Chef

To become a chef, it is much more important that a person have experience and/or on the job training over a certain type of education. Many educational opportunities do exist, however, such as culinary schools and vocational schools. Prospective chefs may avail themselves of these opportunities or they may rely on previous work experience.

Vocational programs offer courses in food safety, sanitation, different cooking and preparation methods, and other aspects of cooking. Culinary schools are generally more prestigious than vocational cooking schools and prepare chefs to work in higher-end restaurants. These schools offer a wide variety of courses in advanced cooking techniques. Over 200 schools are accredited by the American Culinary Federation, which also sponsors apprenticeship programs.

It is also possible for a chef to be trained on the job, working as an apprentice or under a mentor chef in some other way. These chefs are able to learn from those who are more experienced. Some labor unions also sponsor apprenticeship programs.

Although a high school diploma is not required to be a chef, many employers prefer to hire chefs who have completed high school or its equivalent.

Chefs prepare and cook food in many different ways and for many different types of establishments and individuals. A chef may prepare all types of food or he may specialize in one specific genre of food such as desserts, entrees, or a specific type of ethnic food. Chefs sometimes create recipes and sometimes work off of the recipes of other people, depending on the chef and the establishment where she works.

Line cooks are responsible for a specific task or a specific station in the kitchen, assisting the sous chef, who is second in command to the head or executive chef. The head chef may not do much cooking, preferring to oversee other chefs, or he may do a large amount of cooking. Again, this depends upon the individual chef and the restaurant or establishment.

A chef may also be responsible for ordering food and supplies, providing recipes or menus, and creating new dishes which will appeal to restaurant patrons.

A personal chef is someone who cooks for an individual or a family. Personal chefs can either prepare the dishes which are requested by the client or they can create a menu, taking the client's desires and any dietary restrictions that may exist into account.

A chef must be skilled with a knife and have good hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills for all the chopping and simultaneous cooking which must be done. A sense of which flavors combine well and creativity in recipes also helps chefs. Chefs must be clean and sanitary and have a good knowledge of safety as regards food preparation.

In May of 2006, the median annual salary of all head cooks and chefs was $34,370, with the middle fifty percent of this group earning between $25,910 and $46,040. Of course, chefs in high-end restaurants tend to make much more money than other chefs. Executive chefs make the most money, with head cooks coming in second, private chefs making an median yearly salary of $22,870, and restaurant cooks making a median yearly salary or wage of $20,340. Cafeteria cooks in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes make less than any other type of chef.

Of course, the hours worked by a chef vary considerably - and many chefs make additional money from cookbook sales - so it is difficult to establish a true average salary in this field.

Wolfgang Puck, born Wolfgang Johann Topfschnig, is an Austrian chef who now has a chain of restaurants, frozen and canned food, cookbooks, and catering service, all based out of Los Angeles, California. Puck is extremely well-known for being a philanthropist as well as an excellent chef.

Another influential chef is Emeril John Lagasse, an American chef who is also a celebrity. Lagasse has two shows on the Food Network: Essence of Emeril and Emeril Live, as well as his own restaurants, cookbooks, and other branded merchandise. He has created recipes for meals for astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station.

Although most executive chefs and celebrity chefs do not belong to this union, UNITE HERE (a merger of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE) and the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE), which happened in 2004) is a labor union which represents primarily blue-collar workers in the hospitality industry, including restaurants.

Although most cities employ chefs, more cosmopolitan cities as well as cities with a thriving tourist industry tend to be better for chefs looking for employment. The top city in the United States for chef jobs is not New York City, as many people assume, but Houston, Texas! In second place is Atlanta, Georgia, with Dallas, Texas coming in at third place for cities which have a good amount of chef jobs available. Chicago, Illinois is in fourth place, with New York, New York actually coming in at a distant fifth place for chef jobs in the United States.