Chef Job Description

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Who Qualifies as a Chef

Working in a restaurant has a rank and file system, beginning with prep cooks, who slice, dice and cut vegetables and meats, make salads and do other things to prepare for the day’s menu. After learning the correct procedures for preparation, the prep cook is promoted to soups, sauces, grilling and saute. Those who are actually involved with cooking the foods are called line cooks, while they are still in a junior position and chefs de partie once they have perfected their skills.

The generalized chef job description is for somebody who has gained enough experience in the kitchen to produce quality cooked or baked foods and can direct the activities of the team working within their station. Most kitchens separate their line activities into three main cooking stations: The saute chef is responsible for all sautéed items as well as sauces. They may also be responsible for grilling fish, although sometimes there is a separate chef for this station. The roast chef is responsible for grilling, roasted and braised items, and the vegetable chef prepares the soups, pastas, starches and other vegetable items.

Color Code

Each step along the way from junior assistants, and line cooks, to sous chef and executive chef, is usually indicated by the color of the kerchief worn around the neck. In a major restaurant, with a large staff, the division may be indicated in this manner; yellow for the junior positions or third and fourth cooks, red for the second cooks, and green for the first cooks, or station chefs. The junior sous chef and sous chef will both wear a black kerchief and toggle. The executive chef is the only cook who does not wear a kerchief. The color choices are entirely dependent on the preferences of the restaurant owners. Some restaurants do not use kerchiefs at all for distinguishing station, but use different colored jackets for separating the cooks from the chefs.

Sous Chef Description

The sous chef is someone who has familiarized himself with all the stations within the kitchen. The sous chef oversees the development of each cook’s preparations, sometimes stepping in to help in preparing a dish or covering for an absent line cook. The sous cook may also present specialty dishes and other culinary delights. Not only is the sous chef responsible for ensuring the quality production of the food items, the sous chef job description includes supervising the entire kitchen staff, from dishwashers to line cooks, keeping good team spirits and instructing the team on the duties they are to perform.

Executive Chef Description

The executive chef is an administrative position. If there is a pastry station, the executive chef works with the pastry chef to present a menu offering a variety of appetizers, entrees, desserts and beverages that complement each other and is attractive and tasty. The executive chef is responsible for ordering supplies, food purchases, determining prices and portions and the hiring and firing of kitchen staff.

There can be several chefs within the kitchen, each with their own particular cooking skills, but the executive chef oversees all of them, ensuring the kitchen runs smoothly, follows the guidelines for safe and sanitary conditions, and produces the quality of food expected for the restaurant, delivering them in a timely manner.

Your chef job description will depend on the role you play in the kitchen. You may have a specialized skill as a grill chef, a soup and sauté chef, or a roast chef and work that position for several years before acquiring the skills to become sous chef. Depending on the services offered by the restaurant or hotel hospitality, chefs might be sent to work for other kitchens, covering banquets, conventions, weddings, parties and public events.