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Red Seal Pass › Cook (415A) › Ontario

Cook (415A) Red Seal Exam in Ontario

Certifying authority: Skilled Trades Ontario (STO). Last checked 2026-09-10.

Certification is voluntary in Ontario

This trade is not on Ontario’s compulsory list, so you may work in it without a certificate. The Red Seal still travels across Canada as a recognised credential, and employers frequently ask for it — but in Ontario it is a qualification, not a licence.

Source: Skilled Trades Ontario — Compulsory Trades (23 trades)

Preparing for the Cook (415A) exam in Ontario?

Start with 10 free interactive Cook (415A) questions with worked explanations, or take a full 150-question timed mock exam weighted to the official RSOS breakdown.

Try the 10-Question Interactive Cook (415A) Quiz & Free PDF → Take Full 150-Question Timed Mock Exam ($14.99 CAD) →

Or unlock all Cook (415A) questions with the 7-Day Pass ($9.99) or 3-Month Pass ($69.99, Free-Until-You-Pass Guarantee).

Whether it is required or not, the exam itself is the same paper everywhere in Canada. What your province decides is whether you must hold the certificate, how you apply, and where you sit it.

The exam: 150 questions, 13 Major Work Activities

The Red Seal Occupational Standard sets the split below. It does not change by province.

Major Work ActivityWeightingQuestions
MWA A: Hygiene, sanitation and safety 9% 13 Qs
MWA B: Common occupational skills 7% 11 Qs
MWA C: Produce 8% 12 Qs
MWA D: Stocks, broths and soups 8% 12 Qs
MWA E: Sauces 9% 13 Qs
MWA F: Cheese, dairy, plant-based dairy alternatives, eggs and egg products 7% 10 Qs
MWA G: Pastas, noodles, stuffed pastas and dumplings 7% 10 Qs
MWA H: Grains, pulses, seeds, nuts and alternative proteins 7% 11 Qs
MWA I: Meats, game, poultry, game birds and variety meats 11% 16 Qs
MWA J: Fish and seafood 10% 15 Qs
MWA K: Salads and sandwiches 6% 9 Qs
MWA L: Specialty preparation 5% 8 Qs
MWA M: Sweet and savoury baked goods and desserts 7% 10 Qs

Source: Red Seal Exam Breakdown — Cook (415A), red-seal.ca

Time allowed and pass mark

4 hours, and a 70% pass mark (105/150). These are set provincially rather than by the Red Seal standard, and the four hours is the same whether your paper is 100 or 150 questions.

Confirmed against Skilled Trades Ontario’s Exam Preparation Guide and SkilledTradesBC. Check your own authority before exam day.

Quick 3-Question Cook (415A) Readiness Check

Click any option (A–D) below to grade yourself immediately and view the worked explanation:

Sample Question 1 of 3
At the height of Friday dinner service, a prep runner knocks over a 4-litre jug of olive oil, leaving a wide slick across the main tile walkway near the hot pass. Cooks are carrying hot pans and plates through the area. The kitchen has wet-floor signs, absorbent and degreaser. In what order should you deal with it?
A) Block the area with a wet-floor sign; warn everyone nearby about the spill; degrease the floor and dry it; then soak up the oil with absorbent
B) Soak up the oil with absorbent; degrease the floor and dry it; warn everyone nearby about the spill; then block the area with a wet-floor sign
C) Warn everyone nearby about the spill; block the area with a wet-floor sign; soak up the oil with absorbent; then degrease the floor and dry it
D) Warn everyone nearby about the spill; soak up the oil with absorbent; block the area with a wet-floor sign; then degrease the floor and dry it
Correct answer: C

Preventing a fall comes first: warn people, then block the area with a sign so nobody walks into it. The oil is soaked up, and the floor degreased and dried, since a wet mop alone spreads oil. Cleaning before the area is blocked (B, D) leaves the slick open to cooks carrying hot pans, and degreasing before the oil is soaked up (A) only spreads it. The other options use the same steps in the wrong order: A does 'block the area with a wet-floor sign' before 'warn everyone nearby about the spill', B does 'degrease the floor and dry it' before 'warn everyone nearby about the spill', and D does 'soak up the oil with absorbent' before 'block the area with a wet-floor sign'.

Sample Question 2 of 3
You are finishing 4 L of veal velouté into sauce allemande for a banquet. The yolks and cream are measured, and the velouté is hot in a heavy pot that has been moved off the boil. Last month a cook poured cold yolks straight into the boiling sauce and they set into scrambled flecks. The chef wants the sauce smooth and slightly thicker. In what order should the liaison be added?
A) Temper the yolks with a ladle of hot velouté; whisk the yolks and cream together; stir the yolks and cream into the velouté; then heat the sauce gently, without boiling
B) Whisk the yolks and cream together; temper the yolks with a ladle of hot velouté; stir the yolks and cream into the velouté; then heat the sauce gently, without boiling
C) Heat the sauce gently, without boiling; whisk the yolks and cream together; temper the yolks with a ladle of hot velouté; then stir the yolks and cream into the velouté
D) Whisk the yolks and cream together; stir the yolks and cream into the velouté; temper the yolks with a ladle of hot velouté; then heat the sauce gently, without boiling
Correct answer: B

The yolks and cream are mixed, then warmed (tempered) with a little hot sauce so they do not scramble. The tempered liaison is stirred into the sauce off the boil, and the sauce is heated gently until it thickens slightly but does not boil. The other options use the same steps in the wrong order: A does 'temper the yolks with a ladle of hot velouté' before 'whisk the yolks and cream together', C does 'heat the sauce gently, without boiling' before 'whisk the yolks and cream together', and D does 'stir the yolks and cream into the velouté' before 'temper the yolks with a ladle of hot velouté'.

Sample Question 3 of 3
A soup kitchen in Hamilton buys stewing hens rather than broiler-fryers for its chicken stock and fricassée. A new volunteer who usually buys chicken for a restaurant wants to switch to broilers, since they are easier to find. The kitchen manager asks you to explain the choice. What should you tell the volunteer?
A) Keep the hens, as older birds are tough but full of flavour for moist heat
B) Switch to broilers, as their young meat gives more flavour to a stock
C) Keep the hens, as stewing hens are leaner, so the stock comes out clearer
D) Switch to broilers, as stewing hens toughen further in a long, moist cook
Correct answer: A

Stewing hens are mature laying birds with tough but very flavourful meat, which suits long, moist cooking such as stock and fricassée; young broilers are best for roasting and frying. A and C both keep the hens, but C gives a reason that is not true. B and D switch for reasons that are not true.

Where you write it in Ontario

Booking is handled by Skilled Trades Ontario (STO); confirm current locations and dates with them.

Preparing for the Cook (415A) exam

Our Cook (415A) question bank is built to the official RSOS weighting above, with a worked explanation and code citation on every question.

Continue to Full 10-Question Interactive Cook (415A) Quiz → Take the full 150-question timed mock exam →

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