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Top Cooking and Culinary Schools

Cooking Careers, Jobs & Salaries

Chefs and cooks prepare, cook, season, and arrange a variety of foods served in restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, and other food-serving establishments.

Chefs are responsible for creating recipes and ensuring appealing presentation, while other cooks and food preparation workers prepare individual foods for meals, with duties such as peeling vegetables and monitoring temperatures.

Most top chefs pursue formal training through culinary institutions or vocational programs in the culinary arts, culinary management, or pasty arts. Many programs include an externship or apprenticeship opportunity. Though many cooks and food preparation workers leave the industry, some may go on to cooking school to have more formal training and increased responsibility.

Employment

According to the latest numbers, chefs, cooks, and other food prepartion workers were employed in nearly 3.1 million positions in restaurants, fast food establishments, cafeterias, and in private households. About two-thirds of all chefs work for restaurants, 15% are employed in schools, universities, hospitals, and other institutional facilities, and the remainder work in grocery stores, hotels, or other venues.

Chefs and supervisors work full-time for restaurants. Nearly a third of cooks, and half of food preparation workers work part-time.

Salaries

Salaries can vary greatly depending on geography, the type of establishment, and the level of skill.

Chefs and head cooks: $38,770
Median annual wages range from $29,050 to $51,540

Food prepartion and serving supervisors: $28,970
Median annual wages range from $22,530 and $37,290

Restaurant cooks: 21,990
Median annual wages range from $18,230 and $26,150

Food preparation workers: $18,630
Median annual wages range from $16,180 and $22,500

Amusement parks and arcades have a high concentration of chefs, and pay some of the the higher wages.

Outlook

Overall, the outlook for chefs and other culinary professionals is fairly strong through 2018.

Roughly 245,000 jobs will be added to the food service industry. Chefs, head cooks, first-line supervisors and managers will see employment growth of between 6 and 7% (though as usual, competition will be keen for head chef positions in high-end restaurants). Employment of cooks and food preparation workers is expected to increase by about 6% through 2018.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says this growth will be spurred by high turnover. But increases in population, household income, and demand for convenience will also continue to play a role. Even as the economy falters, more and more people are seeking healthier, made-from scratch meals, and the need for prepared foods at specialty food stores is climbing as people crave restaurant-style food at home.