Kitchen Cook Job Description

A Chef's Guide

If you have a passion for cooking, you might want to consider making a living out of it. One of the greatest rewards in life is to do what you love. Chef is more than just about cooking, it is also about other things.

If you are planning on becoming a chef, you should know what a chef does on a day-to-day basis and what it takes to become one. A chef is a trained professional who cooks and runs a kitchen. A chef's mandate varies from hotel to hotel depending on their specialty, experience, ranking, and other factors.

All chefs have a common duty of guaranteeing the smooth flow of kitchen operations. The chef is in charge of all kitchen operations and they are also responsible for training the staff and ensuring that they perform as expected. As a chef, you will conduct training sessions to teach your subordinates the skills and knowledge they need to execute your recipes perfectly.

The Commercial Kitchen Brigade System

Commercial kitchens can be found in small mom-and-pop restaurants to the high-volume production environments of convention centers and institutions. The tasks that the individual cooks and the staff do in the kitchen are consistent and so are the responsibilities of the kitchen staff. The kitchen brigade system was outlined by a French chef in the 19th century.

In modern restaurants, the roles of individual cooks are not clearly defined, and there are not as many single-purpose work stations. Line cooks are the most skilled and experienced in cooking, with more demanding jobs being handled by experienced cooks. First cooks are often given the responsibility of supervising the kitchen in the absence of the sous-chef.

Less-experienced cooks begin by assisting at high-volume stations within the kitchen or working independently in a less-demanding, lower-volume station. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the median salary for chefs and head cooks was $43,180 in May of 2016 Half of the people in the list earned more and half earned less.

Keeping the kitchen tidy

Work clean and orderly. A lot of chefs are very good cooks but as soon as it gets busy, their section gets messy and they really struggle. Your brain will be messed up if your section is a mess.

Take the time to tidy up as you go so that you don't get overwhelmed in your section, wipe your surfaces down and put everything back where it belongs. Stay in control by staying organised. As you progress in your career, having good organizational skills will help you to control the flow of work and the way dishes are plated.

Executive Chefs: The Challenge of Cooking in a Restaurant

An executive chef is responsible for the management of the kitchen in larger restaurants. It is an executive position and does not involve a lot of hands-on work in a kitchen. The top-ranking person in the kitchen is usually the head chef.

Sous chefs are usually the head chef's top assistant. The sous chef is in charge of most of the work in the kitchen. Responsibilities will be different depending on the position.

The head chefs and sous chefs spend a lot of time making sure the operation runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis. The head chef may focus on more creative work, such as creating dishes and helping to plan menu items for special events. The sous chefs will be in charge of the kitchen staff and will focus on the actual day-to-day food preparation.

Chefs and cooks need to be aware of food safety regulations and make sure the kitchen is compliant with how food is prepared and stored. Chefs and cooks can be paid depending on their position and the restaurant's size. Entry-level positions as cooks can be low paying, while head chefs in top restaurants can make a lot of money.

College and Vocational schools can help with the advancement of a chef or cook by offering programs that include certifications. Most top chefs have formal training. Being efficient in a kitchen is not the only thing that a chef can do.

Private Household Cooks: Work Schedule, Compensation and Salary

Cooks work in restaurants, schools, hospitals, private households and other places where food is prepared and served. Their work hours may include early mornings, late evenings, holidays and weekends. Most cooks work full time.

Over the next decade, about 432,000 openings for cooks are projected. Many openings are expected to be caused by the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or retire. Cooks work under the direction of chefs, head cooks or food service managers.

Large restaurants and food service establishments have large kitchen staffs. The cooks are assigned to work at stations that have the stove, grills, pans, and ingredients they need to cook food. Cooks' responsibilities can be different depending on the type of food service establishment, the size of the facility, and the level of service offered.

Sanitation procedures are followed in all establishments. They store food and ingredients at the correct temperature to prevent growth ofbacteria. A limited selection of menu items are prepared by fast food cooks.

They cook and package food to be kept warm. Profiles on food preparation workers and food and beverage serving workers are available for more information. Cooks work in schools, businesses, hospitals, and other establishments.

Line Cooks: A Career Path in Food Operations

Line Cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients at an establishment that serves food, processing customer orders, producing meals and cleaning their workspace to follow health and safety guidelines. Cooks follow recipes, make adjustments based on customer requests, communicate with wait staff, and prepare attractive presentation for each meal. Cooks can be employed at many places.

Personal cooks can work in people's homes. Cooks use their knowledge of the menu to prepare multiple dishes at once, help stock inventory, organize fridges and communicate with other kitchen staff to deliver dishes to customers in a timely manner. They are responsible for interpreting meal orders and producing meals that are the right temperature for diners.

Cooks interact with customers at food stations. A high school degree is required for a job as a cook. Vocational or technical school diplomas are preferred.

The apprenticeship programs are sponsored by the American Culinary Federation and are accredited. A basic cook position requires little to no experience, but more experience will give you skills and talents that will be useful. Many cooks become proficient in their trade through experience, beginning in food preparation or as a kitchen helpers to learn the basics of cooking, then progressing to become an assistant cook or line cook and eventually becoming a full cook.

Others learn through apprenticeships. Good cooks thrive in high-pressure environments so that they can produce large amounts of high-quality dishes during lunch and dinner rushes. They can work behind a hot grill doing physical labor for long shifts.