What does a chef de cuisine do?

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.
Chef de cuisine responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chef de cuisine resumes:
- Manage the staff to insure the consistency and quality of this Chicago style bistro.
- Manage BOH operations for this Michelin recommend restaurant in silicon valley
- Manage cold kitchen production for a luxury hotel with a Michelin star restaurant
- Train and manage kitchen personnel for both locations, supervised/coordinate all relate culinary activities; purchasing, inventory, butchering.
- Work all stations; responsible for mise en place, quality of product, and maintaining sanitation standards.
- Train and mentore local staff, hiring, scheduling maintain HACCP and production charts.
- Maintain strict HACCP controls and cleaning and sanitary standards, developing daily, weekly and monthly cleaning schedules.
- French bistro focusing on sustainable and local products in partnership with local farmers and other advocates of this movement.
- Prepare mise en place for evening meal period, prepare sauces, stocks, and fabricate all meats for service.
- Write menus for the venue itself as well as for private functions such as tastings, wine dinners and executive/tribal functions.
- French-Inspire American cuisine with rocking wine list
- Inspect stations and equipment for cleanliness and organization to maintain efficient operation.
- Produce effective staff training materials and provide regular culinary instruction and mentoring, resulting in low turnover and high employee satisfaction.
- Own and operate successful gourmet restaurant/bakery/catering service
- Monitor quality and accuracy of deliveries including meats, fish and groceries.
Chef de cuisine skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Chef De Cuisines are proficient in Culinary, Fine Dining, and Kitchen Operations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Chef De Cuisines that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Culinary, 15%
Produced effective staff training materials and provided regular culinary instruction and mentoring, resulting in low turnover and high employee satisfaction.
- Fine Dining, 7%
Provided unique and attractive menu development and incorporation for banquet, catering, and fine dining restaurant operations.
- Kitchen Operations, 6%
Created and implemented a standardized ordering and receiving procedure and managed all aspects of the daily kitchen operations.
- Food Preparation, 6%
Directed all food preparation and service in an intimate, 60-seat dining facility featuring innovative American cuisine.
- Customer Service, 5%
Managed and enhanced customer service standards by actively engaging co-workers in proper customer service practices.
- Quality Standards, 5%
Ensured food quality standards through innovative programs resulting in increased customer satisfaction and greater profits.
Most chef de cuisines use their skills in "culinary," "fine dining," and "kitchen operations" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential chef de cuisine responsibilities here:
Business skills. One of the key soft skills for a chef de cuisine to have is business skills. You can see how this relates to what chef de cuisines do because "executive chefs and chefs who run their own restaurant need to know how to budget for supplies, set prices, and manage workers so that the restaurant is profitable." Additionally, a chef de cuisine resume shows how chef de cuisines use business skills: "supported ongoing development of fine dining and banquet menus, ultimately leading to increased business and customer satisfaction across the board. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform chef de cuisine duties is communication skills. Chef de cuisines responsibilities require that "chefs must convey their instructions clearly and effectively to staff so that patrons' orders are prepared correctly." Chef de cuisines also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "maintained effective communication and leadership with production and service staff in quality food production environment. "
Creativity. chef de cuisines are also known for creativity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to chef de cuisine responsibilities, because "chefs and head cooks need to develop and prepare interesting and innovative recipes." A chef de cuisine resume example shows how creativity is used in the workplace: "inventory, scheduling of staff, focusing on kitchen cleanliness, collaborating with manager on various projects. "
Dexterity. For certain chef de cuisine responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "dexterity." The day-to-day duties of a chef de cuisine rely on this skill, as "chefs and head cooks need agility to handle knives properly for cutting, chopping, and dicing." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what chef de cuisines do: "augmented culinary skills and gained hands-on business experience to advance professional career in culinary arts and hospitality. "
Leadership skills. Another common skill required for chef de cuisine responsibilities is "leadership skills." This skill comes up in the duties of chef de cuisines all the time, as "chefs and head cooks must be able to motivate kitchen staff and to develop constructive and cooperative working relationships." An excerpt from a real chef de cuisine resume shows how this skill is central to what a chef de cuisine does: "used my leadership and culinary skills to run 2 successful restaurants. "
Physical stamina. Another skill commonly found on chef de cuisine job descriptions is "physical stamina." It can come up quite often in chef de cuisine duties, since "chefs and head cooks often work long shifts and sometimes spend entire evenings on their feet, overseeing the preparation and serving of meals." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day chef de cuisine responsibilities: "monitor physical inventory, maintaining constant inventory control while ensuring security, proper handling, and accurate accounting. "
