Head chefs: scheduling trial shifts for candidate cooks

When you're hiring, send shortlisted candidates a booking link with a few set slots: a short interview first, then a trial shift on a service you choose. Give each a one-place slot so you never have two candidates on the same station at once, say in the description what to bring and how long they'll stay, and follow up with every candidate within a few days. You save the back-and-forth of finding a date with each person, and every trial lands on a service where you can actually watch them work.

A twenty-minute conversation and a four-hour trial on the line aren't the same commitment for you or the candidate. Two services keep them apart: the interview filters, the trial confirms. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity. Leave the price empty.

Times are examples: set your own. Open only a handful of slots for the week you're recruiting, and remove them once the position is filled.

A trial on your quietest lunch tells you little; one on your busiest Saturday gives you no time to watch. A mid-week service with a normal load works well: busy enough to see how the candidate keeps up, calm enough for you or your sous-chef to observe. Put trial slots only on services where the station they'd join is staffed by someone who can show them around.

If you're hiring a commis and a pastry chef at the same time, give each position its own trial service, so the name tells the candidate where they'll work and the booking tells you which station to prepare. Keep the interview service shared: one conversation format for everyone, with the position written in the booking note. Spread trials across different days rather than stacking two candidates on one service, so each gets your attention and the team isn't stretched training two newcomers at once.

Share the booking link only with shortlisted candidates, by email or message, rather than on your public page. Your booking page lists every open service, so if your page is public, name the services clearly, for example "Kitchen interview (by invitation)", and say in the description that only invited candidates should book. When someone books, the new booking email gives you their name and the optional note.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email and appears in the candidate's calendar file. Ask in the description for the position applied for and where they're working now. Then say clearly:

Brief the team at the start of service so they know a candidate is joining. Give the candidate a station, a short task list and one person to ask. Watch how they set up, how they keep their station during service and how they take instruction, not only what's on the plate. Leave ten minutes at the end to talk about how it went and answer their questions.

Reply to every candidate within a few days, yes or no. If you want a second trial on a different service, book it yourself from your calendar; first and last name are required, email and phone optional, and the candidate receives a confirmation with a calendar file if you enter their email. Candidates can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you move the trial from your bookings list and confirm it yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes.

Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars, so trials sit alongside your other appointments. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.