Chef interview questions and answers (UK, 2026)
The service pressure, food safety and allergen questions UK chef interviews really ask, plus what the trial shift is actually marking.
What interviewers are really assessing
The head chef interviewing you has been burned before: by chefs who talked well and folded on a Saturday night, by allergen near-misses, and by no-shows two weeks in. The conversation checks your story (sections run, covers done, styles of kitchen), your food safety instincts, and your temperament; the trial shift then verifies all of it, watching how you set your section up, how clean you work, whether you taste, and how you take a correction. Since Natasha's Law, allergen questions are legal due diligence, not trivia: expect to be asked exactly how you handle an allergy order mid-service. At sous and head level, add costing, GP percentage and rota questions, because the books are part of the job.
Chef interview questions and model answers
For each question: why it is asked, and the structure of a strong answer. Adapt the worked examples to your own experience; interviewers follow up, so never borrow a story.
1. Talk me through the kitchens you have worked in: covers, section, style.
Why they ask it: It calibrates everything else you say, and exaggeration here gets exposed within an hour of the trial shift.
Be precise and honest: "two years at a 120-cover gastro pub on sauce and grill, fresh food, two rosettes; before that a year in a hotel doing banqueting up to 300". Name the style (fresh versus regeneration, menu size, brigade size) because it tells the head chef exactly what you can walk into. If you have gaps or your biggest kitchen was smaller than this one, say so and point to the trial: kitchens respect honesty backed by willingness to prove it on the section.
2. An allergy order comes in mid-service: table 12, coeliac, ordering a dish that normally contains flour. What happens?
Why they ask it: Since Natasha's Law and recent prosecutions, allergen handling is a legal test, and a casual answer is disqualifying.
Show the protocol: the order is flagged verbally and on the ticket, you check the allergen matrix rather than trusting memory, confirm whether the dish can be safely adapted or must be declined, prep on a cleaned section with fresh pans, utensils and gloves, no shared fryer or water, and the dish is marked and delivered with the allergy stated at the pass. Add the humility step: if there is any doubt about an ingredient (a stock, a bought-in sauce), you check the label or say no. Kitchens have been prosecuted for less; the interviewer wants to hear that you know that.
3. Describe your worst service. What went wrong and what did you do?
Why they ask it: Every chef has one, and the answer shows whether you tighten up or unravel when the wheels come off.
Pick a real one and structure it: the cause (a call-off leaving you two down on a fully booked Saturday, a fryer failing mid-service), the triage (simplifying where possible, the head chef pulling a section together, front of house told honestly about delays so they could manage tables), and how you personally held your section: checks called back, tickets in order, no shortcuts on temperatures. End with what changed: prep lists rebuilt, a par level raised, a better call-off plan. Chefs who blame the whole story on others fail this question.
4. How do you keep your section consistent when you are tired and slammed?
Why they ask it: Consistency under fatigue is the actual skill of the trade; anyone can cook one good plate at 10am.
Give mechanisms, not character claims: mise en place done to a written prep list with par levels, spec sheets or photos at the section until a dish is muscle memory, tasting as you go even on the hundredth cover, and calling for help before the wheel falls off rather than after. A worked detail, such as pre-portioning garnishes for the forecast covers so the last table gets the same plate as the first, shows you understand consistency is built before service, not during it.
5. What does food safety look like on your section day to day?
Why they ask it: The EHO visit is unannounced and the rating is public, so the head chef needs your standards to hold without supervision.
Walk your routine: fridge temperature checks logged at the start of shift, delivery checks (temperature, dates, packaging), FIFO rotation with day dots on everything, raw and ready-to-eat separation in storage and prep, probe checks on cooked and reheated food with the numbers you work to (75 degrees cooked, 8 degrees or below chilled), and cleaning as you go with the section broken down properly at close. Mention working to the HACCP-based system honestly, including writing the records at the time rather than backfilling, because inspectors and head chefs both spot invented logs.
