Chef Job Description

A chef's job description includes supervising the restaurants' daily food service operation and directing others in the kitchen. A chef uses his advanced skill and experience to develop and prepare (creativity and knowledge) to develop and prepare new dishes.

A chef's job description also includes hiring, training and overseeing kitchen staff, setting food budgets, preparing work schedules, conducting inventory and ordering food and supplies and watching "the bottom line." A chef also must ensure her restaurant and kitchen meet health and safety laws, including food storage and preparation and sanitation. Developing recipes, determining portion sizes and planning menus also are part of a chef's job description as he supervises the kitchen and its staff to ensure quality food and service. He also will deal with unhappy customers and train assistant chefs and others involved in food preparation. A chef's job description involves good communication with supervisors and subordinates, often under hectic conditions.

Besides restaurants, chefs may work in nursing homes, hospitals, schools and retirement communities or as personal chefs. A chef's job description in these settings may include ordering food, cleaning the kitchen and utensils and serving guests. Personal chefs may work for people such as university or corporate presidents, diplomats or recruiters seeking to impress clients. These chefs may work for themselves or for a food preparation company.

A chef's job description includes varied work hours, depending upon the work environment, that can include nights, weekends and holiday from early in the morning until late into the night. Duties during these times can range from preparing ingredients to supervising deliveries to planning the daily menu. A chef's job description also includes proper use and care of kitchen utensils and equipment, nutrition, portion control, menu planning, inventory control, ordering, food storage and creative use of leftovers to save money. They also know sanitation and food safety principles and rules.

A chef usually starts as a line cook or food preparer and then works her way up with increasing responsibility. This can take many years. Education may be at a community college, four-year university, formal culinary school, military or just "on the job training." More than 200 formal chef training programs nationwide are accredited by the American Culinary Federation.