A good chef oversees the kitchen of a hotel, restaurant, or eatery. In small places he or she might be the only one there and does just about anything from doing certain food preparations in advance during closing time to cooking the meals once the order comes in. Chefs may even clean the entire kitchen. Very often those small eateries are the property of the chef. In those cases the chef is also a business person.
It is a completely different deal in bigger restaurants and eateries. Here the chef can be the one who mainly oversees what the under chefs (often called sous chefs) are doing. They are responsible for all the food that is prepared in that particular kitchen and nothing should go to the customer without the ok of the chef. Chefs are also responsible for the quality of the ingredients that are being used and need to ensure that the coolers are always below a certain temperature to keep produce, meats, fish, seafood, and dairy as fresh as possible.
Under the chef’s guidance the dishes that are being offered at that restaurant are perfected. Often a chef will also experiment with new things that he prepares himself or he will get to his stove to personally prepare something for the owner or for a special guest of the restaurant. The chef is the one who is responsible for everything, but he also gets the credit for outstanding food preparation. Oftentimes he will go to the table of a special guest as a courtesy and then retreat back to his kitchen to continue his good work. A chef also has to make sure that his sous chefs and sometimes kitchen aids keep the kitchen as clean and sanitary as the circumstances allow.
A chef has to be capable of working under a lot of pressure and to take the place of any of the under chefs if a need to do so arises. He has to be able to work and keep his under chefs working respecting preparation times that do not exceed the patience of any of the customers or guests. The food has to reach the customer while it is at the right temperature and when waiters are very busy a good chef occasionally brings the food to the table to ensure that is maintained. A chef has to be patient with his staff but be able to lead them firmly and teach them.
If you aspire to become a chef, then it is very important that you begin on a very low level. You can become familiar and get a feel of the profession by working as a dishwasher. If you are still convinced that that career choice is right for you, proceed with checking out all culinary programs in your area. You can learn this highly respected trade at culinary schools and colleges, but some vocational schools also offer good training. No matter what program you choose you will always be instructed in food safety. Besides learning how to cook certain things you will also learn everything on all the tools that are used in a professional kitchen and how to present delicacies nicely on a plate or platter. Often a nutrition course is included in the program.
American law requires that anyone who works in a professional kitchen has a food handlers’ permit. A food handlers’ permit is very easy to obtain. The mandatory course lasts only a couple of hours. Most employers post the chef job with requirements that they are comfortable with, and fancy restaurants and hotels really appreciate certifications and diplomas of good culinary schools. Do not expect to be hired by exquisite restaurants upon completion of a culinary program. You will have to work in simple restaurants or lower positions and work your way up.
Good chefs will always have a job. Possible vacancies are everywhere. Wherever people eat there is a professional kitchen that is attached to it. Restaurant and eateries are very obvious employers of chefs, but hospitals and nursing homes like to brag about the food they serve when they advertise, and so do cruise ships and boats, catering companies, and even the military.
Wages vary in the culinary world. While cooks in fast-food places can earn as little as minimum wage, chefs in real restaurants make considerably more. The yearly income of a top chef can range around $100,000 per year. A chef is a respectable profession for both men and women. Very often the immediate family of a chef benefits from the learned skills and talents. It is also an exciting job with the possibility of meeting extraordinary, famous, or prominent people.