The three companies that hire the most chef de cuisines are:
- The Walt Disney Company108 chef de cuisines jobs
- Aramark60 chef de cuisines jobs
- Goodwin Recruiting44 chef de cuisines jobs
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Chef de cuisine vs. Cook
Cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. They must be knowledgeable about the different recipes and ingredients needed. They are also responsible for managing the inventory and ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked. They prepare meals from scratch, cutting ingredients, measuring them, and following recipes. Cooks should be creative, especially when ingredients are lacking, and they must find alternatives that will not compromise the food taste. They should be precise, imaginative, and patient. Cooks should also have good time management skills and decision-making skills.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between chef de cuisines and cook. For instance, chef de cuisine responsibilities require skills such as "kitchen operations," "menu development," "food quality," and "food safety." Whereas a cook is skilled in "basic math," "quality food," "math," and "patients." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Cooks tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $34,114. In contrast, chef de cuisines make the biggest average salary, $53,893, in the hospitality industry.cooks tend to reach similar levels of education than chef de cuisines. In fact, cooks are 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Chef de cuisine vs. Pastry cook
The Pastry Cook's responsibilities include preparing quality pastry items such as breakfast items, desserts, breads, ice creams, creams, simple syrups, amenities, and others. They are also responsible for minimizing waste and maintaining control to attain forecasted food cost.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, chef de cuisine responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "kitchen operations," "food service," "guest satisfaction," and "sous chefs." Meanwhile, a pastry cook has duties that require skills in areas such as "banquet events," "executive pastry chef," "food products," and "pastry production." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Pastry cooks may earn a lower salary than chef de cuisines, but pastry cooks earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $36,443. On the other hand, chef de cuisines receive higher pay in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $53,893.pastry cooks earn similar levels of education than chef de cuisines in general. They're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chef de cuisine vs. Line cook
Line cooks are responsible for preparing meals for guests or employers. The term line cook brings to mind an assembly line. This is apt because line cooks are usually assigned to a specific station to work on a specific part of a meal or a preparation process. They are part of a bigger group of cooks in the restaurant. This is done so that meal preparation is more efficient. Line cooks are responsible for preparing ingredients, ensuring that the pantry is well-stocked, and doing their assigned activity in the line. They are expected to be good team players, have experience as a cook, and be able to follow recipes and provide alternatives when necessary.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from chef de cuisine resumes include skills like "kitchen operations," "menu development," "food quality," and "food safety," whereas a line cook is more likely to list skills in "team work," "quality food," "basic math," and "food processors. "
Line cooks make a very good living in the hospitality industry with an average annual salary of $32,363. On the other hand, chef de cuisines are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry, with average annual pay of $53,893.When it comes to education, line cooks tend to earn similar degree levels compared to chef de cuisines. In fact, they're 1.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Chef de cuisine vs. Food service specialist
The food service specialists monitor food preparation, ensuring that the guests get their correct orders, providing them the best dining experience and satisfaction. A food service specialist takes the guests' orders, processes their payments, and serves their orders timely and efficiently. They also monitor the stock inventories, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for stock requests, and assist with kitchen duties as needed, especially on high volume days. A food service specialist must have a broad knowledge of the food services industry, analyzing the current food trends to make suggestions for menus, and responding to the guests' concerns.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between chef de cuisines and food service specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a chef de cuisine might have more use for skills like "culinary," "kitchen operations," "food preparation," and "quality standards." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of food service specialists require skills like "preventive maintenance," "mos," "patients," and "servsafe. "
Food service specialists enjoy the best pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $39,427. For comparison, chef de cuisines earn the highest salary in the hospitality industry.food service specialists reach similar levels of education compared to chef de cuisines, in general. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of chef de cuisine
Updated January 8, 2025











