How many ranks of chefs are there and what do they mean?

A cook is one of the few professions that is relevant at all times. There are quite a few job seekers and employers in all areas of culinary - in the restaurant business, in canteens and even bistros. At the same time, not just cooks are often required for work, but representatives of this profession, who have a certain category. This is what this is, what significance the category has on the specifics of the work of a cook and how it can be increased, we will talk in this article.

If we talk about almost all existing professions, each specialty has several stages, which show the professionalism of a person and his skills in work. The profession of a cook is no exception. Here, a potential employer can preliminarily evaluate talent and professional qualities, only having learned the rank of a cook.

This indicator is not just a numerical prefix to the profession itself. This is an abbreviated numerical designation of the skills and abilities of a person who received this specialty. Wherein it is impossible to get the highest - 6th grade - at once. For this, in addition to secondary vocational education, it is necessary to take special advanced training courses.

A person with the highest professional rank is not just a cook, but also a technologist and a professional waiter. Such people are real experts in their field. The form of categories was created back in the USSR, but even today it has not lost its relevance. The category determines not only skills, but also a certain range of activities that a person can perform. To understand this in more detail, you need to study this system in detail.

Currently, the state classification contains information on the 5 main categories of chefs. Unofficially, there is one more. It is automatically assigned to those people who have just entered courses or study at government institutions in this profession. Holders of the so-called first category in the kitchen can only be observers, in extreme cases they are allowed to perform rough work - washing dishes, cleaning vegetables and fruits.

The first official rank is 2. Its owners must perform the same functions as a rank 1 cook. In addition, they must do the following work:

• gutting of poultry, game and fish;
• cutting meat;
• defrosting frozen food under the right conditions;
• sorting and washing berries, mushrooms, vegetables and fruits;
• slicing bread.

Such workers should know not only the basic requirements for the quality of products, but also the basics of their processing, the rules for cutting carcasses, half-carcasses of beef and pork, cutting poultry and fish to prepare a wide variety of dishes.

Chefs of the 3rd category have the right to perform the same functions in the kitchen as a specialist of the previous level. But his main responsibilities are:

• boiling cereals, vegetables, meat and fish;
• preparing soups of various types;
• making and finishing cutlets, meatballs and meatballs;
• baking pancakes and pancakes;
• making dishes from eggs.

Such a chef has the right to cook only the simplest dishes that do not require specific knowledge or the use of complex devices. A specialist of this level must also know not only the requirements for the quality of food, but also the rules for cutting meat, poultry and fish, the forms of cutting various products for preparing various dishes.

A cook of the 4th grade is a higher level of training. His job responsibilities include cooking dishes such as:

• complex and multicomponent salads from meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables with fruits;
• snack bars and stuffed dishes;
• exotic soups;
• aspic and jellies.

Also, this specialist prepares the simplest pastries, dumplings and dumplings, nutria and rabbit dishes. A chef with a 4th grade should know how the hardness and acidity of the water affects the time and preparation of a particular product and its taste. Know the organoleptic properties of products, terms and rules for their storage.

The cook of the 5th category is a professional in his field. He, in addition to preparing almost any dish, must be able to draw up new recipes and write technological maps for them. Their main difference from the masters with the 4th category is that they know how to prepare medicinal, dietary or the most refined dishes:

• jellied dishes from meat, fish or their assorted;
• stuffed poultry or game;
• steam dishes;
• a variety of sauces and toppings;
• complex baked goods.

You can get the fifth grade of a cook by taking special courses at specialized educational institutions.

A cook of the 6th category is a master chef. Such specialists are snapped up at any time, including today. They know how to cook absolutely all types of dishes, they know the intricacies and secrets of preparing complex dishes, in particular pates, mousses, cakes, whole young pigs and profiteroles with various fillings.

Masters of this level also know the technology of cooking some national dishes of other countries. Only a person who already has a specialized secondary culinary education can become the owner of the 6th category.

Quite often, for various reasons, chefs need to increase their rank, with the exception of those who already have it 6. Currently, this can be done in two ways.

This option is suitable only in cases where the person already has a secondary specialized specialized education. If the previous 5th grade was obtained by taking courses, then you need to enroll in a culinary college.

Upon graduation, you will need to pass difficult exam tests, based on the results of which a decision will be made on the assignment of the next category and, accordingly, a special certificate will be issued - a diploma.

In this case the chef makes a statement to the management of his company... He is sent as an apprentice to a more experienced master and the term of his studies is determined. As in the previous version, upon graduation, a decision will be made to increase the grade and, accordingly, to increase the workload and increase wages.

In the Soviet Union, above-average chefs had to be able to perform all types of work equally well and cook absolutely all products with the same quality and variety.

There is currently no such requirement. On the contrary, most of the highly qualified chefs prefer to choose some kind of narrow focus in cooking, for example, to cook only baked goods, meat, fish, or even only one dish - pizza. This specialization allows you to develop and cook or create new culinary masterpieces as much as possible.

And even today, even those who have the lowest second grade are hired to work as a cook. In the elite catering establishments, again during the Soviet era, this was not the case. Only cooks with a grade of at least 5 were allowed to directly cook food. Only a cook who could cook at least all the national dishes of the Union republics could get the 6th grade. Today this rule is conditional.

Those with grade 3 or 4 had to work as apprentices in the kitchen for 3 years for each increase in your level. Today, many elite establishments are returning to this practice.