Overview of Head Chef Job Description

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A head chef is the leader in the kitchen. All other chefs answer to the head or executive chef and whatever goes right or wrong settles firmly on his or her shoulders. Of all chef job descriptions available in the culinary industry, that of a head chef is the one filled with the most responsibility and accountability. Head chefs are the masters of their domain and it is from them that all other chefs learn about things like taste, technique, and running a brigade.

Head Chef Job Descriptions

There are many aspects that make up the full line of head chef job descriptions. Head chefs are responsible for staffing the kitchen, developing a cohesive menu, managing ingredients and inventory, scheduling staff needs, maintaining sanitation and food safety standards, create new dishes, develop innovative recipes, produce consistently good food, and sometimes sooth angry or disappointed diners.

Education and Training Requirements

The position of head chef comes with a price. Head chefs aren’t hired off the street with no culinary experience. They are created through years of training, education, experience, and dedication. Most head chefs have to work their way up through the ranks as a line cook, pastry chef, sushi chef, and sous chef in order to finally fill the role of an executive or head chef.

Culinary school is not required, but is highly recommended if a chef wants to work his or her way up to the position of head chef. However, there are plenty of head chefs around who never went to culinary school, so the decision to attend a culinary arts program is left solely up to the chef candidate in question.

Chef Job Descriptions of Sous Chefs and Line Cooks

Since head chefs generally have to spend a lot of time on the line in a fast-paced kitchen, it is commonplace for a head chef to have worked as a line cook, sous chef, or both. The things a chef learns by working these positions are invaluable to the decisions a head chef must make.

Some of the daily job duties of a line cook include setting up a station for service, prepping food and ingredients prior to service, cooking items during service as assigned by sous or executive chef, and cleaning up the kitchen area after service is over. A sous chef is the second-in-command in the kitchen, answering only to the executive chef. Responsibilities of a sous chef are supervision of line cooks and other junior staff members, quality control of plated dishes, stepping in to run the kitchen when the executive chef is unavailable, and assisting the head chef in creating or developing new dishes.

Summary

Head chef job descriptions are multi-faceted and demanding. All eyes in the kitchen look to the head chef for answers and direction. The only way a head chef can tackle this kind of pressure is to have a solid background, including training, education, experience, and solid cooking techniques. Once a head chef commits to all of the requirements previously mentioned, running a kitchen brigade becomes not only manageable, but enjoyable as well.