Chef: Description of the profession, responsibilities and career development

The chef is a responsible and interesting position. Today, the profession is not widespread among young people, but gradually it is becoming more widespread, as it is popularized through the media. Let’s take a closer look at the description of the profession of a chef, responsibilities and career development.

A chef is a person who leads and controls all the processes in the kitchen. Both men and women can work in this position. The chef's tasks include creating and developing a menu, submitting applications for products, monitoring the sanitary conditions of the kitchen, and many others. A chef is the main chef in any kitchen. His opinion is not in dispute, and all other employees must obey the instructions of their boss.

Famous chefs can work as employees, open their own restaurants or play the role of experts (for example, advise restaurateurs, cook show business stars or other famous personalities, and so on).

Like any other work, the profession of a chef is not absolutely perfect, it combines a whole range of characteristics of a positive and negative nature. Before deciding that you want to become the main person in the kitchen, you should carefully study all the pitfalls.

First you need to talk about the advantages that are inherent in the profession of a chef.

• Young age entering the profession. It is no secret to anyone that regardless of which career path you have chosen, in order to reach the pinnacles of professionalism and get the highest qualifications, you need to get a lot of experience. In this regard, world-renowned professionals receive recognition at a fairly respectable age or even at the very dawn of their lives. The situation is different with the chefs. So, the average age for obtaining such a position is 35 years. At the same time, you can start your professional career from 18.
• Creative component. Despite the fact that at first glance the work of the chef may seem rather routine, this is completely not the case. Undoubtedly, in the course of your professional activity you will have to perform some everyday functions that will not bring you much pleasure (for example, filling out applications for products and working with other documents). However, at the same time, it should be borne in mind that the main part of the cook's work in the kitchen is to show creativity, create new dishes and search for unusual combinations of products.
• Short and relatively simple training. In order to become a programmer, a wide knowledge of mathematics is necessary, knowledge of the law is important for lawyers, doctors can not do without chemistry, and so on. Undoubtedly, all the above professions are popular and prestigious, but it is impossible to get a position in this area without specialized education, which requires a lot of effort and time. The situation is different with cooks. So, often people who graduate from colleges, colleges or other secondary specialized institutions are taken to the initial positions. Sometimes you can get a job with only professional courses. Thus, in order to start your professional career, you do not have to spend a lot of effort and time or possess any specific technical knowledge.
• Leadership position. The chef is the leader of all kitchen staff and holds a leadership position with a high status. This fact is a plus in the work for many, but on the other hand it must be borne in mind that along with leadership comes responsibility.
• Demand. A chef is a specialist who will always be in demand. In fact, this profession is not popular among young people, but if you seriously study cooking and have an interest in this area of ​​human activity, you can become a famous and sought-after specialist.

Let's consider some of them.

• Adverse working conditions. The kitchen is a place where it is quite difficult to work. At the same time, the risks increase if you are an employee of a small provincial cafe or dining room, where all the necessary technologies and devices are missing. On an ongoing basis, the chef is exposed to high temperatures, fumes. And there is also a fairly high risk of injury (for example, burns or cuts).
• High risk of developing certain diseases. Due to the adverse working conditions that were described above, chefs are heavily susceptible to a variety of diseases: asthma, allergies, joint diseases. That is why very often specialists of even the highest profile retire early.
• Stress. The work of the chef is closely connected with a variety of stresses that can be caused by a large number of reasons: capricious guests, high occupancy of the institution, incompetent subordinates and so on.

Employers can put forward various requirements to chefs - it all depends on the specific place of work. In any case, everything should be clearly described in the job description, also do not hesitate to ask clarifying or any other questions you are interested in at a personal interview.

Despite the diverse requirements of employers, there is a certain standardized set of skills that every chef will need.

• So, I must say that the chef will not take a freshman in cooking and that person who is just starting his career path. You without fail need to get preliminary experience as a cook. Different employers may require work experience of different durations, the minimum figure is 3 years.
• In addition to knowledge of direct culinary techniques, as well as the ability to put them into practice, you will need an additional set of knowledge. So, a successful chef must know everything about food production and kitchen equipment.
• Knowledge of accounting fundamentals and the ability to work in specialized programs is also an integral part of the work of the chef.
• Due to the fact that the duties of the head of the kitchen include control over sanitary and hygienic conditions, he should be well versed in the requirements of the sanitary-epidemiological servicethat are put forward to food production.
• Another need for a chef is ability to determine the freshness of products and knowledge of the most diverse technologies for working with them.
• Among other things, every kitchen worker (and the head chef is no exception) must have a medical record.

First of all, it should be noted that there is no universal job description for the chef. Depending on the place of work and the employer, these or those points of the instruction may vary. In general, there are standard requirements and rules.

Let's consider them in more detail.

• Every chef who, on the basis of his direct professional requirements, is the head of the kitchen, must recruit staff. Moreover, it is he who must correctly determine the qualifications and competencies of the applicants and thus assemble a professional and highly qualified team that will serve the catering organization.
• After as all employees are selected, it is important to pay attention to their proper placement and determine who will work in a hot and cold workshopwho will be engaged in desserts, and who will provide assistance to all other employees when such is needed. For the most part, the success of the entire kitchen depends on the proper arrangement of workers.
• Since each catering organization has its own individual specificity, each the chef must train new employees and tell them about particular featuresthat must be taken into account in the process.
• Menu Design - This is the primary task of the chief cook in the kitchen. The menu should be such that it was quite easy to cook (that is, that all chefs are guided in the techniques of preparing a particular dish). And also the menu should contain original and original dishes that other institutions cannot boast of - in this way the restaurant will remain competitive and attract customers.
• Creating New Recipes - an obligatory part of the work of each cook.So, it can be seasonal menu updates or exclusive dishes from the chef.
• In the course of his work the chef must deal with the availability of food. He must make calculations regarding how much of a particular product will be needed for a particular dish and, taking this into account, draw up purchase applications.
• Despite the fact that the chef’s direct responsibilities do not include cleaning the kitchen, he must monitor the sanitary condition of all rooms.

The salary of the chief cook in the kitchen depends on a number of factors: the region, the educational level, the level of organization of catering, the number and complexity of official duties, and so on. Based on all the factors described above, the salary of the chef is compiled. The minimum line is 30,000 rubles, and the maximum is 150,000 rubles.

In order to become a chef, you need to start your job as a regular cook. At the same time, for employment, even for such a starting position, it is necessary to receive an appropriate education (for example, to graduate from college or take appropriate courses). After you show your professionalism and desire to improve as a regular cook for several years, you can apply for the position of a chef.

However, it should be borne in mind that a chef is not an end in itself.

At the same time, you can also change the level of the institutions in which you work. So, having worked for several years as a chef in a school cafeteria, you can get a job in a cafe or restaurant, increasing your status as a professional.

An experienced chef can find a job for himself in any catering establishment: it can be a luxury restaurant, a cozy hipster cafe or even a simple school canteen - it all depends on the ambitions of a particular specialist.

And also the career path can develop in such a way that you become a personal cook. For example, some famous world stars have personal chefs. The salaries of such specialists are quite high, since at the same time they can serve several people.

As you can see, the profession of a chef is a rather complicated job, which consists of a large number of pitfalls. That is why before choosing such a career path, it is important to carefully evaluate your strength. If possible, talk with specialists who already hold this position, ask them for an internship. Thus, you can prove, not by word, but by deed, your desire to develop in the culinary sphere.