Staff Training Program Checklist

Hand out the chef coat or branded shirt, slip-resistant shoe voucher, name tag, and locker assignment. Set up the Toast (or Square / Aloha) employee profile with the right role permissions — server, bartender, host, line cook — before the first shift, not during it.

Role drives the rest of the program — FOH hires get service and POS tracks; BOH hires get line, prep, and food-safety tracks. Pick the primary role; cross-trained hires can run the other track later.

Walk through attendance policy, no-call/no-show consequences, harassment policy, and the open-door escalation path. For tipped employees, hand over the written tip-credit notice and collect a signed acknowledgment before the first shift — without it, the tip credit can't be claimed and the employer owes full minimum wage retroactively.

20 seconds, soap and warm water, between tasks and after any contamination event. Walk through when gloves are required (ready-to-eat foods, no bare-hand contact rule) and when gloves get changed — between proteins, after handling allergens, after touching face or phone.

Cover hot-holding (140°F+), cold-holding (41°F or below), and the 41–140°F danger zone. Walk through the cooling log: 140°F to 70°F within 2 hours, 70°F to 41°F within the next 4 hours. Show where the walk-in temp log lives and the twice-daily cadence.

Dedicated cutting board, dedicated tongs, hand-changed gloves, separate fryer where possible. The Big 9 allergens — milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, sesame. In MA, IL, MI, NY, and RI, at least one manager per shift needs current allergen-awareness certification (PCFP or AllerTrain) — note who that manager is on each shift.

State-specific — most jurisdictions require ServSafe, Learn2Serve, or state-equivalent within 30 days of hire. Upload the certificate when complete; certifications expire (typically 3–5 years), so the expiration date goes in the staff file.

Pair with the strongest line cook for one lunch and one dinner before the new hire takes a station. Cover ticket reading, fire/all-day calls from expo, and how 86s get communicated back to FOH.

Sauté, grill, garde manger, fry — pick the station and have the new hire prep it from the par sheet. Sous chef checks par accuracy and FIFO discipline in the walk-in before service starts.

Cover knife grip, claw hand, and sharpening cadence. Demonstrate flat top, salamander, six-burner, and fryer operation including oil filtration and the shut-off sequence. OSHA basics: cut-glove use for breakdown work, wet-floor signs, hot-pan call-outs ("behind, hot").

Sous chef observes the first solo service and signs off on station readiness. Failed sign-off triggers another shadow shift before the next attempt — don't push someone onto the line who isn't ready.

One lunch and one dinner with a senior server. Cover greet timing (60-second target), table touches, allergy ticket flow, and how to call 86s back to the kitchen via expo.

Toast, Square for Restaurants, or whatever the house runs — practice tab opens, modifiers, splits, voids, comps, and the close-out. Voids and comps require manager approval; show where the audit trail lives so the GM can review the comp percentage at week's end.

Run three scenarios with the AGM: cold-food return, long ticket time, allergy near-miss. Practice the LAST framework (Listen, Apologize, Solve, Thank) and clarify when a manager gets pulled in — anything involving allergens, intoxication, or a comp over the server's threshold.

Floor manager assigns a small section (3–4 tables) and observes the first full service. Sign-off captures readiness to take a full section unsupervised at the next shift.

Servers and bartenders need TIPS, ServSafe Alcohol, or the state-mandated equivalent before pouring or serving. Selling to minors or visibly intoxicated patrons is a license-level violation that can suspend the liquor license, not just discipline the employee.

Card anyone who looks under 35. Practice spotting tampered IDs, vertical IDs (under-21 in most states), and out-of-state formats. The state ABC sting program runs year-round — refusal to serve when in doubt protects the license.

Role-play the cut-off conversation with the bar manager. Cover the visible-intoxication signs (slurred speech, unsteady, aggressive shift), the manager hand-off, and the safe-ride options the house offers — Uber voucher, cab call, designated-driver coffee.

Chef walks the new hire through every dish — flavor profile, plate composition, common modifications. Note which dishes contain Big 9 allergens and which can be modified gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan.

BTG wines, house cocktails, well vs. call vs. premium spirits. Beverage director runs a flash-card session; the new server should be able to suggest a pairing for any entrée without consulting the list.

Suggestive selling, not pushy selling. Specific recommendations beat open questions — "the burrata before your steak" lands; "would you like an appetizer?" doesn't. Track average per-person check on the trainee for the first two weeks against the section average.

Written and verbal test administered by chef and AGM. Covers ingredients, allergens, prep technique, and recommended pairings. Failed test = additional tasting and re-test before the trainee runs a solo section.

Three-bay sink at correct sanitizer ppm (test with a strip), surfaces wiped with sanitizer at proper concentration, equipment broken down per the closing checklist. Cover the closing side-work list and the 80/20 rule — non-tipped duties beyond 30 minutes continuous can't be claimed under the tip credit.

Close all open tabs in the POS, run the server-banking report, count the drawer, and reconcile against the report. Tip-out percentages to bar, bussers, and runners follow the house policy — explain the math so the trainee can verify their own check.

Hood off, gas off at the wall, walk-in latched, alarm armed, exterior lit, deposit bag in the safe. Closing manager signs off; trainees observe twice before they ever close alone.

GM sits down with the new hire — what's working, what's confusing, who's been a strong trainer, what the trainee still needs reps on. Cash-out variances, comp percentage, and average per-person check from the first month all get reviewed against section benchmarks.

Identify the two or three specific gaps — POS speed, menu recall, allergen protocol, cash-out accuracy — and pair the trainee with a mentor for an additional 30 days. Set the re-check date and the bar for passing.