Sushi Chef Interview Questions: 10 to Ask and How to Score Them

Ask ten questions that force specifics: knives and sharpening, breaking down a whole fish, what they do with fish that is not good enough, ageing, shari, raw fish hygiene, local species, explaining a piece to a guest, training, and what would make them leave. Score each block from 1 to 4, weight the blocks for the role, and send only candidates with a weighted score of 3.0 or more and no disqualifying answer to a practical test.

1. The ten core questions

Print this table and take it into the call. Write a score from 1 (weak) to 4 (strong) in the last column while the answer is fresh. Ask each question, then ask "tell me about the last time" once more. Real experience survives the second question; rehearsed answers usually do not.

Question 10 is not scored. It tells you what to fix before the chef arrives, which our guide to retaining Japanese chefs covers. For a head chef, replace question 9 with: "What food cost did your last kitchen run at, and what did you do when it rose?"

2. Follow up questions by block

Use these when a block needs more evidence, or when two candidates tie.

Technique

• How do you cut sashimi differently for a lean fish and a fatty one? (Listen for hira zukuri, sogi zukuri, usu zukuri and why.)
• How many pieces of nigiri can you make in an hour at a consistent weight? (Knowing their own speed matters more than the number.)
• What do you make from trim? (Negitoro, bone stock, staff meals: a sign they think about yield.)

Fish

• How do you judge a fish on arrival? (Eyes, gills, firmness, smell, belly cavity, blood line colour; the answer should change by species.)
• How do you cure kohada or saba, and how do you adjust for size and season?
• How would you run a weekly fish budget? (Senior candidates talk about yield percentages and ordering to forecast covers.)

Shari and water

• Our water is harder than yours in Japan. What would you change? (A thoughtful answer is a good sign for someone moving abroad.)

Counter and guests

• How do you pace omakase for eight guests who arrived at different times?
• A guest says halfway through that they do not eat a certain fish. What now?

Leadership

• How many people have you trained, and what did you teach first?
• How do you handle a cook who is fast but careless?

3. Answers that end the interview

Some answers outweigh any total. Stop the process if you hear one of these, however good the knife work sounds:

• They would serve fish they doubted, or would hide a quality problem from the owner.
• No hygiene routine for raw fish in a senior role: a hygiene score below 2.
• The story changes under follow up: dates, restaurants or duties that do not match the CV once you ask for the last specific example.

A candidate who does not know your local food safety rules is not a red flag. That is training. A candidate who sees no reason to keep records is.

4. Scoring, weights and the pass line

Average the questions in each block, multiply by the weight for the role, and add up. The weights below are a starting point; change them before the first interview, not after.

Pass line. 3.0 or more and no disqualifying answer: go to the practical test. 2.5 to 2.9: a second, shorter call on the weakest block only. Below 2.5: stop.

Worked example, line chef. Technique 3.5, fish 3, shari 3, hygiene 2, counter 3, leadership 2. Weighted: 1.05 + 0.75 + 0.45 + 0.30 + 0.30 + 0.10 = 2.95. This candidate gets a second call on hygiene before any money is spent on a test.

Score straight after the call, and have a second person score independently if you can. Where the two scores differ by more than one point on a block, discuss the notes, not the numbers.

5. Questions to leave out, by country

The law of the country where the chef will work is the one that exposes you. Japan's rules do not bind an overseas employer, but they shape what a Japanese candidate expects to be asked.

Instead of asking about family, describe the job (split shifts, standing for a full service, carrying stock) and ask whether the candidate can do it. Where a visa route depends on nationality, such as the US E-2 route (see E-2 visas for restaurant staff), ask about eligibility for the route, not nationality for its own sake, and take local legal advice before writing it into a script.

6. What to do this week

1. Set the weights for your role and print one sheet per candidate.
2. Ask a sushi chef you trust to sit in on the technical block, if you cannot judge it yourself.
3. Have your local HR adviser read section 5 against your interview script.
4. Book the practical test slots now, so a candidate who passes does not wait.

General information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules on permitted interview questions vary by country, state and province. Check with a local employment lawyer before finalising your interview process.