Chefs: Duties & Job Market

Chefs prepare, cook, and bake food and desserts for a living. Chefs are different from cooks in that chefs graduate from a culinary school or program that has trained them in a specific type of food preparation. Chefs usually specialize in either cooking or baking, but there are some chefs who have been trained in cooking as well as in desserts and pastry making.

Duties of a chef
A chef prepares and cooks a variety of foods for others to eat at restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, cruise ships, and any other place that people may gather to enjoy a meal. Chefs often create their own recipes, experimenting with seasonings and different styles of cooking in order to come up with innovative ways of serving food.

There are a variety of positions a person can hold as a chef, including executive chef, chef de cuisine, and sous chef. An executive chef supervises the kitchen staff at a restaurant as well as orders food supplies and plans menus. A chef de cuisine works under an executive chef and oversees the daily work in a kitchen. A sous chef assumes kitchen responsibilities in the absence of the chef.

Where to find chef jobs
Chefs are hired at restaurants, cafeterias, and food manufacturing facilities. Some chefs work as private household chefs, planning and cooking meals for clients based on their needs and preferences. Others work as personal chefs, who prepare meals in advance for clients to reheat and eat during the day or week. Still others work as caterers to provide food for a special event.

Chefs can advance in their career by working in more prestigious restaurants, many of which have won awards or other accolades for their cuisines. Additionally, many chefs become restaurateurs, opening their own establishments in which they have complete control over the style of cuisine and the way in which it is served.

Culinary programs
There are many associate and Bachelor's degree programs in culinary arts, as well as a number of certification programs that allow chefs to become pastry professionals, personal chefs, or educators. Some culinary students choose to study abroad so that they can become immersed in the culture and language of the food that they most prefer; for instance, those who enjoy making pasta and sauces may go to school in Italy, while those who wish to become pastry professionals may go to France to study.

Demand for chefs
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be many job opportunities for chefs and other food professionals because of the expansion of food service establishments. An increase in population as well as a desire for convenient or fancy meals are what spur the demand for chefs and will cause an 11 percent increase in employment by 2016.

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