Sushi Chef Job Description Template, With Hiring Checklist

A job description does two jobs. It attracts the right person, and it sets the expectations you will be held to for the next three years. Most sushi chef ads do neither: they list "prepare sushi" and "maintain cleanliness" and then wonder why the applicants are wrong.

Below is a template you can copy, plus the variations for head chef, teppanyaki and ramen roles, and notes on what to change if you want applicants from Japan rather than from your own city.

1. Why most sushi chef job ads fail

• They do not say what kind of restaurant it is. A 12-seat omakase counter and a 200-cover conveyor operation both advertise for "sushi chef". Experienced candidates self-select on this, and if you do not say it, the wrong ones apply.
• They hide the pay. A senior chef will not spend an evening on an application to find out the number. Publish a range.
• They do not say whether sponsorship is available. This is the single most common question from overseas applicants, and leaving it out means you field the same email fifty times.
• They list duties instead of the job. "Cut fish" is a duty. "Own the neta order, manage yield on a weekly fish spend of X, and train two junior cooks" is a job.
• They are silent on hours and days off. In a trade with high churn, vagueness here reads as bad news.

2. Sushi chef job description — template

Job title

Sushi Chef — [Restaurant name], [City]

About the restaurant

[Restaurant name] is a [seat count]-seat [omakase counter / izakaya / à la carte Japanese restaurant / hotel Japanese outlet] in [neighbourhood, city]. We serve roughly [x] covers a day, with an average spend of [amount]. Our fish comes from [supplier / market / direct import from Japan]. The kitchen is [x] people, led by [head chef title].

The role

You will work the sushi counter alongside [x] other chefs, responsible for [nigiri and sashimi preparation / the full omakase course / the cold section]. Reporting to [title].

What you will own

• Breaking down and portioning whole fish to the standard we have set, and managing yield
• Nigiri, sashimi and maki to spec across [lunch / dinner / both] service
• Shari preparation and seasoning consistency
• Daily neta selection and communication with [supplier / buyer]
• Counter service and direct guest interaction in [language(s)]
• Food safety, temperature control and HACCP records for the sushi section
• Training and checking [x] junior cooks or apprentices

What we are looking for

• [x] years working a sushi station, including [x] years handling whole fish
• Confident with [specific: hikarimono, aging techniques, live shellfish, whatever actually matters here]
• Able to work a counter in front of guests
• [Language requirement, stated honestly — e.g. "conversational English for guest interaction; Japanese is a plus but not required"]
• [Certification: food handler's licence / local health card / Japanese 調理師免許 if relevant]

Hours and schedule

[x] hours a week, [split shift / straight shift], [x] days off per week, typically [which days]. Service runs [times]. [Overtime policy and how it is paid.]

Pay and benefits

[Currency][range] per [year / month / hour], depending on experience. Plus [service charge share / tips / bonus structure]. [Health insurance, pension, meals, uniform, knife allowance, paid leave — list what you actually give.]

Relocation and visa

[Pick one and be specific:]

• "We sponsor work visas for this role. We cover [visa fees / flight / first month accommodation] and support the application process."
• "This role is open to candidates who already hold the right to work in [country]. We are not able to sponsor a visa."

How to apply

Send [CV / a short note about where you have worked] to [contact]. If you have video of your work, include it — we would rather see ten minutes of your knife work than read another page of CV. We reply to every applicant within [x] days.

3. Head sushi chef — what changes

A head chef ad that reads like a senior line-cook ad will not attract head chefs. The sections that change:

• Add ownership of numbers. Food cost percentage, weekly fish spend, waste targets. Name the actual figures if you can.
• Add menu authority. State clearly how much of the menu this person controls and who signs off. Candidates at this level will ask, and a vague answer costs you the good ones.
• Add people. Team size, who they hire, who they roster, who they discipline.
• Add the succession expectation. Many markets — Malaysia's Employment Pass among them — now formally expect a plan to train local staff. Write it into the job, because you will be asked to evidence it.
• Raise the pay band and say so. In US BLS data the 90th percentile for chefs and head cooks is $98,560 a year against a $62,470 median. Head chef pay lives in that upper band.

4. Teppanyaki chef — what changes

Teppanyaki is a performance role as much as a cooking role, and the ad should say so. Add:

• Guest-facing showmanship and comfort cooking in front of a full table for a full service
• Volume expectations — covers per table, tables per shift, turn times
• Griddle temperature control and consistency across a long service
• Language confidence, because this role talks to guests continuously
• Protein handling: the cuts you serve and the grades you buy

One naming note worth getting right in the ad: the chef who cooks on the teppan is a teppanyaki chef; "hibachi chef" is the common North American usage for essentially the same role. If you are advertising in the US, using both terms once will widen your reach.

5. Ramen chef — what changes

• Broth: which style, how many hours, how many batches a week, who owns the recipe
• Noodles: made in house or bought in, and if in house, the machine and the hydration spec
• Tare and aroma oil preparation
• Chashu and topping prep volumes
• Bowls per hour at peak — this is the number that tells a ramen chef whether they want the job
• Early starts, because the broth does not wait

6. If you want applicants from Japan

An ad written for a local audience will not convert a chef in Japan. Five changes make a real difference:

1. Publish a Japanese version. Not a machine translation of the English — a version written for a Japanese reader, with the restaurant explained the way a Japanese chef would want it explained.
2. Lead with the package, not the brand. A chef in Osaka has not heard of your restaurant. They have heard of salary, days off and visa support.
3. Give the annual figure, not the hourly one. Japanese employment norms are annual-salary-and-bonus. An hourly rate reads as casual work.
4. Answer the visa question in the first screen. Whether you sponsor, what you cover, and roughly how long it takes.
5. Say what happens in month one. Airport pickup, temporary accommodation, help opening a bank account. These details are what turn interest into an application.

For context on what that chef is currently earning and what will move them, see our salary benchmark guide, and for the immigration side, visa sponsorship for Japanese chefs.

7. Pre-publish checklist

• Does the ad say what kind of restaurant this is, in one sentence a stranger would understand?
• Is there a pay range, with a currency and a period?
• Is the visa position stated explicitly, either way?
• Are days off and shift pattern stated?
• Is there one specific detail that only your restaurant could have written?
• Is there a named person or address to apply to, and a promise of when you will reply?
• Have you removed every requirement you would actually waive for the right candidate?
• Is the title one a candidate would search for — "sushi chef", "head sushi chef", "teppanyaki chef" — rather than an internal grade?

This template is general guidance. Employment terms, required certifications and permitted advertising language vary by country — check local employment law before publishing, particularly around stating language, age or nationality requirements.