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 representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • 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 list "culinary," "fine dining," and "kitchen operations" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important chef de cuisine responsibilities here:

  • Arguably the most important personality trait for a chef de cuisine 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 chef de cuisines can use business skills to "supported ongoing development of fine dining and banquet menus, ultimately leading to increased business and customer satisfaction across the board. "
  • Another commonly found skill for being able to perform chef de cuisine duties is the following: communication skills. According to a chef de cuisine resume, "chefs must communicate their instructions clearly and effectively to staff so that customers’ orders are prepared correctly." Check out this example of how chef de cuisines use communication skills: "maintained effective communication and leadership with production and service staff in quality food production environment. "
  • Chef de cuisines 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 chef de cuisine 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: "inventory, scheduling of staff, focusing on kitchen cleanliness, collaborating with manager on various projects. "
  • In order for certain chef de cuisine responsibilities to be completed, the job requires the skill "dexterity." According to a chef de cuisine 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: "augmented culinary skills and gained hands-on business experience to advance professional career in culinary arts and hospitality. "
  • Another common skill for a chef de cuisine 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. A chef de cuisine demonstrated the need for this skill by putting this on their resume: "used my leadership and culinary skills to run 2 successful restaurants. "
  • Another skill commonly found on chef de cuisine resumes is "physical stamina." This description of the skill was found on several chef de cuisine resumes: "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 could fit into the day-to-day chef de cuisine responsibilities: "monitor physical inventory, maintaining constant inventory control while ensuring security, proper handling, and accurate accounting. "
  • See the full list of chef de cuisine skills.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Chef De Cuisine Resume templates

    Build a professional Chef De Cuisine resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Chef De Cuisine resume.

    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume
    Chef De Cuisine Resume

    resume document icon

    Don't Have A Professional Resume?

    What Cooks Do

    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.

    In this section, we compare the average chef de cuisine annual salary with that of a cook. Typically, cooks earn a $20,123 lower salary than chef de cuisines earn annually.

    While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both chef de cuisines and cooks positions are skilled in culinary, fine dining, and food preparation.

    As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because a chef de cuisine responsibility requires 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." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

    Cooks tend to make the most money in the government industry by averaging a salary of $34,114. In contrast, chef de cuisines make the biggest average salary of $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.

    What Are The Duties Of a 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.

    Next up, we have the pastry cook profession to look over. This career brings along a lower average salary when compared to a chef de cuisine annual salary. In fact, pastry cooks salary difference is $17,068 lower than the salary of chef de cuisines per year.

    A similarity between the two careers of chef de cuisines and pastry cooks are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "culinary," "fine dining," and "food preparation. "

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are 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 might be skilled 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 side of things, chef de cuisines receive higher paychecks in the hospitality industry where they earn an average of $53,893.

    On the topic of education, 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.

    How a Line Cook Compares

    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.

    The line cook profession generally makes a lower amount of money when compared to the average salary of chef de cuisines. The difference in salaries is line cooks making $19,032 lower than chef de cuisines.

    While looking through the resumes of several chef de cuisines and line cooks we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "culinary," "fine dining," and "food preparation," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from chef de cuisine resumes include skills like "kitchen operations," "menu development," "food quality," and "food safety," whereas a line cook might be skilled 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. Whereas chef de cuisines are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry with the average being $53,893.

    When it comes to education, line cooks tend to earn similar education levels than 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.

    Description Of a 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.

    The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than chef de cuisines. On average, food service specialists earn a difference of $22,640 lower per year.

    While both chef de cuisines and food service specialists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like fine dining, customer service, and cleanliness, the two careers also vary in other skills.

    Even though a few skill sets overlap, 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 food service specialists might include skills like "preventive maintenance," "mos," "patients," and "servsafe" on their resume.

    Food service specialists earn a higher salary in the government industry with an average of $39,427. Whereas, chef de cuisines earn the highest salary in the hospitality industry.

    Food service specialists reach similar levels of education when compared to chef de cuisines. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree more, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.