10 Steps to Be An Excellent Line Cook

So you're a line cook and you've got a passion for food. You're getting into knives, probably reading "Kitchen Confidential," maybe watching "The Bear", and picking out a new apron because nobody wants the linen company's standard issue whites. Those are all great things (mostly), but it's crucial to remember that being a great line cook has so much more to do with knowledge and skillset than anything else, and those don't come easily.

It’s about building a functional philosophy—a mindset that gives conceptual purpose to everything you do.

Becoming an excellent line cook is the essential foundation for becoming a great chef who leads a successful restaurant, hotel, or any foodservice business. It's a challenging position that takes time, patience, and dedication to succeed at a high level. But when you get good at it, it's also a lot of fun. The following are ten core principles, of many, that you need to learn and hone.

1) Focus

Whether you’re prepping for service or fighting off the weeds, focus is your superpower. It's about blocking out the noise and dropping into 'the zone'—just like an athlete on game day. The deeper you focus, the cleaner your work, the fewer mistakes, and the more opportunities you'll create for yourself. This isn't just about speed; it's about precision under pressure. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by anything.

2) Mise en Place

Mise en Place is your religion. Everything in its right place, clean, and organized. All. The. Time. Stop and clean as you go. Consolidate your physical space, simplify your movements, and declutter your mind. Your station should be a constant work of reduction and refinement, from prep to service to breakdown. Working in a trashy station is the fastest way to get in the weeds. Don't do it. Ever.

3) Prioritization

Prioritization is the art of knowing what to do when, and how to juggle multiple tasks to get the job done in the most effective way. Early in your career, you’ll probably stare at a prep list and think, 'No human could possibly get all this done' But as you master the flow, you’ll look back as you advance and realize it wasn't the list, it was how you approached it. Learn to see the forest and the trees, combining tasks effectively and move with purpose. How you do anything is how you’ll do everything, so prioritize, because after all, if you rise the ranks and become a chef, your list will be much, much more challenging.

4) Use a Prep List

Use a prep list. Seriously. In the relentlessness of a busy kitchen, your brain will forget things. Writing everything down isn't needless paperwork; it’s a mark of a professional. You can't prioritize what you haven't written down, and you can't refine your strategy if you're not tracking your progress. If you’re not writing it down and scheduling your tasks, you're either not busy enough, or you're setting yourself up for failure.

5) Taste Everything

This isn't optional; it's the cardinal sin to send out food you haven't tasted. Keep tasting spoons on your station at all times. Taste your sauces before service, taste your components during prep, and taste the finished dish before it leaves your hands. Great food is a controllable outcome; the only way to truly fail here is to not taste. Already tasted it? Taste it again. Your palate is your most important tool.

6) Master Salt

It’s not a super interesting fermentation or sous vide technique, it's salt, and it’s more important. Developing your palate and understanding how to season properly is the absolute crux of becoming a great cook. You’ll make mistakes – everyone does – but when you truly master salt, you’ll feel it. You’ll watch the granules fall and just know it’s right. It’s a foundational skill that elevates everything. Nobody wants their steak to be like salt-lick, and nobody wants bland mashed potatoes, or anything else. Learn how to season like Jacques Pepin makes an omelet.

7) Master Heat

This might sound boring, but it’s arguably the most overlooked and fundamental skill. Truly understanding how to control the flame, heat source, perfectly preheat pans, and adjusting heat as you go is literally cooking. If you aspire to be a chef, you won't be able to stand over every pot, waiting for mushrooms to caramelize. You need to be able to hear the food, feel the temperature of the pan, and viscerally know the tendencies of your grill or stove. This is the difference between some grey, unappetizing cut of meat and a perfectly seared ribeye, basted with foamy garlicky butter. If you can’t master heat, you can’t cook well.

8) Master Consistency

This is the test for every cook and chef. No matter how slammed you are, how tired you are, or how late that last table sat, your job is to ensure the food is consistent. Every. Single. Time. This is often the toughest part because kitchen work can be (at times) grueling, physically and mentally. Your mind might feel as cooked as the steak on the grill, but you must make an unwavering agreement with yourself: everything you send out is the absolute best you can do. If it’s not, do it again.

9) Create Speed AND Accuracy (Don't Just Be Fast)

There's a huge difference between being frantic and being truly fast. You learn speed by doing something the right way a thousand times. Repetition is key. Don’t cut corners and don’t rush things to just “get it out”, that’s the mark of a slow reputational death. Speed on the line isn't about rushing; it’s about efficiency and anticipation. It’s about setting yourself up for success before the rush even begins, knowing your station inside and out, and making every movement count. Watch the best cooks—they aren't necessarily running around; they're working smarter, always a step ahead, making complex tasks look effortless.

10) Set a Goal

What do you want? Where do you see yourself? Decide, then earn it. If you aspire to run a kitchen, to innovate, or to teach, the opportunities are there for talented, dedicated individuals with the practical knowledge who have earned their place and their status. Every day, pay it forward by honing your skills. Understand that as long as you work hard and commit to being your best, you control your trajectory. Take your career seriously, because the culinary profession rewards those who do.

If you’re new to the game, buckle up. You'll spend a year or two learning the ropes and taking your share of lumps. It takes time – often a few years – to truly earn the confidence of a great cook and to learn not to take the inevitable bumps personally.

Cooking in restaurants demands more than just learning new techniques and terms. It requires you to forge your spirit to withstand adversity, and putting callouses on your hands and feet. You’ll need to develop physical, mental, and emotional strength that few other professions demand.

But regardless of where you are on that journey, understand this: professional cooking is an art and craft at the speed of sport with surgical precision. So, if you're stepping onto that line, commit to it. Be excellent.

----------------------

Extra credit but crucially important

11) Keep Your Knife Sharp

Under no circumstances should you ever smash through food with a knife that cuts more like a spoon than a sharp blade. And if you must, use the house knives temporarily, but don’t be proud of it. Learn how to use a sharpening stone, and a hone if you really want to be a great cook.

12) Do Not Call Out And Do Not Be Late

No chef wants to spend brain cells wondering where you are and if you’re going to show up. This isn’t some silly office job of nine to fivers who bitch about a forty-hour work week. If you’re late, you’re taking years off a chef’s life, and if you call out, you’d better be dead or dying, because another cook or chef is going to have to pull a double, or come in on a well-deserved day off to cover for you. Don’t.