Chef: description of the profession, responsibilities and career development

A 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 processes in the kitchen. Both men and women can work in this position. The tasks of the chef include creating and developing menus, submitting orders for products, monitoring the sanitary conditions of the kitchen and many others. The chef is the head chef in any kitchen. His opinion is not disputed, and all other employees must obey the instructions of their supervisor.

Celebrity chefs can work as salaried employees, open their own restaurants, or act as experts (for example, advising restaurateurs, custom-made cooking for show business stars or other famous personalities, and so on).

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

First, it is necessary to say about the advantages that are inherent in the profession of a chef.

• A small age of entry into the profession... It's no secret that no matter what career path you have chosen, in order to reach the heights of professionalism and get the highest qualifications, you need to get a lot of work experience. In this regard, world-renowned professionals are recognized at a rather respectable age or even at the dawn of their lives. The situation is different with chefs. Thus, 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 job of a chef may seem rather routine, it is not at all so. Undoubtedly, in the course of your professional activity, you will have to perform some mundane 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 a chef's work in the kitchen is to be creative, create new dishes and find unusual combinations of products.
• Short and relatively simple training... In order to become a programmer, you need broad knowledge of mathematics, knowledge of legislation is important for lawyers, doctors cannot do without chemistry, and so on. Undoubtedly, all of the above professions are popular and prestigious, but getting a position in this area is impossible without specialized education, which requires a lot of effort and time. The situation with cooks is quite different. So, often people who graduated from colleges, schools or other secondary specialized institutions are accepted for 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 time and effort or have any specific technical knowledge.
• Leadership position... The chef is the leader of all kitchen staff and holds a leadership position with high status. This fact is a plus in work for many, but on the other hand, it must be borne in mind that 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 take an interest in this area of ​​human activity, you can become a famous and in-demand specialist.

Let's take a look at some of them.

• Unfavorable 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 canteen, which lacks all the necessary technologies and devices. On an ongoing basis, the chef is exposed to high temperatures, fumes. There is also a fairly high risk of injury (such as a burn or cut).
• High risk of developing certain diseases... Due to the unfavorable working conditions described above, chefs are highly susceptible to a wide variety of diseases: asthma, allergies, joint diseases. That is why very often specialists of even the highest profile retire early.
• Stress... The work of a chef is closely related to a variety of stresses, which can be caused by a large number of reasons: capricious guests, high occupancy of the establishment, incompetent subordinates, and so on.

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

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

• So, it must be said that a newbie in cooking and a person who is just starting his career will not be hired for a responsible managerial position of a chef. It is imperative that you obtain prior work experience as a chef... Different employers may require work experience of different lengths, the minimum indicator is 3 years.
• In addition to knowledge of direct culinary techniques, as well as the ability to apply them in practice, you will need an additional set of knowledge... Thus, a successful chef should know everything about food production and kitchen equipment.
• Knowledge of the basics of accounting and the ability to work in specialized programs is also an integral part of the chef's job.
• Due to the fact that the duties of the head of the kitchen include control over sanitary and hygienic conditions, he must be well versed in the requirements of the sanitary and epidemiological servicethat are being promoted to food production.
• Another must for a chef is the ability to determine the freshness of products and knowledge of a variety of 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 a chef. Depending on the place of work and the employer himself, certain points of the instructions 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 employees... At the same time, it is he who must correctly determine the qualifications and competencies of applicants and thus assemble a professional and highly qualified team that will serve the catering organization.
• After how all employees are selected, it is important to pay attention to their correct placement and decide on who will work in the hot and cold workshopwho will take care of desserts, and who will help all other employees when they need it. The success of the entire kitchen largely depends on the correct placement of workers.
• Since each catering organization has its own individual specifics, each the chef must train new employees and tell them about certain featuresthat must be taken into account in the process of work.
• Menu development - this is the primary task of the head chef in the kitchen. The menu should be such that it is fairly easy to prepare (that is, so 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 establishments cannot boast of - in this way the restaurant will remain competitive and attract customers.
• Creating new recipes - an obligatory part of the work of every chef.So, it can be seasonal menu updates or exclusive dishes from the chef.
• In the course of its work the chef must take care of the inventory of the available food... He must make calculations as to how much of a particular product will be needed for a particular dish and, taking this into account, draw up purchase orders.
• Despite the fact that the direct duties of the chef do not include cleaning the kitchen premises, he must control the sanitary condition of all premises.

The salary of the head chef in the kitchen depends on a number of factors: region, educational level, level of catering, the number and complexity of job duties, and so on. Based on all the factors described above, the chef's salary is calculated. The minimum line is 30,000 rubles, and the maximum is 150,000 rubles.

To become a chef, you need to start your job as a regular chef. At the same time, for employment, even for such a starting position, it is necessary to obtain an appropriate education (for example, graduate from college or take appropriate courses). After showing your professionalism and desire to improve as a regular chef for several years, you may qualify for the position of a chef.

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

At the same time, you can also change the level of institutions in which you work. So, after working as a chef in a school cafeteria for several years, 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 cafeteria - it all depends on the ambitions of a particular specialist.

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

As you can see, the profession of a chef is a rather difficult job, which consists of a lot of pitfalls. That is why, before choosing such a career path, it is important to carefully assess your strengths. If possible, talk to specialists who are already in this position, ask them for an internship. Thus, you will be able to prove not by word, but by deed your desire to develop in the culinary field.