How do you train a new prep cook to run a prep sheet in one week?

Day one and two: the sheet, the walk-in, the labels

Before a new cook touches a knife for production, walk them through the sheet itself. What each column means, where the par comes from, how the make quantity is calculated, what the batch cap is for, and where they write what they actually made. Then walk the walk-in and dry storage with the sheet in hand, pointing at where each item lives and what the container for it looks like. Most confusion in the first week is not about cooking. It is about not knowing where things are or what the sheet is asking for. Related: How should shelf life cap how much of each item a kitchen preps at once?

Spend real time on labeling and dating. Show them the exact format, have them label a few containers, and explain why the use-by date matters to the count and the batch cap. Have them shadow a count on day two so they see how the numbers on the sheet connect to the shelves. A cook who understands why the sheet says make four quarts will follow it. A cook who thinks the number is arbitrary will make six.

Keep reading: How do you build a daily prep list from par levels the right way?, What causes over prep and under prep, and how do you stop both?, How should you assign prep tasks across stations so nothing gets missed?. See how PrepDeckr helps you kitchen prep lists and par-based prep sheets.

Day three and four: own a short list, check every item

Give the new cook a short list of five to eight items with clear recipes, standard batch sizes, and low risk if they are off. Cut vegetables, portioning, simple dressings. They should work the list top to bottom in the sequence it is printed, and the lead should check each finished item against a reference before it is put away: the cut size, the seasoning, the container, the label. This is the point where standards are set, and the lead's attention here saves months of correction later. Related: How do you make a prep list any lead can run when you are out?

Have them write their actual quantities and finish times on the sheet. Those notes serve two purposes. They show the new cook that the sheet is a record, not just an instruction, and they give the lead a first look at how long tasks take this person. If a task is taking twice the estimate, that is a coaching conversation on day four rather than a surprise in week three. Related: Which prep tasks should start first so every station is ready before service?

Day five: the full station list with the lead nearby

By the end of the first week, the new cook should be able to run a full station list for a normal day with the lead available but not hovering. That includes reading the sheet, pulling what they need, sequencing long tasks first, and flagging anything they cannot complete. The last part matters most. A new cook who is willing to say they are behind on the braise at 10 a.m. is far more valuable than one who hides it until 3. Related: How should you assign prep tasks across stations so nothing gets missed?

Make the flag a normal part of the sheet, not a confession. Every cook should mark items they could not finish, with a short reason, so the lead can reassign or adjust. When the new cook does this on day five, thank them for it in front of the crew. What you reward in week one becomes the culture by month three.

What to leave out of week one

Do not try to teach the whole menu, the ordering process, or every recipe's history in seven days. Do not have them count alone yet. Do not put them on the items with the highest cost or shortest shelf life, because the mistakes there are expensive and demoralizing. Week one is about the sheet and the system. Recipes accumulate naturally as they rotate through stations in the following weeks.

Keep a simple training checklist on the sheet or beside it: sheet read-through, storage walk, labeling, shadow count, short list checked, full list with support, flagged an issue. When each item is signed off, the cook has finished week one. A checklist like that also means the second and third hires get the same week, regardless of which lead happens to be training them.