What does a sushi chef do?
Sushi Chefs mainly work in restaurants, cafes, country clubs, pubs, five-star hotels, grocery shops, etc. A sushi Chef uses various fish-slicing and sushi rolling methods to prepare a huge amount of sushi dishes as per the choice of clients.
Sushi chef responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sushi chef resumes:
- Skil at managing kitchen operations and complying with culinary standards.
- Manage a kitchen of military personal and Japanese civilian chefs.
- Restock the buffet with the different items as they run low.
- Develop variety of menu items catering to customers with food allergies and diet restrictions.
- Gain knowledge of all nigiri's, popular rolls, and creation of special rolls.
- Mass produce specific sushi rolls as well as specially order individual rolls, hands rolls and sashimi cuts.
- Prepare sashimi, rice, and other sushi ingredients, as well as prepared each sushi order for customers.
- Cook and prepare a variety of food items, including preparation of ingredients need and operation of multiple deep fryers.
- Full food service preparation in a high-quality restaurant featuring seasonal, farm-fresh fare, with expensive wine and spirits offerings.
- Communicate daily with customers and internal associates about the types of sushi and learning of any food allergies and/or dietary restrictions.
- Increase product safety by developing and implementing HACCP plan for raw fish handling and storage per request of local health department.
- Follow standard procedure food safety regulations HACCP
- Maintain cleanliness and organization of sushi station.
- Receive extensive training in workplace cleanliness and safety.
- Develop innovative weekly menus and monthly wine dinners.
Sushi chef skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Sushi Chefs are proficient in Quality Standards, Cleanliness, and Kitchen Equipment. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Communication skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Sushi Chefs that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Quality Standards, 15%
Interacted directly with sushi vendors to negotiate pricing, standardize quality standards and to purchase product as necessary.
- Cleanliness, 14%
Received extensive training in workplace cleanliness and safety.
- Kitchen Equipment, 12%
Measure and mix ingredients according to recipes, using multiple kitchen equipment.
- Food Handling, 10%
Completed and maintained food handling management certification.
- Culinary, 8%
Skilled at managing kitchen operations and complying with culinary standards.
- Food Storage, 8%
Maintain cleaning/food storage agendas and logs
Common skills that a sushi chef uses to do their job include "quality standards," "cleanliness," and "kitchen equipment." You can find details on the most important sushi chef responsibilities below.
Business skills. The most essential soft skill for a sushi chef to carry out their responsibilities is business skills. This skill is important for the role because "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." Additionally, a sushi chef resume shows how their duties depend on business skills: "directed business development through creation of food production and quality/inventory control plans. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling sushi chef duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "chefs must convey their instructions clearly and effectively to staff so that patrons' orders are prepared correctly." According to a sushi chef resume, here's how sushi chefs can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "handle high pressure situations communication and broad culinary skills high volume production capability"
Creativity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of sushi chefs is creativity. This skill is critical to many everyday sushi chef duties, as "chefs and head cooks need to develop and prepare interesting and innovative recipes." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide hands-on constant creative ideas to ensure delivering of high-quality cuisine. "
Dexterity. For certain sushi chef responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "dexterity." The day-to-day duties of a sushi chef rely on this skill, as "chefs and head cooks need agility to handle knives properly for cutting, chopping, and dicing." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what sushi chefs do: "provided hands-on expertise in areas that included menu planning, cost control and analysis, staffing,budgeting and marketing. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in sushi chef job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what sushi chefs do. Sushi 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 sushi chef duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "have a variety of culinary skills from cooking with various types of kitchen equipment to over 5 years of management/leadership experience. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to sushi chef responsibilities. Much of what a sushi chef does relies on this skill, seeing as "chefs and head cooks often work long shifts and sometimes spend entire evenings on their feet, overseeing the preparation and serving of meals." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of sushi chefs: "inventory control: duties included product ordering, physical inventory count, yield profitability, and cost control"
The three companies that hire the most sushi chefs are:
- Benihana164 sushi chefs jobs
- Kona Grill34 sushi chefs jobs
- The ONE Group17 sushi chefs jobs
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Compare different sushi chefs
Sushi chef vs. Head 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between sushi chefs and head cook. For instance, sushi chef responsibilities require skills such as "cleanliness," "food handling," "culinary," and "customer service." Whereas a head cook is skilled in "meal preparation," "food service," "food products," and "servsafe." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Head cooks earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $43,083. On the other hand, sushi chefs are paid more in the construction industry with an average salary of $46,193.On average, head cooks reach similar levels of education than sushi chefs. Head cooks are 0.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Sushi chef vs. 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that sushi chef responsibilities requires skills like "food storage," "cuisine," "customer orders," and "customer satisfaction." But a pastry cook might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "food safety," "sanitation standards," "wine," and "banquet events."
On average, pastry cooks earn a lower salary than sushi chefs. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, pastry cooks earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $36,443. Whereas sushi chefs have higher pay in the construction industry, with an average salary of $46,193.pastry cooks earn similar levels of education than sushi chefs in general. They're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sushi chef vs. Chef de cuisine
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.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, sushi chefs are more likely to have skills like "food storage," "cuisine," "customer orders," and "dexterity." But a chef de cuisine is more likely to have skills like "food quality," "food safety," "food service," and "wine."
Chef de cuisines earn the highest salary when working in the hospitality industry, where they receive an average salary of $53,893. Comparatively, sushi chefs have the highest earning potential in the construction industry, with an average salary of $46,193.Most chef de cuisines achieve a similar degree level compared to sushi chefs. For example, they're 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sushi chef vs. Chef de partie
A Chef De Partie is responsible for supervising a section of the kitchen, such as pastry, butchery, fish, or sauces. They enforce strict health and hygiene standards.
Types of sushi chef
Updated January 8, 2025
