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Chefs and Head Cooks
Direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts.
Also Known As:
Banquet Chef
Certified Executive Chef (CEC)
Chef
Cook
Executive Chef (Ex Chef)
Executive Sous Chef
Head Cook
Kitchen Manager
Pastry Chef
Sous Chef
Wages
Annual wages for Chefs and Head Cooks in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
202,600
8% Change From 2023
Explore Chefs and Head Cooks video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
- Determine how food should be presented and create decorative food displays.
- Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.
- Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions.
- Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
- Arrange for equipment purchases or repairs.
- Record production or operational data on specified forms.
- Collaborate with other personnel to plan and develop recipes or menus, taking into account such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients or the likely number of customers.
- Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs.
- Coordinate planning, budgeting, or purchasing for all the food operations within establishments such as clubs, hotels, or restaurant chains.
- Demonstrate new cooking techniques or equipment to staff.
- Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
- Check the quantity and quality of received products.
- Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.
- Plan, direct, or supervise food preparation or cooking activities of multiple kitchens or restaurants in an establishment such as a restaurant chain, hospital, or hotel.
- Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
- Inspect supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.
- Plan, direct, or supervise food preparation or cooking activities of multiple kitchens or restaurants in an establishment such as a restaurant chain, hospital, or hotel.
- Meet with customers to discuss menus for special occasions, such as weddings, parties, or banquets.
- Recruit and hire staff, such as cooks and other kitchen workers.
- Meet with customers to discuss menus for special occasions, such as weddings, parties, or banquets.
- Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation.
- Meet with sales representatives to negotiate prices or order supplies.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")