What does a chef do?
A chef is the master of the kitchen--someone who is creative and innovative with food. Chefs are the pride and reputation of each restaurant or dining establishments. They make sure every meal served is fresh and oversees the kitchen operation. They also create recipes, study menus, and prepare significant-high-quality dishes that represent the restaurant. They say academic requirements aren't needed, but anyone who has a passion for food and cooking can be a chef.
Chef responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real chef resumes:
- Prep; cook; deliver and manage off site catering events per BEO orders.
- Integrate key culinary leaders into casino and food and beverage operations, achieving positive results and industry awards.
- Prepare any there require drinks or food that is necessary for that BEO.
- Train all BOH employees on new recipes and procedures of preparation for all menu items
- Maximize productivity, profit and loss with continual on the job training of BOH staff.
- Follow mandated health regulations with a HACCP program and proper sanctification procedures.
- Prepare catering orders, deliver as necessary and maintain kitchen cleanliness and order.
- Maintain cleaning schedule and ensure proper implementation of company policy regarding proper HACCP procedures.
- Celebrate old-fashioned menu and simultaneously introduce creative dishes without losing the foundation cuisine by which the club operate.
- Create and prepare international cuisine for executive clientele by using ingenuity, organization, efficiency in production and attention to detail
- Prepare private dinners and buffets for senior management.
- Prepare foods of all types for receptions, buffets, holidays, and special occasions.
- Maintain all inventory and price with vendors, placing orders for all kitchen and FOH needs.
- Provide meals for the casual caf, restaurant, lounge and room service.
- Train interns and keep the public caf stock with meals on a daily basis.
Chef skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Chefs are proficient in Customer Service, Food Handling, and Culinary. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Chefs that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 13%
Provide exceptional customer service to ensure future business with skill enhancement through Culinary Arts training.
- Food Handling, 12%
Facilitated improvements in food handling and preparation within corporate kitchen -Monitored temperature and refrigeration controls according to NYC Board of Health guidelines
- Culinary, 11%
Motivate the kitchen team to strive for culinary excellence at maximum efficiency, comply with Company procedures and maximize profitability.
- Food Service, 8%
Worked closely with Food Service Director, communicated directly with University Administrators planning and executing special events.
- Kitchen Operations, 6%
Promoted exceptional customer service by overseeing all kitchen operations for 223-guest room and 66-meeting room premiere conference and corporate education center.
- Kitchen Equipment, 4%
Worked closely with management to maintain property safety and consistent preventative maintenance on all kitchen equipment.
Common skills that a chef uses to do their job include "customer service," "food handling," and "culinary." You can find details on the most important chef responsibilities below.
Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a chef to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "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." Chefs often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "supervised all operations, initiated eclectic cuisine expanding business from 200 to 400 covers daily, california/eclectic cuisine. "
Communication skills. Many chef duties rely on communication skills. "chefs must convey their instructions clearly and effectively to staff so that patrons' orders are prepared correctly.," so a chef will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways chef responsibilities rely on communication skills: "cook and plan meals maintain quality and cleanliness operate various cooking equipment excellent communication skills"
Creativity. chefs are also known for creativity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to chef responsibilities, because "chefs and head cooks need to develop and prepare interesting and innovative recipes." A chef resume example shows how creativity is used in the workplace: "celebrated old-fashioned menu and simultaneously introduced creative dishes without losing the foundation cuisine by which the club operated. "
Dexterity. A big part of what chefs do relies on "dexterity." You can see how essential it is to chef responsibilities because "chefs and head cooks need agility to handle knives properly for cutting, chopping, and dicing." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical chef tasks: "provided hands-on constant creative ideas to ensure delivery of attractive presentation, high-quality cuisine, and timely service of food daily. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in chef job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what chefs do. Chef responsibilities rely on this skill because "chefs and head cooks must be able to motivate kitchen staff and to develop constructive and cooperative working relationships." You can also see how chef duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "attended workshops to gain knowledge about culinary arts and leadership. "
Physical stamina. Another skill commonly found on chef job descriptions is "physical stamina." It can come up quite often in chef 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 responsibilities: "worked continually with the staff on food safety, physical safety and culinary techniques. "
The three companies that hire the most chefs are:
- Compass Group USA214 chefs jobs
- Benihana86 chefs jobs
- The Walt Disney Company56 chefs jobs
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Compare different chefs
Chef vs. Banquet 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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a chef are more likely to require skills like "kitchen operations," "servsafe," "food storage," and "sanitation standards." On the other hand, a job as a banquet cook requires skills like "sauces," "cold food," "dependability," and "dexterity." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Banquet cooks earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $41,429. On the other hand, chefs are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $46,349.On average, banquet cooks reach similar levels of education than chefs. Banquet cooks are 1.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Chef vs. Pastry 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that chef responsibilities requires skills like "food service," "kitchen operations," "quality food," and "chefs." But a pastry cook might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "food safety," "wine," "banquet events," and "executive pastry chef."
Pastry cooks earn a lower average salary than chefs. But pastry cooks earn the highest pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $36,443. Additionally, chefs earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $46,349 annually.pastry cooks earn similar levels of education than chefs in general. They're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Chef vs. Line cook
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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a chef is likely to be skilled in "food service," "kitchen operations," "chefs," and "servsafe," while a typical line cook is skilled in "team work," "basic math," "dexterity," and "math."
Line cooks earn the highest salary when working in the hospitality industry, where they receive an average salary of $32,363. Comparatively, chefs have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $46,349.When it comes to education, line cooks tend to earn similar degree levels compared to chefs. In fact, they're 1.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Chef vs. Head cook
Even though a few skill sets overlap between chefs and head cooks, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a chef might have more use for skills like "customer service," "food handling," "culinary," and "cleanliness." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of head cooks require skills like "meal preparation," "food products," "plan menus," and "clean kitchen. "
In general, head cooks earn the most working in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $43,083. The highest-paying industry for a chef is the health care industry.In general, head cooks hold similar degree levels compared to chefs. Head cooks are 1.3% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of chef
Updated January 8, 2025
