A chef (also executive chef or chef de cuisine), from the French for chief or head person, is the executive in charge of a kitchen, responsible for recipe and menu creation, staff training, and overseeing all cooking. A chef directs the staff of cooks, bakers, butchers, and everyone else involved in the preparation of food. The duties of chefs are to plan the menu, determine the price and how much it will cost to make the dish. Cooks and chefs are on their feet throughout their work day, and during mealtimes must work under pressure.
They face such hazards as cuts and burns, and may be exposed to oily mists, dusts, fumes, and smoke. Almost all establishments that prepare large amounts of food, such as restaurants and hotels, employ a chef to run the cooking operation. Chefs normally are trained by an apprentice system, wherein they spend time during the beginning of their career doing all the jobs involved in food preparation, eventually gaining the experience needed to become a chef.Additionally, culinary schools for the training of chefs have been established in the major cuisine centers of the world, such as Paris, San Francisco, New York, and Tokyo. Graduating apprentices are often hired by the restaurant in which they have completed their training. There are also college and high school programs available for cooks and chefs.
The word chef is a shortened form of chef de cuisine (head of kitchen). In French, chef is generally used in the sense of boss, a fact which may lead to misunderstandings.The same goes to say about the related term sous chef (pronounced "soo-sheff"): it usually means the number 2 chef in the kitchen hierarchy – the direct executive assistant of the head chef but in large establishments in English-speaking countries, the title may be given to any of several assistant chefs and it occasionally describes a line cook or a – possibly entirely untrained – kitchen aide. Recently the term marmiton has emerged to represent an amateur chef or foodie, a person of non-formal training that has superior culinary skills to that of cooks, homemakers, or general lay people.The international association of amateur chefs, Les Marmiton, has seven organizations in five countries.
Each organization is limited to 100 individuals, and membership is much prized. Skills Needed to Become a Chef Becoming a chef can be a long, hard process and requires specialized training, depending on your area of interest. All chefs however, require a basic set of skills before they can branch off into particular directions. Keeping a clean, safe kitchen is the foundation of a good chef followed by a love and knowledge of basic cooking practices and methods.Safety and Sanitation Skills For most culinary schools, the first thing new students learn is how to maintain safety and good sanitation in a restaurant.
Without a firm grasp on both areas, you will not be a successful chef regardless of how good a cook you are. Specific skills needed include knowing how to keep your equipment clean and how to properly store food so that it will not spoil. Learning the art of rotating food is also essential in a kitchen. To prevent spoilage and to cut down on supply costs, a good chef is mindful to use older products before newer ones.
Safety is vital in a working kitchen and you must understand how to use larger restaurant-grade appliances, such as meat grinders and over-sized food processors. Basic Cooking Skills Basic cooking skills must be mastered in order to become a quality chef. A good knowledge of very basic kitchen procedures is needed, such as how to properly hold a knife. You will also need to know what pots and pans are used for specific foods and types of cooking.
Fluency in basic cooking methods such as boiling, sauteing and poaching is required.Knowing how to handle and prepare meats in a variety of settings, such as braising and grilling, is also the mark of a good cook. Specialty Cooking SkillsOnce the basic cooking skills and methods are mastered, a chef may choose to break into a specialty area. This could mean a specific style of cooking, such as French or Italian, or a chef may select a specific subgroup to focus on, such as meats or baking. For baking, as an example, the chef would need to be well versed in pastries, bread making, torts and cakes. Other skills for a baker are excellent cake decorating methods and how to work with sugar and mold chocolate.
