TigerChef

Executive Chef- Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Most aspiring chefs look forward to the day that they can add “Executive Chef” to their signature, the day when all compliments (and let’s face it, complaints) will be directed toward them and when they will be running their own professional commercial kitchen. So now that you’ve earned the title Executive Chef, what does that mean for you?
 

Chef Training

There’s a lot of training involved in becoming an Executive Chef and being able to run your own successful professional kitchen. A reputable degree is of utmost importance, as well as a few years of apprenticeship learning the trade.
 

Chef Career

An Executive Chef actually spends less time in the kitchen than any other chef does. He or she is responsible for all the paperwork and has to make sure the inventory gets taken care of. Furthermore, an Executive Chef has meetings to attend, whether it’s with vendors or with his own staff members, has to manage the kitchen and its environs and deal with the many issues that crop up on a daily basis. He or she has to plan the menus, and create innovative recipes that will be appetizing and successful. It is for this reason that the actual cooking is typically done by the Sous chef or Line chefs.

The only time an Executive Chef actually works with the food in the kitchen is during the dinner rush, hollering orders and working on the “Specials of the Day”.

Chef Hours

Typically, an Executive Chef spends no less than 12 hours, hard at work. If your restaurant serves both lunch and dinner, your day can start as early as 9am with preparations, and not end before 10 or 11pm, after cleaning up, which starts only once the last customer has left the establishment. The only break an Executive Chef normally gets throughout the 12-14 hour shift is right before the dinner rush, when he/she gets a chance to sit and eat some dinner that is more often than not prepared by someone else in the kitchen.
 

Filed under: Resource Central • General

Tags: chef, commercial kitchen, executive chef, executive chef career, professional chef, professional kitchen