborne illness, food temperature danger zones, and cross-contamination.
The Health Department has different regulations depending on where you live, and they change frequently, so make sure to stay current with the health code requirements in your area.
Cleaning + Sanitation
Keeping the stations and communal spaces clean should be every restaurant’s and worker’s top priority, as it will make everyone’s job easier in the long run.
Since cross-contamination of food items from bacteria found on dirty equipment or surfaces is a leading cause of food-borne outbreaks, the best offense is a good defense.
Be sure to follow best practices for food storage and produce placement. Foodborne illnesses, such as E. coli, salmonella, or norovirus, can quickly multiply when food is kept in unsafe conditions.
Teamwork + Communication
As you will mostly be working off of a prep list or task list written by the closing cook or Chef with little to no instruction, good communication and being a team player are absolutely necessary in this role. Collaboration among the whole line is critical to ensuring that tasks are completed quickly and accurately.
Effective communication facilitates the coordination of efforts, allowing prep cooks to work in tandem with other staff, such as line cooks or servers. Clear communication ensures that everyone is aligned on priorities and recipes, which minimizes errors.
You don’t want the BOH team to think you don’t pull your weight, or that your cuts need constant supervision to ensure their accuracy. There is no such thing as an insignificant position in restaurants. Everyone contributes, and everyone helps to deliver the best dining experience for the guests.
Dependability
As the late Anthony Bourdain once said, “Always be on time. It is a simple demonstration of discipline, good work habits, and most importantly, respect for other people. As an employee, it was a hugely important expression of respect.”
Being someone that your Chef and colleagues can depend on is integral to your success! Reliability ensures that tasks are completed on time and to the required standards. Dependable prep cooks can be relied upon to show up for their shifts on time, follow the recipes accurately, and execute their assigned duties.
This type of consistency instills confidence in the rest of the line, allowing for better collaboration and workflow. Ultimately, being dependable enhances your reputation, which could open bigger and better doors for you in the future.
Embodying these skills not only enhances your own performance as a prep cook, but will elevate the overall efficiency of the kitchen.
While being a prep cook may be an entry-level role, it is the perfect stepping stone to learn and put these skills into practice and, ultimately, build the foundation of your culinary career.