6. A junior on your section keeps making the same mistake in service. What do you do?
Why they ask it: Kitchens are teaching environments under pressure, and the old shouting culture loses staff the industry cannot replace.
Show the modern craft: correct it in the moment briefly and without humiliation, then after service take five minutes to show the why, whether it is a knife technique, a pan temperature or ticket reading, and check their prep list actually sets them up to succeed. Give a real example: a commis repeatedly overcooking fish because they were starting it too early to feel safe on timing; you rebuilt their timing off the ticket calls and it stopped. Mention when you escalate: patterns that continue after genuine teaching go to the sous or head chef with what you have already tried.
7. At your level, what do you know about costing, GP and waste?
Why they ask it: From CDP upwards the numbers become part of the craft, and head chefs need to know what they can delegate.
Scale the answer to the level: at CDP, portion control to spec, waste minimised and recorded, and prep quantities matched to forecast covers. At sous or head level, dish costing from ingredient prices, menu pricing to a target GP (name the typical bracket you have worked to, often 65 to 72 percent food GP), supplier price checking, and stocktakes. A worked example, such as re-speccing a dish when an ingredient price spiked to protect GP without dropping quality, shows the numbers are real to you. If costing is new to you, say so and show appetite; do not bluff percentages at a head chef.
8. Why this kitchen, and what are your hours expectations honestly?
Why they ask it: Mismatched expectations about hours and style are the top reason chefs leave in month one, which costs the kitchen another recruitment round.
Reference their food genuinely: the menu, the style, a dish or the produce they shout about; head chefs can tell instantly whether you looked. Then be straight on logistics: the hours you can sustain, weekend availability, and what you want from the role, whether that is learning pastry, stepping up to CDP or stability after agency work. Kitchens run on reliability, so an honest constraint stated now reads far better than a resignation letter in week three.
Questions to ask them
Asking nothing reads as low interest. These three work because they show you understand the role’s reality, and their answers tell you whether you want the job:
- How many covers does a busy service do here, and how is the brigade structured across sections?
- What is the rota really like: split shifts, doubles, and how far ahead is it published?
- How much of the menu is made in-house, and how often does it change?
Practise out loud, not in your head
Reading model answers feels like preparation, but interviews are spoken: the first time you say an answer aloud should not be in the room. Rehearse each story out loud until it flows without sounding scripted. If you want a realistic run-through, Vouch’s AI coach Maya runs voice mock interviews built from a real job advert and your own CV, and gives feedback per question, which is the closest thing to the actual experience you can do from your sofa.
And since a strong interview starts with getting invited: the free cover letter generator writes a UK-format letter from your real experience, and the UK personal statement guide covers the 50-80 words at the top of your CV that decide whether it gets read.
Frequently asked questions
How should I prepare for a chef interview and trial shift?
Read the menu online and understand the style of food before you walk in. Bring your own knives, whites if asked, and arrive early. On the trial: set your section up methodically, taste everything, work clean, ask about allergen procedures unprompted, and take corrections without bristling, because attitude under correction is half of what is being marked. Prepare honest answers about covers done and sections run.
What format do UK chef interviews take?
Typically a short conversation with the head chef or manager, then a trial shift (stage) of a few hours to a full service, usually within the same week. The conversation covers your history, food safety and allergen knowledge, and availability; the trial tests section organisation, cleanliness, speed, palate and temperament. For sous and head chef roles expect a second conversation on costing, GP targets, rotas and menu development.
How do I answer the salary question in a chef interview?
Know the local market for your level and state a figure tied to your evidence: section experience, covers, and any qualifications (Level 2 or 3 Food Hygiene, professional cookery NVQs). Ask about the things that change the real deal: guaranteed hours versus zero-hours, overtime or time in lieu, service charge and tronc arrangements, and meals on shift. For salaried roles, ask what the expected weekly hours actually are, because the hourly reality varies enormously between kitchens.