How to Become a Chef: 6 Responsibilities of a Head Chef

A chef is a professional cook. Professional kitchen chefs—and even personal chefs hired by families or celebrities—often spend years in culinary programs or culinary school to master their technique and hone their particular style. Each restaurant’s uniqueness is indicative of its chef’s singular flair or specialty, making the world of food a wonderfully diverse one where chefs can spotlight their individual cooking skills and particular taste.

A head chef or chef de cuisine is the leader of the kitchen, overseeing a team of sous chefs, pastry chefs, and line cooks to ensure that recipes, consistency, and quality are maintained. An executive chef carries out the managerial tasks of a kitchen, and other station chefs are in charge of specific sections of the kitchen, such as sauciers and pâtissiers. Some chefs may run their restaurant, or they may be hired as the mainstay or visiting artist at a given establishment.

Chefs endure long hours and have several food service responsibilities. A chef de cuisine’s job description might include tasks such as:

1. 1. Hiring cooks: Depending on the size of the kitchen, the chef will handle the hiring of prep cooks, sous chefs, and other kitchen personnel. These head cooks will adjudicate experience, professional references, and knowledge of the restaurant’s distinct style of food before making any hiring decisions.
2. 2. Overseeing staff: All kitchen workers answer to a chef, meaning management skills are important to lead a kitchen successfully.
3. 3. Sourcing ingredients: Ingredients affect a dish’s outcome, so the chef will thoroughly research the farms and sources for their food, sampling ingredients for taste and quality.
4. 4. Creating the menu: From appetizers to entrees, the chef will cater the menu to their style, the restaurant’s needs, and the clientele’s preferences. This also means that the chef concocts recipes and stages the plating, which may entail signing off on plates before dishes leave the kitchen. Chefs will adjust the menu seasonally or yearly and dictate what the specials are based on available ingredients.
5. 5. Ensuring food safety: As part of overseeing the entire kitchen, the head chef will also certify food safety, making sure ingredients are used before they spoil, shipments for fresh foods are on track, and dishes are properly cooked for safe consumption.

There are several ways one can become a chef, from obtaining a bachelor’s degree, attending culinary school, or gaining real-life experience:

1. 1. Culinary degree: This form of formal training provides novice chefs with the tactile skills needed to innovate and run a kitchen while also offering industry contacts who can help them move way up the culinary ladder. A formal education can turn green cooks into more experienced chefs.
2. 2. Apprenticeship: Before prospective chefs seek out jobs, they often complete apprenticeships, a vital stepping stone in culinary education. “Stage” (pronounced “stahj”) is the French word for internship—in France there are stages for every line of work, but around the world, the word “stage” has come to mean a kitchen internship. An inexperienced cook might serve as a “stagiaire” at a restaurant for a few months or longer, with the hopes of earning a permanent paid position in a kitchen. They might be assigned to prepare vegetables and sweep the floor in exchange for education and mentorship.
3. 3. Kitchen experience: Kitchens, like many fields of work, are hierarchical, meaning one can work their way up to the role of a chef over years of experience. Work experience in the kitchen can start small and grow—to get a foot in the door, consider a busboy, dishwasher, or prep chef position.

The career path for aspiring chefs will differ from person to person, but there are a few steps entry-level cooks can take to join kitchen staff:

1. 1. Start early. If you are contemplating a career in the kitchen, find any job you can in restaurants to get a head start and some professional experience. These introductory jobs—no matter what they are, be it cleaning crew or hosting, working a cash register, or dishwashing—show that you are committed to the culinary industry and have experience around commercial kitchens.
2. 2. Complete high school or your GED. Many kitchens require these credentials, and they will be requirements for admission to community colleges or culinary schools as the next part of your formal education.
3. 3. Take culinary classes. In higher education, there are multiple ways to engage with the culinary arts. A culinary school is the most direct path, but even community colleges, vocational schools, or other four-year institutions will offer courses in cooking techniques. Take advantage of these academic classes and culinary arts programs and treat them as an investment; they will form the foundation of your career.
4. 4. Move on to practical experience. After completing degree programs, obtain a job that offers valuable experience and a gateway to a chef career. Internships or prep chef jobs will secure your place in a kitchen and jumpstart your trajectory toward becoming a successful chef.
5. 5. Cement your voice and style. Working experience will get you an interview, but possessing unique gifts and talents will help you gain employment. Hone your artistic voice within the culinary arts—learn where your strengths lie and decide how you want to evolve the restaurant experience. Set up a test kitchen or a pop-up, invite press or fellow chefs, and wow them with your talents to make a name for yourself.
6. 6. Set up your restaurant or land a job at one. After gaining years of practice, chefs will either apply for jobs at restaurants or start one of their own. The latter also takes business acumen and strong time management skills since you’d be wearing two hats: chef and owner.

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