Line Cook

DESCRIPTION

LINE COOK - Know Your Station. Own Your Execution. Raise the Bar.

At Colton's Social House, Social Therapy may be experienced at the table, but a big part of it is built in the Kitchen. The food has to be prepared with care, cooked correctly, timed with the rest of the table, and executed consistently-whether it's the first ticket of the day or the middle of a packed dinner rush.

Our Line Cooks are responsible for making that happen.

Our Cook's Line is made up of App, Sauté, and Broiler stations, each with its own responsibilities, equipment, recipes, and rhythm. Line Cooks prepare and execute menu items according to our recipes and standards, manage multiple tickets at once, communicate with Expo and the rest of the line, and take ownership of keeping their station clean, stocked, organized, and ready for service.

Working the line requires more than knowing how to cook. It requires timing, awareness, consistency, urgency, and teamwork. Your station may be your primary responsibility, but your work has to come together with everyone else's before the plate can reach the guest.

Great food is part of great hospitality. What happens on the line becomes part of the guest's experience-and that makes it part of Social Therapy.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Work assigned positions across our App, Sauté, and Broiler stations, based on training and proficiency.
• Prepare and cook menu items according to established recipes, procedures, portions, temperatures, and presentation standards.
• Complete daily food prep and maintain appropriate pars for your station.
• Set up your station before service with the ingredients, tools, equipment, and supplies necessary to work efficiently.
• Read Kitchen Display System tickets carefully and execute orders accurately, including modifications, substitutions, allergies, and special instructions.
• Manage multiple active tickets while prioritizing items based on cook times, ticket timing, and coordination with the rest of the line.
• Communicate clearly with Expo and other Line Cooks so components of an order are ready together.
• Maintain awareness beyond your own station and communicate early when you are running low, falling behind, waiting on another item, or need assistance.
• Evaluate ingredients and finished food for quality, freshness, temperature, portion, and proper preparation.
• Use recipes, portioning tools, scales, timers, thermometers, and other systems designed to create consistency.
• Maintain a clean, stocked, organized, and sanitary station throughout service-not just at the beginning or end of the shift.
• Properly label, date, rotate, cool, store, and handle food according to restaurant procedures and food-safety standards.
• Complete opening and closing responsibilities, including station setup and breakdown, cleaning, stocking, prep, and equipment care.
• Assist with deliveries, storage, prep, cleaning, organization, and other Kitchen responsibilities as needed.
• Use knives, cooking equipment, hot surfaces, fryers, grills, sauté equipment, and other kitchen tools safely and correctly.
• Communicate product shortages, quality concerns, equipment issues, prep needs, and other problems before they affect service.
• Step in to support the Kitchen when another station or teammate needs help. There is no "that's not my job."
• Take ownership of your work and never knowingly send something you know isn't right.

COMPENSATION & SCHEDULING

In addition to hourly pay, Expeditors receive:

• Additional weekly cash earnings based on restaurant sales and tip-outs

Full-Time and Part-Time opportunities are available. Evening, weekend, and holiday availability is expected.

Schedules are posted every Friday for the workweek beginning the second Monday after posting, giving our team advance notice to plan around their work schedule.

THREE STATIONS. ONE KITCHEN.

Our Cook's Line operates across App, Sauté, and Broiler, and Line Cook training encompasses all three. Each station has its own equipment, techniques, recipes, timing, and rhythm-but understanding how they work together is an important part of becoming successful on our line.

You do not need to walk in already knowing how Colton's operates. You do need to bring a foundation of professional kitchen experience and the willingness to learn our food, systems, and standards.

Throughout training, you'll learn the recipes, builds, equipment, setup, execution, and responsibilities of each of our three stations. You'll also learn how to read and prioritize tickets, coordinate timing across the line, communicate with Expo and your teammates, and recognize what needs to happen next as service develops.

The goal isn't simply to memorize recipes or learn where ingredients go. It's to understand each station well enough to manage your timing, anticipate what's coming, recognize when something isn't right, and understand how your execution affects the rest of the line.

A strong Line Cook doesn't just know a station. They understand the line.

REQUIREMENTS

• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Previous professional cooking or commercial kitchen experience is required.
• Working knowledge of fundamental food-preparation and cooking techniques.
• Ability and willingness to learn the responsibilities of our App, Sauté, and/or Broiler stations.
• Ability to follow recipes, builds, portioning standards, cook times, temperatures, and plating specifications accurately and consistently.
• Ability to read and manage tickets, recognize modifications and special instructions, and prioritize multiple items during high-volume service.
• Strong sense of timing and coordination and an understanding that your station must work in rhythm with the rest of the line.
• Ability to maintain urgency without allowing speed to replace accuracy, food quality, cleanliness, or safety.
• Strong attention to detail and willingness to stop and correct something that does not meet standard rather than knowingly sending it.
• Ability to evaluate food for proper quality, freshness, doneness, temperature, portion, and presentation.
• Comfortable working with knives, hot equipment, fryers, grills, sauté equipment, and other commercial kitchen tools appropriate to your assigned station.
• Strong organization and the ability to maintain a clean, stocked, and service-ready station throughout the shift.
• Understanding of basic food-safety practices, including proper food handling, storage, labeling, rotation, temperature control, sanitation, and prevention of cross-contamination.
• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally with Expo, other Line Cooks, Kitchen leadership, and Management.
• Willingness to complete prep, cleaning, stocking, opening, closing, and ongoing sidework as a regular part of the position.
• Ability to recognize what needs attention and stay productive without constant direction.
• Dependable, accountable, team-oriented, and receptive to coaching and feedback.
• Ability to work on your feet for extended periods in a hot, fast-paced commercial kitchen environment and safely lift, carry, bend, reach, and maneuver the food, cookware, equipment, and supplies required for the position.
• Must obtain and maintain required California Food Handler & Harassment Certifications within applicable onboarding timelines.
• Availability to work the days, evenings, weekends, holidays, and shifts required by the position.

ABOUT COLTON'S SOCIAL HOUSE

Colton's Social House was built around a simple idea: restaurants can be about more than great food and drinks. They can be places where people connect, celebrate, unwind, and leave feeling a little better than when they arrived.

We call that Social Therapy.

Since opening in Clovis in 2016, we've continued to evolve while staying focused on scratch-made food, thoughtfully crafted cocktails, a rotating selection of local and craft beer, and genuine hospitality. But what happens around the table matters just as much as what we put on it.

Our team members are Social Therapists, and every role contributes to the experience. Whether you're welcoming someone at the door, cooking their meal, crafting their cocktail, or keeping the restaurant running behind the scenes, the details matter.

We believe in raising the bar, owning the outcome, investing in growth, winning together, and never defaulting to "that's not my job." We're looking for people who want to contribute, keep learning, and take pride in being part of something that is always working to get better.

Great food. Great drinks. Genuine connection. That's Social Therapy.