Executive Chef Career | Chef Jobs | Culinary Job
Culinary Jobs - What are Pastry Chef Jobs? What do Professional Cooks Do?
Executive chefs, cooks, and chefs have the responsibility of cooking a large number of foods which can include salads, entrees, desserts, soups, appetizers, and pretty much anything else that people consume. Professional chefs will create recipes and cook meals, while food preparation workers will have the responsibility of performing common work such as peeling vegetables, trimming fat off of meat, poultry preparation, and cleaning and sanitizing work areas.
Professional chefs mix and cook according to recipes using a variety of cutlery which can include pots, ovens, broilers, slicers, blenders, and many other appliances. Restaurant chefs will also direct the activity of kitchen workers, including food preparation workers, in addition to maintaining food supplies and estimating how much they will need on a daily basis.
Food preparation worker jobs involve performing repetitive tasks such as chopping and dicing vegetables, measuring ingredients, cleaning work areas and stations, preparing poultry in other meats for preparation, and a number of other food related tasks. Preparation workers will typically do whatever the chef needs of them.
While a smaller dining establishment may only have one chef, it is common for a large restaurant to have several chefs, who were called line cooks or assistant chefs. Each one of these cooking professionals is assigned to a specific station, where the life chefs will operate appliances or prepare certain meals under direction of the executive chef.
Executive chefs are also known as head cokes, and they are responsible for directing the line cooks and the food preparation workers. Head chef jobs have a wide range of responsibilities which includes determining the cost of a dish, serving sizes, developing new recipes, ordering food supplies, and maintaining the proper presentation of meals. Executive chefs are generally in charge of all food service operations, even if many dining establishments are involved, such as the kitchen of a small hotel chain.
Directly underneath an executive chef is a chef de cuisine, who operates an entire kitchen, and a sous chef who will run the kitchen if the chef de cuisine is absent.
Cafeteria cook jobs lack glamour, but they make up for it in the sheer amount of volume of food that they create. Institution chefs may work in prisons, schools, hospitals, and cafeterias, providing meals for large numbers of guests.
Restaurant cooks will cook dishes individually for a customer, and short order cooks work in restaurants and coffee shops in order to create quick meals. Fast food cooks are responsible for creating and packaging foods such as hamburgers and fried chicken.
How many food workers are employed at a dining institution depends on the nature of the business
Private cooks are responsible for planning meals for wealthy individuals who can afford to have a professional chef prepare food for them on a regular basis. Private chef jobs can include ordering groceries and cleaning kitchens, in addition to doing the dishes. Personal chefs may provide additional services such as paying bills and planning parties.
Working Conditions for Chef Careers - How is the Working Environment for Executive Chef Jobs?
Kitchens can get hot, especially if they are using old equipment. In addition, kitchens are usually cramped leading to additional heating problems. There is also the risk of a chef straining themselves or burning or cutting parts of the body, due to accidents and fatigue.
Working as a chef for hours at a time can be straining, as the cook will be standing for most of this time. Line cooks may have to work long hours in order to service their customers, and hours can include nights and weekends.
Food preparation workers will usually work part time, but chefs will typically work over 40 hours a week, with executive chefs frequently working over 60 hours a week.
Chef Training Education - How to Become a Chef - How to Receive Your Education in the Culinary Arts
No education is required to become a line cook or a chef. Most classy restaurants prefer certification or advanced culinary training in order to be hired. Most workplace chef training involves sanitation, safety procedures, and food handling.
After learning about safety, it is common for chefs to be trained from a couple months to a couple years. Some chefs decide to receive an associate’s degree in the culinary arts, which can be through an independent cooking school or a community college. Restaurants prefer to hire qualified individuals, and it’s easier to obtain management positions in the establishment.
Practical chef training usually involves learning how to prepare meals, computer accounting, foodservice management, and on the job experience.
Culinary School Requirements - How to Become Certified as a Gourmet Chef
The American Culinary Federation offers accreditation in 200 academic programs around the country. These apprenticeships will last for two years and combine practical experience with classroom chef training. Accreditation shows restaurant owners that a professional chef is determined to succeed and will usually receive preferential treatment in regards to employment.
The American Culinary Federation also offers certification in pastry, personal chef work, and culinary education at all levels, all the way up to executive chef. With the right training, most chefs and cooks decide to go into business for themselves or to work in smaller scale establishments such as hotels or clubs.
Sous Chef Jobs Employment - What is the Future of Private Chef Jobs?
Over the next decade, executive chef employment and cooking and food preparation worker jobs should increase by about 11%. Due to the vast number of cooking related jobs, this growth will translate into 351,000 new jobs.
Casual dining establishments will be the source of the largest growth, and food preparation workers are also expected to be in higher demand due to carry out menus and restaurants.
Private chefs are expected to grow at an average pace, and while people enjoyed the high class services of a personal chef, the cost is prohibitive for most. Overall, job growth is positive in this sector, but is competitive for the best the positions in high end restaurants
Personal Chef Jobs Pay Scale - How Much Do Executive Chefs Earn?
In 2006, chefs and head chefs earned a median salary of $34,370, with those working in the recreations industry having the highest median pay at $46,460. Private chef jobs had a median salary of $22,870, while cafeteria cooks earned a salary of $20,410.
Restaurant chef careers had a median salary of $20,340 over the same time period, watch short order cooks and food preparation workers both averaged around $17,500 annually.
While executive chefs may receive benefits packages, most do not and the work can be hard. Some food service workers are represented by the Services Employees International Union.