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Kitchen Prep Cook Training

By Terry Psaltakis, Founder, ShiftTrained

Restaurant operations setting with menu in foreground

Prep cooks are the foundation of every kitchen.  They prep mise en place, portion ingredients, and set up stations for service.  The best prep training tool covers per-item recipe specs, portion control, and food safety.  Coming with the BOH Kitchen Training module.

What kitchen prep training looks like with ShiftTrained

  • Per-item recipe specs
  • Portion control training
  • Food safety protocols
  • Mise en place standards
  • Cross-station prep fluency

Key training details for kitchen prep trainings

  • BOH Kitchen Training module (in development, announced 2026-04-20)

Training challenges this addresses

  • Recipe drift across prep cooks
  • Portion variance affects food cost
  • Food safety + HACCP compliance

The commercial impact

Consistent prep reduces food cost variance and waste.

Get started

Upload your menu PDF (or a phone photo of the printed copy). In about ten minutes, our three-stage AI pipeline generates 100-400 quiz questions specific to YOUR kitchen prep training. Your staff takes them on their phones. The leaderboard shows you exactly who knows the menu and who's been faking it. Try ShiftTrained free , no credit card required.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does prep training launch?

BOH Kitchen Training module launches alongside the bilingual quiz feature.  Public waitlist at /contact?source=boh-waitlist.

Related guides

Terry Psaltakis, Founder of ShiftTrained

About the Author

Terry Psaltakis is a 30-year restaurant operator who has opened more than 20 concepts across multiple markets, in every role from dishwasher to Owner.  He founded ShiftTrained in Chicago to solve a problem he lived for three decades: pre-shift meetings don't actually train staff.  Terry writes about the operational side of restaurant training, AI in hospitality, and what works on the floor.

LinkedIn · terry@shifttrained.com

“Since we started using ShiftTrained, wine sales for both bottle and by-the-glass are up 34%.  The staff is not scared to talk about the wine anymore.”

George G. · Black Barrel · Chicago

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