How to Test a Chef Before Hiring Remotely: Task Brief and Rubric

Test in two remote stages before you spend on a visa: first, recorded tasks filmed in one continuous take (a home kitchen is fine); second, a live video test where you name the task on the call, or an in person test in Japan for your final two. Score every candidate on the same seven line rubric. Hire only at a weighted 3.0 out of 4 or more, with no score of 2 or below on knife control or hygiene.

1. Two stages before the offer

A CV tells you where a chef worked, not what they did there. The test replaces that guess with evidence, cheaply, before visa and flight costs are committed.

Do not fly a candidate over to try out in your kitchen. A visitor generally has no right to work: the US State Department states that a person on a B1/B2 visitor visa is not permitted to accept employment or work in the United States, and most countries have similar rules. The trial in your kitchen happens after the visa, as probation.

2. The task brief to send (Japanese and English)

Send the same brief to every candidate, with a deadline about a week away. One continuous take per task, no editing: you want to see time and hesitation, not a highlight reel. MAFF's cooking skills certification makes sanmai oroshi (three piece filleting) and katsuramuki compulsory in its Bronze practical exam, which is a fair baseline for any Japanese kitchen role.

For other roles, swap tasks 1 and 2: ichiban dashi and a clear soup for a kappo or kaiseki chef; a talk through their broth process for ramen; for a head chef, add a ten minute recorded walk through a menu they wrote, with how they costed it. Notice what candidates ask before filming. A chef who asks which fish you buy locally is already thinking about your kitchen.

3. If the chef cannot film at work

Most chefs employed in Japan cannot film in their employer's kitchen, and many are job hunting without telling their employer. Never contact the current employer without the candidate's written consent. The brief above already works in a home kitchen. If fish is the problem, these tasks still show real skill:

• Supermarket fish. A whole aji or saba from any supermarket is enough for sanmai oroshi.
• Sharpening and katsuramuki. Need only a stone, a knife and a daikon.
• Shari at home. Rice cooker, vinegar, a hangiri or bowl: film the mixing and the forming.
• Costing exercise. Send a recipe with your local ingredient prices and ask for the cost per portion and a menu price at your target food cost.
• Menu walk through. A recorded ten minutes on a seasonal menu they would build with your local fish list.

4. The live video test

Book 45 minutes. The candidate uses a second phone or tripod on the board. Name the task on the call so it cannot be rehearsed: "fillet this and form six pieces of the same weight", "the thinnest katsuramuki you can in three minutes". Ask them to weigh portions on camera. Live testing shows speed and consistency, and it exposes a stage 1 video that was not really theirs. Use the same tasks, in the same order, for every finalist.

5. Testing in person in Japan

If you, a partner or a chef you trust will be in Japan, an in person test is the only way to taste the food. A practical plan:

• Where. Hire a rental kitchen or cooking studio by the hour; they are common in large Japanese cities. A group restaurant's kitchen outside service hours also works.
• How long. Two to three hours per candidate, all finalists on the same day, with the same fish that you buy.
• Who pays. You: the kitchen, ingredients, the candidate's travel and a meal. If you cannot go, pay an experienced chef in Japan to run the test and return a scored rubric.
• Send in advance. Date, address, what to bring (their own knives, whites), the task list, and how long it will take.
• Keep it a test. Nothing cooked is sold or served to customers. Whether a fee paid to the candidate would count as wages under Japanese law we could not confirm; if you want to pay more than expenses, ask a Japanese labour and social security attorney (社労士) first.

6. Scoring rubric and pass mark

One sheet per candidate, scored 1 to 4 by at least two people where possible, with one line of notes per score.

Pass mark. A weighted total of 3.0 or more. Disqualifiers, whatever the total: 2 or below on knife control for a sushi or cutting role, 2 or below on hygiene for any role, or evidence that the stage 1 video was not theirs.

Comparing two candidates (video only weights).

A has the higher total and the better knife, but a 2 on hygiene disqualifies. B passes. If both had passed, you would take the higher total, and use the notes to break a tie.

7. Cost worksheet and schedule

We found no published benchmark for these costs, so treat this as a worksheet: get a quote for each line and add them up.

Schedule: send the brief on day 1; videos due day 7; score by day 10; live test in week 2; decision by the end of week 3. Speed matters: MHLW's figures show 2.18 job openings per applicant for food preparation workers in Japan in July 2026.

8. What to do this week

1. Adapt the brief above for the role and set the ingredient cap.
2. Choose your weights (video only or in person) and print one rubric per candidate.
3. Line up a second scorer who can judge knife work.
4. Send the brief to everyone who passed the interview, on the same day.

General information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules on trial work, probation and visitor activities vary by country. Check with a local employment lawyer and immigration adviser before arranging any work by a candidate.