Your dishwasher is often your lowest paid kitchen employee, but that employee needs to be your highest priority. When hiring a dishwasher it’s important that the person has the desire to become a professional chef.  I can’t stress this enough!  Do not waste your time, money and effort hiring dishwashers who have no ambition to move up the ranks.  Students fresh out of culinary management are perfect apprentice/dishwasher material!  If they feel like they are above those duties then cut the interview off and move on to the next candidate.  No one can become a professional chef without first understanding the important role of dishwashing.

Teach your dishwasher new skills daily! One of my first jobs out of the dish pit was peeling onions, then potatoes, then carrots.  I was given challenges…like clean this sink full of mussels in 20 minutes. Each new challenge would bring me closer to my ultimate goal of becoming a chef.

Your dishwasher should be biting at the heels of the prep cooks. Your prep cooks should be biting at the heels of the appetizer station/garde manger. Everyone should be aspiring to move up the ranks! So when a position opens up, or someone calls in sick, it’s easier to fill the gaps with existing employees. When you create this type environment the advantages are numerous, but it starts from the dishwasher up!