Search Culinary Schools by Program & Location

Choose a Program: No Preference Baking & Pastry Arts Catering Culinary Arts Culinary Management Food & Beverage Management Hospitality & Tourism Hotel & Restaurant Mgmt

and/or

Choose a State: No Preference Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas British Columbia (Canada) California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Cooking and Culinary Schools

Steps to Becoming a Head Chef

By Paula Carnogoy, Only Cookware

If your life's ambition is to work in the food industry, you may already have set your sights on becoming a head chef. To truly succeed as a top chef requires commitment and perseverance and a love of food preparation and planning. If you have these qualities, then there are a number of opportunities available to you as you progress toward your goal.

The role and tasks of chefs are dependent on their specific titles and the restaurant that they are working in, but in general, a chef will prepare and cook meals, direct and supervise other cooks, and plan menus and cooking activities in the kitchen.

Commis Chef

The first step in any career is to learn the basics, and this happens at the apprentice or entry level. As a commis chef, you will learn practical skills, including looking after your knives and equipment and the proper preparation of food. At this stage, you will be learning everything there is to know about food preparation and safety so it is important that you are willing to learn, listen to what you are told, and take everything in. You will most likely be under the instruction of a chef de partie and you may move around the different sections of the kitchen learning different techniques and methods.

Chef de Partie

This is the next level up from commis chef. This position may be separated into three levels depending on the size of the kitchen and its staff:

• Demi Chef de Partie - At this point, you have moved past your entry level training and have become more capable of assisting the other chefs.
• Chef de Partie - At this level, you will be in charge of your own section and may have a commis chef assisting under you.
• Senior Chef de Partie - The senior chef has a lot more experience than a chef de partie and as such is often delegated to different sections within the kitchen as needed.

Sous Chef

The sous chef is the 2nd in charge or chefs assistant. A sous chef has much more experience and is able to take over the head chef's position at a moments notice. The sous chef supervises and coordinates the other specialist chefs in the kitchen, plans menus, and prepares and cooks meals. A chef in this position may also be involved in purchasing food and kitchen equipment and ensuring that health and safety requirements are met.

Executive Chef

The executive chef (also known as head chef) is in charge of the entire kitchen. The executive chef plans and costs menus, supervises staff, prepares menus, recruits and hires staff, and ensures that the quality of the food and its preparation is of a certain standard.

And finally…

Just remember that at whatever level you find yourself at, you will be on a continual learning curve. It is important to stay focused and keep up-to-date with industry standards and trends. If you have talent and the drive, you are sure to succeed and create the career of your dreams.

Article provided courtesy of Only Cookware, a consumer guide to cookware.