It is the responsibility of an assistant chef to support the head chef of a catering business, restaurant, cafeteria, or bakery. Assistant chefs manage inventory and ensure compliance with food safety and kitchen cleanliness standards. They assist kitchen staff in the preparation of food. To get this job, one must be trained in a culinary school, have the needed cooking skills, and must have kitchen work experience. Strong teamwork ability and flexibility to work schedule are necessary for this job.

Assistant Chef Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real assistant chef resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Direct daily activity of staff (prep cook, dishwashers and wait staff), and receive and manage inventory.
  • Manage food inventory and assist chefs with menu development.
  • Attain a broad knowledge of ingredient functionality in diverse culinary applications and comfort in a culinary setting.
  • Learned the cuisine and intricacies of Tuscan style cooking as well as the influences from other regions.
  • Prep vegetables and meat for chefs, wash and dry dishes, cups, and utensils, and stock new shipments.
  • Maintain cleanliness and ensure proper preparation of orders.
  • Maintain kitchens cleanliness and maintenance, temperatures and organization.
  • Prepare and provide quality cuisine and other managerial duties as assigned.
  • Assist in the development and execution of corporate procedures and policies for a substantial for profit culinary establishment.
  • Own and operate successful gourmet restaurant/bakery/catering service
  • Own and operate successful gourmet restaurant/bakery/catering service

Assistant Chef Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 14% of Assistant Chefs are proficient in Kitchen Equipment, Safety Standards, and Culinary. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.

We break down the percentage of Assistant Chefs that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Kitchen Equipment, 14%

    Organize and arrange kitchen equipment, work areas, counters and tables for daily cooking.

  • Safety Standards, 13%

    Cleaned dining and kitchen areas per health and safety standards.

  • Culinary, 12%

    Assisted in the development and execution of corporate procedures and policies for a substantial for profit culinary establishment.

  • Customer Service, 10%

    Provided support to management in kitchen operations, customer service and preparing American cuisine.

  • Compassion, 7%

    Treated all persons with compassion, dignity and respect.

  • Kitchen Sanitation, 6%

    Complied with scheduled kitchen sanitation and ensured all standards and practices were met.

Most assistant chefs list "kitchen equipment," "safety standards," and "culinary" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important assistant chef responsibilities here:

  • Arguably the most important personality trait for an assistant chef to have happens to be business skills. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "executive chefs and chefs who run their own restaurant need to understand the restaurant business" Additionally, other resumes have pointed out that assistant chefs can use business skills to "worked under master chef david denis and expanded knowledge of french cuisine and small restaurant business. "
  • While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many assistant chef duties rely on communication skills. This example from a assistant chef explains why: "chefs must communicate their instructions clearly and effectively to staff so that customers’ orders are prepared correctly." This resume example is just one of many ways assistant chefs are able to utilize communication skills: "catered weddings, large parties andexpediting gourmet/fine dining for restaurant customers.constant communication/cooperation with head chef.asst. "
  • Assistant chefs are also known for creativity, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a assistant chef resume: "chefs and head cooks need to be creative in order to develop and prepare interesting and innovative recipes" We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "support general lab / kitchen maintenance, product inventory, organization and cleanliness. "
  • In order for certain assistant chef responsibilities to be completed, the job requires the skill "dexterity." According to an assistant chef resume, "chefs and head cooks need excellent dexterity, including proper knife techniques for cutting, chopping, and dicing." As an example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies: "gained hands-on experience in the field of culinary arts, working with professional chefs and learning from their expertise. "
  • Another common skill for an assistant chef to be able to utilize is "leadership skills." Chefs and head cooks must have the ability to motivate kitchen staff and develop constructive and cooperative working relationships with them. An assistant chef demonstrated the need for this skill by putting this on their resume: "prepared and cooked food while adhering to recipes, quality standards, and presentation leadership"
  • While "physical stamina" is listed last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to assistant chef responsibilities. The skill is described by this resume snippet, "chefs and head cooks often work long shifts and sometimes spend entire evenings on their feet, overseeing the preparation and serving of meals." Here is an example of how this skill is used, "envisioned, initiated, planned, organized, funded and executed physical and conceptual development of tres p's cajun caf"
  • See the full list of assistant chef skills.

