Aspects of Chef Employment
For the newly graduated culinary student the aspects of chef employment depends largely upon their culinary education and knowledge as well as the practical experience that they may have gained. As this is a very demanding job market the competition for well trained chefs can be intense. This factor means that although you might get a job as a chef employment is not your main problem. The reality may be whether you can stand the high pressures and stress that the job brings. For the starting chef and gourmet chef info. is very valuable.
There are many different places that will offer various types of chef employment. You can find work in hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, resorts and,other hospitality careers,as well as casinos, private clubs, dude ranches, banquet companies and even railroads.
.Also you could find chef employment as a private chef, employed by a wealthy or well known person. These positions are rare and like their ordinary chef employment counterparts very demanding upon the chef.
In the culinary world there are a number of roles that chef employment may entail. Therefore if you want to become a chef employment in this career branch can entail many different areas of work and you may not be given the titled of chef. Do not be concerned about this it is the way the hierarchy in the culinary field works in the classical kitchen.
A chef is generally a reference to a person who cooks professionally.However within the professional chef employment structure the term may not apply as it is frequently a title identifying the person in charge of the kitchen, hence the Main or Executive Chef. Just for information purposes the word chef is French and it means chief or head.
As the Main or Executive Chef, you would be required to
oversee all of the food production that goes on in the
kitchen,perfecting of recipes,menu
planning
There are many types of kitchen structures. The titles and duties for chef employment for each position vary depending on the way a particular kitchen or restaurant is managed or laid out. In general, there is a set classical kitchen structure or hierarchy , they are described below.
The position below the Main or Executive Chef is the Sous Chef. The word sous is French and means "under" or the English equivalent "sub"person. The Sous Chef needs to make sure that all of the meals that are made are of a high standard. It falls to the Sous Chef to be directly in charge of the minute by minute preparation and activities of the kitchen staff.
As a Sous Chef you would be directly in charge of production. Because the Executive Chef's responsibilities frequently requires spending a great deal of time in the office, or in the kitchen perfecting special recipes. The Sous Chef then takes command of the actual production and the minute-by-minute supervision of the kitchen staff. The Sous Chef is often in charge of plating the food and the important food presentation its self . They frequently are responsible for picking the daily specials.
The Sous Chef as the second in command or the direct executive assistant, of the Main or Executive Chef, frequently shares some duties with the Executive Chef,as needed such as helping with menu planning, costing of goods and services,and ordering.It is not unusual in large Restaurants or Kitchens to have more than one Sous Chef. In this case where there are more than one sous chef the duties are split up with each having their own area of responsibility. These areas of responsibility may be,Executive Sous Chef over other sous chefs,the banquet sous chef in charge of banquet food preparations, the Pantry Sous Chef, Pastry Sous Chef or some other specific area of responsibility. There can also be several sous chefs because of the hours a restaurant or facility is open.
The Chef De Partie, also called "line cooks" or "station chef" is a position where you are in charge of a particular area of the food preparation. In very large restaurants or kitchens you may have a number of cooks and/or assistants working. in the culinary world of classical kitchen structure or hierarchy they can have a structure of their own.
These positions are called "First Cook", "Second Cook", "Third Cook" and added positions as needed. These positions can sometimes have station names as well. .
Station chef titles given to your position may be;
Sauce chef or saucier =pronounced ( so.si.e) This position is usually considered to be the highest position of the chef de partie position. You would be responsible for preparation of the sauces, hot hors d' oeuvres, and saut'ed foods and stews usually.
Fish cook or poissonier =pronounced (pwa.so.ne) In this position you would prepare the fish dishes. In smaller kitchens the sauce chef may also do this job
Vegetable cook or entremetier =pronounced ("a.tra.me.tje) In this position you will prepare the vegetables, soups, eggs and starches. In very large restaurant kitchens or other types of kitchens these responsibilities may be divided among the soup cook and possibly the fry cook.'Roast cook or rotisseur = pronounced (ro.ti.soer) In this position you would be responsible for the preparation and roasting and braising of meats and their gravies, as well as broiled meats and other items as required.
Broiler cook or grillardin = pronounced (gree-ar-den) As a broiler cook you would handle the broiled items and possibly the deep fayed fish and meats.
Pantry chef or garde manger = pronounced (gard ma'".ge) In this position you would be responsible for the cold foods, salads,including salad dressings, hors d'oeuvres, pates, and buffet items.
Pastry chef or garde manger = pronounced (pa.ti.sje) In this position you will be responsible for preparing the pastries and other desserts.
Other possible positions that may come available to you
Relief cook in this position you will take over usually for the chef, part time, or other positions as needed.Swing cook in this position you will be working the afternoon shift. This can involve taking over for the main chef, However for the restaurant trade it usually involves making lunch items and possibly prep for dinner.
Tourrnant = pronounced (tur.nan) In this position you replace the chef . This can be the head chef or some other chef position.
As you have read over the different descriptions of chef employment you have noticed, there are many levels of chef employment that you can be engage in. The only criteria for these is that of knowledge, training and work experience and work ethic in a professional cooking environment. If you possess all of these attributes needed for the culinary business then chances are good you are going to make it as a professional chef. Chef employment is not assured of course, but your chances are very good.
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