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Interview Questions

Top 35 Executive Chef Interview Questions (& Expert Answers!)

As with most leadership positions, interviewing for this role role requires a lot of preparation. To help you ace your interview, we've compiled some of the most common questions asked of Executive Chefs so you can practice giving thorough answers.

Table of Contents

Popular Executive Chef Interview Questions

Our interview questions cover professional background, culinary expertise, business acumen and personnel management. These are areas that employers will focus on to evaluate if you have the best set of skills, knowledge and experience to achieve their organization’s key performance indicators.

The Best Executive Chef Interview Questions

1. Interview Questions About Your Professional Background

2. Interview Questions Regarding Management Skills

3. Executive Chef Interview Questions Regarding Culinary Skills

4. Executive Chef Interview Questions About Business Acumen

Types of Interview Questions for the Executive Chef Position

  • Interview Questions About Your Professional Background: To answer questions about your professional background, use a storytelling approach to make yourself memorable. Renowned psychologist Jerome Bruner said that humans are 22 times more likely to remember information if it's woven into a story.
  • Interview Questions Regarding Management Skills: Part of your duties as an Executive Chef is mentoring the kitchen staff. Employers would like to evaluate your leadership skills by asking you personnel management questions. When answering, use specific instances from your previous work to highlight your ability to spot talent and train and manage people.
  • Executive Chef Interview Questions Regarding Culinary Skills: Executive Chefs are in charge of ensuring the quality of dishes served and creating innovative and cost-efficient menus. When answering questions related to this responsibility, provide a step-by-step explanation to share your thought process.
  • Executive Chef Interview Questions About Business Acumen: Executive Chefs are valued for their ability to increase a restaurant's revenue, manage budgets and implement strategies to solve problems efficiently. When dealing with questions about your business acumen, provide concrete examples to support your answers.

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What Are the Top Executive Chef Interview Questions and Answers?

Make sure to go through these 25 additional questions that will help you better prepare for the interview and boost your confidence by anticipating exactly what the employer might ask you.

25 More Questions for an Executive Chef Interview

  • How long have you been working in the culinary industry?
  • How and when did you decide you want to become a Chef?
  • What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome in your career?
  • What would you say is the most valuable lesson you've learned at work?
  • What was your biggest failure in the kitchen and what did you learn from it?
  • Do you have experience working in international restaurants?
  • What makes you stand out among other candidates?
  • What's your experience handling conflicts in the kitchen?
  • How do you help create a positive environment in the workplace?
  • Which method do you use to delegate tasks in the kitchen?
  • How do you handle letting people go?
  • How do you usually handle a shortage of staff?
  • How do you ensure everyone's doing their job during busy periods?
  • How do you monitor and determine your staff's performance levels?
  • What is your experience with cooking for big events?
  • What would you say is your signature dish and how do you make it?
  • Which guidelines do you follow to ensure high-level hygiene standards?
  • How do you handle and dispose of kitchen waste?
  • How do you handle a sudden increase in ingredient prices?
  • Tell me about a time when you increased the kitchen's efficiency.
  • Where do you see yourself in three years?
  • What's your least favorite dish to make and why?
  • What would you say was the proudest moment in your career?
  • Which top three characteristics make for a great Executive Chef?
  • How do you think others would describe your dishes?

Testimonial From an Established Executive Chef

Becoming an Executive Chef has its pros and cons, as a renowned Executive Chef in the industry was quick to point out to us.

What piece of advice would you give to young people who want to advance in the field?

"If you want to be an Executive Chef, please be ready to make sacrifices. You will miss important events, you will have long hours, and if you're an Executive Chef at a smaller restaurant like myself, you will be working alongside your team on the line.

Every restaurant is different, so be sure that where you work, you will be happy and able to flourish and grow. Because as Chefs we cannot stop learning. Everyone is different, but the best advice I can give is follow your heart. There are all kinds of Chefs, and not everyone is a Restaurant Chef. You will find your way through trial and error."

Steven Wagner, Private and Executive Chef

How To Prepare for an Executive Chef Interview

Aside from practicing answers to commonly asked interview questions, here are other tips that will help you make a lasting impact on the interviewer.

1. Ask questions

Interviews are a two-way street. Learn as much as you can about the company, team culture and processes to make sure they're aligned with your experience, skills and career goals. Below, we've given example questions you can ask your potential employer:

  • What's the average turnover rate for kitchen staff?
  • How are conflicts resolved within the kitchen team?
  • How do you ensure that your kitchen staff is happy?
  • How do you manage and track food, labor and operational costs?
  • What are the financial goals of the restaurant this year?
Text on graphic: You’re 22x more memorable using storytelling approach.

2. Bring your portfolio

Your portfolio should align closely with the dishes offered by your potential employer. Aside from photos of your dishes, you can also include cost control reports that will help support your answers to interview questions about food cost management and budgeting.

3. Ensure a good night's sleep

Interviews are always nerve-wracking. But try your best to be well-rested the night before your interview to keep yourself focused and able to answer the questions excellently. You'll also look your best when you have quality sleep. So, keep this in mind as part of your interview preparation.

[Source: Escoffier Home Gourmet]

Interview Tips for Employers

Hiring for a leadership role requires careful planning to ensure you choose the right candidate. A bad hire can potentially demoralize the team, incur unnecessary costs and slow down operations. Below are some tips to help you hire the best staff for your organization.

  • Make the hiring process as fast as possible: Interviewing for leadership positions such as Executive Chef usually takes longer, but make sure to avoid excessive delays that can extend the hiring process beyond four weeks. BBC shares that 28% of candidates drop their application if the process takes too long.
Text on graphic: 28% drop applications with long hiring process
  • Break the ice: Make an effort to alleviate tension. This helps build rapport between you and the candidate. When a candidate feels comfortable in the environment, they're able to share more. From your end, you get to see their true personality and evaluate if their communication style would be a good fit for the team.
  • Conduct a taste test: After the interview, consider having a taste test so you can assess the candidate's creativity, efficiency and commitment to quality standards. You can ask them to create your establishment's signature dish. Consider involving other members of the kitchen staff in the taste test to provide an even more comprehensive assessment.
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Written by Rea Gierran

Content Specialist

With a background in Communication Arts, Rea's expertise lies in content marketing and copywriting. Her published works can be seen on online news websites such as Rappler and Adobo magazine. Outside of her work, Rea takes on the role of a “momager” for Shiro, a TikTok dogfluencer.

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Reviewed by Stefan Petrov

Editor and SEO Content Writer

With over 10 years of experience as a writer and editor, Stefan has worked in the automotive, IT, health and hospitality industries. Familiar with Google Search Console and other SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush, Stefan uses his experience to create content that's visually appealing to the user but also ranks in the SERPs.