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    What Head Cooks Do

    A head cook is responsible for organizing the food preparation, organizing the kitchen operations, and ensuring the quality of the food presented. Head cooks' duties include monitoring the food inventory, creating new recipes, researching current market trends, responding to guests' inquiries and complaints, distributing kitchen tasks to the staff, and maintaining budget goals while maintaining the highest food quality. A head cook must always adhere to the sanitary procedures and hygienic standards, as well as have a broad knowledge of the food industry.

    We looked at the average assistant chef annual salary and compared it with the average of a head cook. Generally speaking, head cooks receive $6,742 higher pay than assistant chefs per year.

    While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both assistant chefs and head cooks positions are skilled in kitchen equipment, safety standards, and kitchen sanitation.

    There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, an assistant chef responsibilities require skills like "culinary," "customer service," "compassion," and "chefs." Meanwhile a typical head cook has skills in areas such as "food products," "servsafe," "allergies," and "plan menus." This difference in skills reveals how truly different these two careers really are.

    Head cooks tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry by averaging a salary of $43,083. In contrast, assistant chefs make the biggest average salary of $31,898 in the hospitality industry.

    On average, head cooks reach similar levels of education than assistant chefs. Head cooks are 0.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Chef De Cuisine?

    A chef de cuisine, also known as an executive chef, oversees a kitchen's daily operations in public and private establishments to ensure food quality and efficient services. Their duties require cooking and leadership skills because they involve leading menu development and meal preparation, coordinating staff, delegating responsibilities, selecting and sourcing ingredients, and handling customer issues and concerns promptly and professionally. Moreover, a chef de cuisine leads and empowers staff to reach the kitchen's daily goals while implementing health standards and regulations.

    Next up, we have the chef de cuisine profession to look over. This career brings along a higher average salary when compared to an assistant chef annual salary. In fact, chef de cuisines salary difference is $14,256 higher than the salary of assistant chefs per year.

    A similarity between the two careers of assistant chefs and chef de cuisines are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "kitchen equipment," "culinary," and "customer service. "

    While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, several resumes showed us that assistant chef responsibilities requires skills like "safety standards," "compassion," "kitchen sanitation," and "chefs." But a chef de cuisine might use skills, such as, "food quality," "food safety," "guest satisfaction," and "sous chefs."

    Chef de cuisines may earn a higher salary than assistant chefs, but chef de cuisines earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $53,893. On the other side of things, assistant chefs receive higher paychecks in the hospitality industry where they earn an average of $31,898.

    On the topic of education, chef de cuisines earn similar levels of education than assistant chefs. In general, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Chef De Partie Compares

    A Chef De Partie is responsible for supervising a section of the kitchen, such as pastry, butchery, fish, or sauces. They enforce strict health and hygiene standards.

    Let's now take a look at the chef de partie profession. On average, these workers make higher salaries than assistant chefs with a $2,268 difference per year.

    While looking through the resumes of several assistant chefs and chef de parties we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "kitchen equipment," "culinary," and "wine," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    There are many key differences between these two careers as shown by resumes from each profession. Some of those differences include the skills required to complete responsibilities within each role. As an example of this, an assistant chef is likely to be skilled in "safety standards," "customer service," "compassion," and "kitchen sanitation," while a typical chef de partie is skilled in "food safety," "mise," "food quality," and "r."

    Interestingly enough, chef de parties earn the most pay in the hospitality industry, where they command an average salary of $39,260. As mentioned previously, assistant chefs highest annual salary comes from the hospitality industry with an average salary of $31,898.

    Chef de parties typically study at similar levels compared with assistant chefs. For example, they're 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of a Chef/Catering

    A Chef/Caterer is responsible for cooking dishes at events. They direct the kitchen staff and wait personnel in serving the food, attending to food stations, and setting up buffet tables.

    The fourth career we look at typically earns higher pay than assistant chefs. On average, chef/caterings earn a difference of $10,023 higher per year.

    According to resumes from both assistant chefs and chef/caterings, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "kitchen equipment," "safety standards," and "culinary. "

    Even though a few skill sets overlap, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an assistant chef might have more use for skills like "customer service," "compassion," "kitchen sanitation," and "taking care." Meanwhile, some chef/caterings might include skills like "food safety," "event planning," "beo," and "corporate events" on their resume.

    Chef/caterings earn a higher salary in the technology industry with an average of $44,624. Whereas, assistant chefs earn the highest salary in the hospitality industry.

    Chef/caterings reach similar levels of education when compared to assistant chefs. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.