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!
How to Become a Sous Chef
What is a Sous Chef
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.
What Does a Sous Chef Do
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.
How To Become a Sous Chef
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.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
And if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Sous Chef Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of Executive Chef you might progress to a role such as General Manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title Director Of Food And Beverage.
Sous Chef 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 Sous Chef
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12 Sous Chef Resume Examples
Build a professional sous chef 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 sous chef resume.
Carl King Sous Chef |
Joyce Hernandez Sous Chef Experience Sous Chef2019 - Present Aramark•Chicago, IL
Lead Cook2009 - 2019 Marriott International•Houston, TX
Master Cook (Part-Time)2004 - 2005 TGI Friday's•Kalamazoo, MI
Skills Food ServicePlan MenusStorage AreasSousPortion ControlChefsCold Food ItemsLine ChecksMenu ItemsDisneyland Education Doctoral Degree Culinary Arts2006 - 2009 Schoolcraft College•Livonia, MI Master's Degree Communication2005 - 2006 Michigan State University•East Lansing, MI Bachelor's Degree Public Relations2002 - 2005 Western Michigan University•Kalamazoo, MI |
Learn How To Write a Sous Chef Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Sous Chef 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 Sous Chef Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Sous Chef Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Sous Chef templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Sous Chef resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Find the best Sous Chef job for you
Sous Chef Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Sous Chef Jobs - $71K and Up
- Entry Level Sous Chef Jobs
- Part Time Sous Chef Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Sous Chef Jobs
Top Colleges for Sous Chefs
1. Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH • Private
3. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
4. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
5. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
6. Southwest Minnesota State University
Marshall, MN • Private
7. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce
Mercedita, PR • Private
Find the best Sous Chef job for you
Sous Chef Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Sous Chef Jobs - $71K and Up
- Entry Level Sous Chef Jobs
- Part Time Sous Chef Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Sous Chef Jobs
Online Courses For Sous Chef That You May Like
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Learn the requirements and standards associated with OSHA and workplace safety. Safety best practices for the workplace...
Food Safety Preventive System (HACCP System) for ISO 22000...
Top Skills For a Sous Chef
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, 10.5% of Sous Chefs listed Food Preparation on their resume, but soft skills such as Business skills and Communication skills are important as well.
Best States For a Sous Chef
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Sous Chef. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Delaware. Sous Chefs make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $68,368. Whereas in New Jersey and Massachusetts, they would average $66,518 and $56,116, respectively. While Sous Chefs would only make an average of $55,632 in Delaware, 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. Nevada
$51,697
Avg. Salary
2. Hawaii
$68,368
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$56,116
Avg. Salary
How Do Sous Chef Rate Their Jobs?
Sous Chef Videos
Becoming a Sous Chef FAQs
How long does it take to become a Sous Chef?
It takes 4 years of professional experience to become a sous chef. That is the time it takes to learn specific sous chef skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 7 to 9 years years to become a sous chef.