Do you want to be a Head Chef?

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Are you passionate about food? Do you dream of running your own restaurant someday? If your answer is yes, then you are capable of being a culinary specialist. Since there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen, lets focus on the position of the leader, the Head Chef/Executive Chef.

What Is A Head Chef/Executive Chef

He or she is the most important person in the kitchen and is in charge of coordinating numerous tasks. They are the individuals who assign and control which individual will do the sauce, cook the pasta, prepare the pastry, and so forth. Their most important job and mission is to assure that all product going out of the kitchen is not only adequate and prepared to specifications but exceeds all customer expectations. Occasionally, they will yell and throw pots and pans because of their passion for food (not literally) well, sometimes.

Aside from the description above, he is responsible for the financial success of the operation, food cost and labor cost have to be controlled and adjusted as needed. He also is responsible for the continuing education in the culinary arts of his employees, he needs to lead them by his example.

Educational Background

You can become a Head Chef/Executive Chef with a graduate degree or by working from the bottom and working your way up to the top. Usually, people will start as a dishwasher or something similar while learning the structure and atmosphere of the kitchen. They will potentially be promoted based off of their willingness to learn about cooking, skills attained from experience and current or potential knowledge of the order of a well managed kitchen (among other things). The most successful Chef’s in the World started from the bottom and worked their way to the top gaining hands on experience in-the-field and then later solidifying their passion with a degree. On the other hand, you can go straight for a degree in the Culinary Arts and land a position as a Head Chef/Executive Chef upon completion of your graduation but you will lack some of the essential skills necessary that can only be learned through hands on experience. If you are passionate about food and cooking, both  directions will lead you to fulfill your desire to be a Head Chef/Executive Chef.

Note: Chefs in this position are specialists in cooking a variety of foods from different cultures such as Mediterranean, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, American, Mexican, and a great deal more. The more foods they know how to cook or prepare the better.

Once you’ve worked your way up the ladder, its only a matter of time before you become head chef. You will also find that you will possess the skills to manage your own restaurant, of which you will be the head chef and thus in charge of other aspiring chefs. The usual salary ranges around $40,000 up to $100,000. In any case, the figure would rely on upon several factors, for example, the measure of the restaurant kitchen, location, experience, and how settled the restaurant is among others.

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