Back of house restaurant job descriptions and duties

From QSRs to fine dining venues, every restaurant depends on back-of-house team members to manage operations and prepare food that nourishes and delights customers. From ordering produce  to handling payroll, food prep to sanitation, back-of-house (BOH) positions comprise the engine driving your business.

While your customers may never meet BOH team members, these restaurant jobs are essential to delivering a fantastic hospitality experience. Here are a few sample back-of-house job descriptions you can use to jumpstart your own job descriptions to help attract top notch BOH staff.

1. Executive Chef Job Description

As Executive Chef, your breadth of professional experience is matched by your passion for culinary excellence, strong leadership skills, and creative flair for menu development. You will play a pivotal role in shaping the restaurant’s culinary offerings and ensuring the smooth operation of our kitchen.

Requirements:

• Conceive and update menus that embody our brand and showcase seasonal ingredients, featuring a diverse range of dishes with considerations for dietary preferences.
• Work closely with the management team to brainstorm new ideas, promotions, and special events.
• Provide valuable input on pricing, menu adjustments, and marketing initiatives to enhance the overall dining experience.
• Lead and manage back-of-house kitchen staff, including sous chefs, line cooks, prep cooks, and dishwashers. Provide guidance, training, and support to foster a positive and productive work environment.
• Continuously expand culinary knowledge of techniques and best practices.
• Proven experience in a management or supervisory role.

2. Sous Chef Job Description

Your organizational and leadership skills as a Sous Chef are critical to the productivity of our back-of-house team. With a proactive mindset, you’ll supervise cooks and BOH staff, prioritizing, assigning, and delegating duties to ensure successful service execution for every customer.

Requirements:

• Communicate executive decisions and policies clearly to BOH team members
• Perform quality checks to ensure all food meets culinary and safety standards
• Demonstrate a positive, proactive approach in a fast-paced environment
• Follow payroll costs and productivity within budgeted guidelines
• Provide training and onboarding services for new back-of-house positions
• Proven experience in management or supervisory role

3. Pastry Chef Job Description

Your desserts combine creativity and precision, treating customers to a sweet conclusion of their dining experience. Your command of quality ingredients and exacting measurements will produce traditional favorites such as cakes and patisserie. Your passion and dedication will expand our menu with seasonal products, innovative flavors, and fresh techniques.

Requirements:

• Demonstrate mastery of ingredients, measurements, and preparation techniques
• Comply with restaurant standards for safety, hygiene, and quality
• Work with BOH team and servers to present delicious food with high visual flair
• Maintain a passion for fresh ideas in a fast-paced and demanding environment

4. Dishwasher Job Description

This position calls for an energetic team player who understands the essentials of restaurant kitchen maintenance. Working various shifts, you will clean and manage the kitchen space to ensure a safe, sanitary, and productive work environment for your BOH team members. Being reliable and taking a positive approach to tackling physical tasks is critical.

Requirements:

• Maintain cleanliness of dishes, glassware, flatware, pots, and pans
• Manage trash, cardboard, and recyclable materials
• Handle kitchen equipment and clean spills promptly throughout the shift
• Assist kitchen staff with closing procedures and prep duties by sanitizing cook stations

READ: 6 tactics for unifying the front and back of house for restaurants

5. Line Cook Job Description

Your role as a Line Cook combines solid culinary knowledge with operational excellence. Working as part of a team, you will mentor other back-of-house staff and communicate effectively with executive chefs and management. You’ll investigate and adopt technologies to improve communication and workflow between front- and back-of-house team members.

Requirements:

• Execute recipes with precision and consistency
• Assist executive chef with menu planning and development
• Comply with health and safety regulations, maintaining a clean, friendly, and organized kitchen
• Optimize resource use and minimize waste to manage food costs and inventory

6. Grill Cook Job Description

As a Grill Cook, your expertise with temperature and timing is in high demand. This back-of-house position requires preparing and cooking a variety of grilled foods, ensuring quality and presentation standards are met. Your safe food storage and handling knowledge is essential to a successful working kitchen.

• Participate in daily kitchen opening and closing procedures
• Set up the kitchen with the necessary tools and equipment
• Maintain appropriate levels of inventory and restock when necessary

7. Kitchen Manager Job Description

In this position, you’ll execute existing menus, develop new dishes, and prepare delicious meals for our customers. Focused and organized, the ideal Kitchen Manager communicates effectively, especially when delegating tasks to other BOH team members. Keep your kitchen humming using tools such as the Clover Kitchen Display System (KDS) or the Kitchen Display App, which allow orders to be routed based on preparation location and/or order type.

Requirements:

• Interview and hire staff for back-of-house positions
• Produce existing menu prep items and plated dishes consistently and accurately
• Set up the kitchen with all necessary tools and equipment
• Uses technology to monitor and maintain appropriate levels of inventory
• Demonstrate how to follow all food safety regulations
• Proven experience in kitchen management or supervisory role

8. Food Prep Job Description

The BOH position in Food Prep involves setting up the kitchen for success by cleaning and cutting meats, poultry, and seafood for cooking. Working under the Sous Chef’s or Executive Chef’s direction, you’ll weigh, measure, and mix ingredients for salads and other menu items, contributing to the restaurant’s service efficiency and flow.

Requirements:

• Prepare food products according to the prescribed methods
• Assure all kitchen procedures are followed
• Follow sanitation guidelines
• Ensure that all food is made in a timely fashion and always in high quality

Whether you need an advanced employee management tool to schedule shifts or a full restaurant POS system to streamline operations, Clover’s POS solutions offer powerful tools to help you manage your restaurant–all in a sleek, user-friendly tool.

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