Line Cook

You run one station on the line, usually grill or saute, sometimes garde manger during the busy summer weeks. A typical day starts with prep around 9am: portioning meat and fish, cutting vegetables, making stocks and the base sauces for the day. Service runs in two pushes, lunch from noon and dinner from 6pm, with the dinner rush carrying late on weekends when the terrace fills up. You plate to the ticket, call back orders to the chef, and keep your mise en place stocked between rounds. You work the gas range, the charcoal grill, the combi oven, the deep fryer and the vacuum sealer, and you wipe down and break your section at close. Most plates are Macedonian and Mediterranean: grilled lake trout, pastrmajlija, meze, lamb and seasonal vegetables.

At least 2 years on a hot line in a restaurant or hotel kitchen

Confident on grill and saute, able to hold a station alone during a rush

Solid knife work and proper portion control

Knows HACCP basics and keeps a clean, organised section

B1 English, enough to read tickets and work with a mixed crew

Can stand and move through 9 to 10 hour shifts on your feet

Relocation handled for you, including travel to Ohrid and the work permit paperwork

Shared staff accommodation a short walk from the hotel, utilities covered

Two meals on every shift from the staff kitchen

Health insurance from your first month

Uniform and kitchen shoes provided

You start as a line cook and the chef watches who keeps their section tight and who can carry the pass on a busy night. Cooks who prove that move up to chef de partie within a season or two, with pay rising from 750 to 870 net as you take on a second station and help train newcomers. Stay on past the summer and there is a real shot at a year round contract.

This is a hotel kitchen close to the lake, busy through the May to September season and quieter in the off months. The line gets hot near the grill and the pace climbs sharply on weekend evenings, so the work is physical and you are on your feet most of the shift. The kitchen is well kept, the equipment is in good shape, and the brigade is small enough that everyone knows their station.