Have an interview for a kitchen porter role this week, what should i do to prepare? What questions should i expect? What do i need to know about the role? What should i wear?
I have severe anxiety to the point where i struggle ordering my own food in a restaurant and using this job as some sort of exposure therapy and to earn a bit of money over the summer before heading back to uni, but now i feel sick at the thought of it all. I almost didnt pick up the call
7 comments
Chances are the interview will just be a case of “can you do it? When can you start?”
Kitchen Porters are in very short supply
Wear jeans and a smart shirt – they aren’t expecting you to turn in full garb with a list of answers prepared. It’ll be a case of, can you start on x date? Perfect, see you then.
I would say wear something smart casual.
A KP job is usually pretty straight forward. Making sure you get things cleaned quickly and safely and helping out the kitchen team.
Bad kitchen hygiene can be the end of a food business (and a customer!) so just impress on them that you’re a hard worker and understand the importance of cleanliness and working safely with hot/sharp things, quickly.
They must know it’s your first job in the field, so just be honest with them.. and that you’re excited to learn, etc.
And be prepared for it to be hot.. very hot, especially in summer..
Really good luck!!
Ask them if it is a working interview or a formal interview, you don’t want to turn up in a shirt and shoes if you’ll actually be trialling the job.
Also make sure to take your bank details and passport, we can’t legally let you trial if you don’t, you need to get paid.
I did kitchen portering while at University as well, for a few “holidays”. If I had any wisdom, and my kids will tell you I don’t, then here it is:
1. It’ll be hot. Have a water bottle and keep it topped up, drink regularly and stay hydrated.
2. Time will go fast because you’re busy; there should always be something that needs doing. I used to quite enjoy seeing if I could fit everything into the giant dishwashing trays, as loading/unloading the dishwasher was about 80% of my work. Stuff comes out of the dishwasher very hot, so see point 4 about hands.
3. Make sure you have some comfortable footwear with decent grips so you’re not slipping/sliding on the floors.
4. If you get put on the potwash, you’ll need decent rubber gloves and a fair amount of patience: you might want to invest in some hand cream or use olive oil on your hands after your shift: your hands will be wet a lot of the time, and you’ll also be washing them an awful lot. You might get dry/chapped skin as a result so look after them as best you can.
5. Hope that whomever is running the kitchen has decent taste in music/radio stations.
Good luck!
Anxiety is normal in this case. Everyone is anxious at a job interview. They will accept & forgive anxiety. And the shoes. If you get this job, omg, get the shoes & the handcream.
Mostly it’ll be about – can you come in on time regularly (answer: yes I worked out the buses/train/bike ride from my house to here so I can make it without problems), do you understand basics of food hygiene (answer: yes I know to store cooked meat higher than raw meat in the store and not the other way round etc), if you washed all the pots and cutlery what would you do (answer: general cleaning unless chef needs me for something else).