Twenty minutes & fifty dollars.
A cook can have a great trial shift and still be the wrong hire.
You should absolutely watch someone work before you offer them a place in your kitchen. Can they cook? Do they clean as they go? Do they ask when they're unsure, or guess and hope nobody notices? You learn a lot once the board starts filling up.
But you're watching one shift. You aren't seeing what it was like to work beside them for the last six months. Over the years with 86&co., talking to clients about how they hire, I've seen the same two steps get dropped: reference checks and background checks. Not because anyone thinks they're a bad idea. They're just easy to push aside when you need somebody on that station by Friday.
Make the calls - Reference checks will always be king for me. Before you commit to someone, call the people they've worked for. Aim for three past employers and speak with the chef, owner, or GM who actually knew their work.
Did they show up? Could they handle a busy service? How did they treat the rest of the team? Would you hire them again?
You don't need a long conversation. You need to get past the résumé and hear from someone who was there. Sometimes the answers are enthusiastic and specific. Sometimes they're careful. A pause isn't proof of anything, but it's a reason to ask a better follow-up instead of rushing to get off the phone. A trial can show you that somebody knows their way around a kitchen. References help you understand whether you'd want them in yours every week.
Give people room to be honest...
A background check is another piece of the picture, used at the appropriate stage and within the rules that apply where you're hiring. It isn't a substitute for references, and it shouldn't be an automatic yes or no.
We've sat across from people who told us there was nothing on their record, only for the check to tell a different story. I've also worked beside people with records who were the most reliable cooks in the building. I'd put them on my line again tomorrow.
This industry has always had room for people rebuilding their lives. It should. What matters is understanding what you're looking at: what happened, how long ago it was, whether it's relevant to the job, and what the person has done since. Give them a chance to explain rather than deciding you know the whole story from a report.
Honesty matters, too. When you can appropriately have that conversation, someone being straightforward about their past gives you something to work with. That's very different from deliberately misleading you. You're trying to make an informed hire, not find someone who's never made a mistake.
Once you've done that work, bring your shortlist into the kitchen for the trial. And if they're working your service, pay them.
I learned that from the wrong side of it. Years ago, I went in for a trial at one of the best restaurants in Portland at the time. Fourteen hours. Prep, lunch service, dinner service, and the clean down. At the end of the night, they told me my time was free. I could have the job, but I'd need to come back for another day first, just to make sure I liked it.
It turned out that was routine there. Always on a weekend. That wasn't a hiring process. It was free labor dressed up as one. I hated that grifter mentality then, and I hate it now. A talented chef and a good reputation don't make it acceptable to take someone's labor.
A trial should be long enough to see how someone works, with clear expectations and pay agreed on before they walk in. You should both leave knowing more about whether the job is a good fit. And yes, that costs money. That's a reason to be thoughtful about who you bring in, not a reason to make applicants work for nothing.
And don’t let Friday make the decision - When you're short-staffed, anyone who can pick up a knife and get through service starts to look like the answer. I get it. Your team is tired, you're covering the gaps, and you need help now. But the work you skip before hiring doesn't disappear. You risk handing it to the rest of the kitchen later if it doesn’t work out. Make the calls. Do the appropriate checks. Then pay the people you bring in to show you what they can do.
You're not just filling a station for Friday. You're choosing who the rest of your team has to count on when you're not in the room. Hire like it.
