A Head Cook, aka the chef, is responsible for running a kitchen, usually in a high-end establishment. They delegate tasks and oversee the work of everyone involved in food preparation, making sure that the result is nothing but exquisite delicacies. They come up with new recipes, create the menu, and make sure the necessary ingredients are always in stock.
Head cooks are deeply passionate about cooking. They live and die for tasty food and know a lot about other countries' culinary cultures. They consider their profession art, rather than anything else, and just like a poet has a favorite pen, you will recognize an authentic head cook by the fact that he/she favors one knife over all others.
Not that salaries matter to a real artist; just for your information, head cooks in the U.S. make an average of $48,098 per year.
How to Become a Head Cook
What is a Head Cook
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Head Cook. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.67 an hour? That's $47,144 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 15,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Head Cook Do
There are certain skills that many Head Cooks have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Business skills, Communication skills and Creativity.
How To Become a Head Cook
If you're interested in becoming a Head Cook, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 15.5% of Head Cooks have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 0.9% of Head Cooks have master's degrees. Even though some Head Cooks have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Head Cook. When we researched the most common majors for a Head Cook, we found that they most commonly earn High School Diploma degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Head Cook resumes include Bachelor's Degree degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Head Cook. In fact, many Head Cook jobs require experience in a role such as Cook. Meanwhile, many Head Cooks also have previous career experience in roles such as Line Cook or Cashier.
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Head Cook Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a Head Cook can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Sous Chef, progress to a title such as Executive Chef and then eventually end up with the title Director Of Food And Beverage.
Head Cook Jobs You Might Like
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Head Cook
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12 Head Cook Resume Examples
Build a professional head cook resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your head cook resume.
Edward Wagner Head Cook |
Sandra Jenkins Head Cook Experience Head Cook2011 - Present Hardee's Restaurants•Indianapolis, IN
Prep Cook2007 - 2011 Ruby Tuesday•Knoxville, TN
Kitchen Aide2002 - 2003 Sodexo Operations•Lynchburg, VA
Skills Food PreparationFacilitate Customer ServiceKitchen EquipmentDinner ServicePortion ControlFacilityCommunicationKitchen FacilitiesKitchen MaintenanceSanitation Guidelines Education Doctoral Degree Culinary Arts2004 - 2007 Sullivan University•Bardstown, KY Master's Degree Philosophy2003 - 2004 Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey•New Brunswick, NJ Bachelor's Degree Philosophy1999 - 2002 New York University•New York, NY |
Learn How To Write a Head Cook Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Head Cook resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Head Cook Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Head Cook Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Head Cook templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Head Cook resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Find the best Head Cook job for you
Head Cook Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Head Cook Jobs - $65K and Up
- Entry Level Head Cook Jobs
- Part Time Head Cook Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Head Cook Jobs
Top Colleges for Head Cooks
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
3. Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
5. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
6. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
7. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred
Alfred, NY • Private
8. SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
Delhi, NY • Private
9. University of Charleston
Charleston, WV • Private
10. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
Find the best Head Cook job for you
Head Cook Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Head Cook Jobs - $65K and Up
- Entry Level Head Cook Jobs
- Part Time Head Cook Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Head Cook Jobs
Online Courses For Head Cook That You May Like
Learn how to cook whole plant foods to make quick, easy, and healthy vegan meals for practical everyday eating...
Everyday reports of food scandals and recalls are published. One day it’s scary bacteria in meat, and another day it’s dangerous pesticides in fruits. According to some, meat needs to be cooked well to prevent food-borne illness while others warn not to heat food to prevent the formation of poisonous substances. Many consumers worry about the conflicting and confusing messages about food hazards. This nutrition and health course will teach you about the risk factors associated with food and...
Cooking is one of the most powerful ways in which we can optimize our enjoyment of great quality food while protecting our health. Even on a tight budget, cooking can be a cost-effective, joyful and rewarding way to love the food that will love us back for a lifetime. In this course, you'll learn some basic recipes from a home cook and two professional chefs who prioritize healthful eating. You'll also learn some of the fundamentals of principle-based cooking that can help you break free from th...
Top Skills For a Head Cook
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 32.3% of Head Cooks listed Kitchen Equipment on their resume, but soft skills such as Business skills and Communication skills are important as well.
Best States For a Head Cook
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Head Cook. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Head Cooks make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $80,680. Whereas in Delaware and Maryland, they would average $65,933 and $62,399, respectively. While Head Cooks would only make an average of $61,664 in Pennsylvania, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Pennsylvania
$61,664
Avg. Salary
2. Texas
$56,340
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$80,680
Avg. Salary