Job Description of A Chef With A Culinary Arts Degree
Nov 14, 2014 | 8:00 am
A culinary chef is a person who cooks food for a living. A chef with a culinary arts degree does more than just cook; as a matter of fact, the responsibility of the culinary chef is to effectively manage the whole kitchen, the kitchen staff, and everything else that involves cooking. According to the United States’ Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the work opportunities for culinary chefs are mostly in places like restaurants, cafeterias, and hotels, where people come to eat.
Culinary Chef Job Description
The responsibilities of a chef can vary greatly depending on the employer and the demands of the establishment where he or she is working. Fast food chains and small restaurants employ chefs who are quite adept at preparing foods like sandwiches, burgers, fries, hot dogs etc. Such culinary chefs are often referred to as “Short Order Chefs” because they specialize in preparing foods that are quick to cook and can be served within a few minutes.
Job Description of Chefs with a Culinary Arts Degree
•The chef is responsible for making sure that the food served to customers look palatable and tastes great.
•As soon as it is decided on what is going to be on the menu, the chef will decide on the measure (portion size) of a particular dish to be served per plate and is also responsible for setting a price for the dish.
•The chef is responsible for running the restaurant efficiently. This includes maintain an inventory of essential materials required for preparing food, making sure that the utensils utilized for food preparation and cooking are scrupulously clean.
•Ensures that the electrical equipment like the blenders, microwave ovens, hot plates, mixers etc. are in tip-top working order.
•The chef sometimes uses his or her specialized training in culinary arts to invent new recipes that ultimately find a permanent spot on the eating establishment’s menu (if customers love the food, such dish could become the elite attraction of the restaurant).
•Culinary chefs employ, train, and supervise the kitchen workers in order to make certain that the food is prepared correctly.
•The chefs also make sure that the kitchen is properly sanitized and ensure that the kitchen staff follows sanitary and safety procedures that comply with the local, state, and federal rules established for cleanliness and food preparation in commercial kitchen.
The popularity of an eating establishment mainly depends on how good its chefs and cooks are. The tastier and more presentable the food is, the more customers will appreciate it. With more people happy eating at a particular restaurant, the more popular the restaurant will become through word-of-mouth advertising.
Because of the current boom in the hospitality sector, there are a lot of employment opportunities for a chef with a culinary arts degree. Even though the wages may depend on a variety of factors like the establishment and location where the chef finds work; according to the BLS, the average salary of a chef with a culinary arts degree ranges from $30,000 – $50,000 per annum.