Chefs are often considered artists, who create culinary masterpieces pleasing to vision and palate alike. Sous chefs are there at every step of the process, assisting the head chef, in a professionally run kitchen, in making the magic happen.
They contribute to creating the menu, making sure every necessary ingredient is in stock and fresh, supervise sanitation, and do everything in their power to reach the expected quality standard of the meals.
Defying stereotypical gender roles, or perhaps adhering to less obvious ones, the sous chef position is primarily filled by men, especially in high-end kitchens. With all the long hours, heat, and a high-pressure working environment, prejudice against women has them framed as not being physically and emotionally strong enough to work in kitchens, and receive fewer opportunities to hold high-status jobs as cooks.
Restaurants behind the scenes are apparently not just the site for exquisite food preparation but prove to be an excellent field for institutionalized sexism as well. Go sous chefettes, it is high time to change this demographic!
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Sous Chef. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.14 an hour? That's $48,132 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 15,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Sous Chefs 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.
If you're interested in becoming a Sous Chef, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 24.1% of Sous Chefs have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.4% of Sous Chefs have master's degrees. Even though some Sous Chefs 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 Sous Chef. When we researched the most common majors for a Sous Chef, we found that they most commonly earn Associate Degree degrees or Bachelor's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Sous Chef resumes include High School Diploma degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Sous Chef. In fact, many Sous Chef jobs require experience in a role such as Line Cook. Meanwhile, many Sous Chefs also have previous career experience in roles such as Cook or Chef.