What to look out for before hiring a kitchen porter?

What to look out for before hiring a kitchen porter?

A great kitchen porter is the quiet engine of a busy restaurant. Get the hire right and your chefs stay calm, plates come back spotless and everything is fine. Get it wrong and the whole service starts to creak.

Here’s what you should look for before bringing a KP into any kitchen.

Experience

Useful, not everything It can be hugely beneficial to hire someone with experience in a similar role. An experienced KP usually needs less training and finds their feet quickly, understands the rhythm of service and where bottlenecks appear, and knows their way around dishwashers, chemicals and kit without fuss

What counts as relevant experience? Large restaurants and hotels give the best experience as they are really busy; but anywhere with a pot-wash, a cleaning schedule and peaks of pressure.

On a CV or in interview, dig for specifics:

• What machines have they used? How do they troubleshoot streaky glassware or slow cycles?

• Tell me about a deep clean you led. What did you tackle first and why?

• How do you prioritise when you’ve got a full dish pit, a delivery at the back door and the bins are full

That said, attitude can trump a thin CV. If you’re taking a chance on someone newer to kitchens, look for curiosity, work ethic and the ability to take feedback. Pair them with a clear checklist and a steady hand and they can come on fast.

Speed

'.... the KP is so slow', we couldn't count how many times we have heard this, who needs a slow KP?

Kitchens are unpredictable. You don’t want someone who only has one gear. We have seen that the best KPs can read the room and switch pace:

• During the rush: Keep the dish pit flowing, prioritise chef’s boards, trays and pans, keep glassware separate, and never let the pass wait for a clean tray.

• In steady spells: Reset stations, refresh chemicals, take a bin run, top up disposables, and get ahead of the next wave.

• When things change suddenly: A delivery arrives, the glasswasher throws an error, or the grill chef needs trays now – they adjust without drama.

How to test this in hiring:

• Scenario questions: “You’ve a full rack of pans, a delivery at the door and the pass asking for trays. What’s your order of attack and why?”

• Short paid trial shift: Observe how they move, communicate and prioritise. Are they calm under pressure? Do they think before they sprint?

• Ask about pace: “How do you know when to speed up or slow down?” You want to hear about washing plates, listening to chefs, watching the pass and the pot-wash backlog.

Hardworking Character

A good KP always finds the next job

A good kitchen porter will always find something useful to do when the restaurant is less busy. Downtime isn’t phone time; it’s house-keeping time. Is your KP busy on the phone when there’s no plates to wash? Time to issue a warning. Some argue that you should make sure you have a simple mobile phone policy: phones away during shifts except for breaks or emergencies. We believe that you don't need a phone policy, you do then you probably hired the KP

Red flags to watch

• Vague about previous roles or can’t explain what they actually did

• Speaks poorly of former kitchens rather than describing what they learned

• Glued to a phone, reluctant to tackle less glamorous tasks

• Doesn’t make eye contact with the head chef or ignores instructions

• Unsafe habits: mixing chemicals, overloading racks, leaving knives in sinks

Why this matters

A strong KP cuts stress for chefs, improves EHO readiness, reduces breakages, speeds up table turns and saves money on chemicals and energy by running the kit properly. It’s one of the highest ROI hires you’ll make.

How Mr Kitchen Porter can help If you’d rather skip the guesswork, Mr Kitchen Porter supplies experienced, vetted and properly trained KPs across the UK. Our team understands speed with standards. Whether you need emergency cover, help for a refurb deep clean, or a regular rota solution, we can slot in quickly with minimal hand-holding.

Need a dependable kitchen porter who’ll graft, adapt and keep your kitchen in top nick? Get in touch and we’ll put the right person on your pass.