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Chefs and Head Cooks

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts.

Related: Bakers Cooks, Institution & Cafeteria Cooks, Private Household Cooks, Restaurant Cooks, Short Order

Industries: Hotel & Food

Summary
Details

Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions.
Coordinate planning, budgeting, or purchasing for all the food operations within establishments such as clubs, hotels, or restaurant chains.
Inspect supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.
Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
Arrange for equipment purchases or repairs.
Plan, direct, or supervise food preparation or cooking activities of multiple kitchens or restaurants in an establishment such as a restaurant chain, hospital, or hotel.
Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs.
Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.
Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
Plan, direct, or supervise food preparation or cooking activities of multiple kitchens or restaurants in an establishment such as a restaurant chain, hospital, or hotel.
Meet with customers to discuss menus for special occasions, such as weddings, parties, or banquets.
Determine how food should be presented and create decorative food displays.
Meet with customers to discuss menus for special occasions, such as weddings, parties, or banquets.
Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation.
Check the quantity and quality of received products.
Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.
Record production or operational data on specified forms.
Meet with sales representatives to negotiate prices or order supplies.
Recruit and hire staff, such as cooks and other kitchen workers.
Demonstrate new cooking techniques or equipment to staff.
Collaborate with other personnel to plan and develop recipes or menus, taking into account such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients or the likely number of customers.

Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.

Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

5 years or more work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

69800/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

33.56/hr

Currently Employed

2,960

Yearly Projected Openings

420

Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Attention to Detail
Leadership
Integrity
Cooperation

Blast freezers
Cappuccino or espresso machines
Carbonated beverage dispenser
Commercial use barbeque ovens
Commercial use blenders
Commercial use broilers
Commercial use coffee grinders
Commercial use coffee or iced tea makers
Commercial use convection ovens
Commercial use conveyer toasters
Commercial use cutlery
Commercial use deep fryers
Commercial use dishwashers
Commercial use food choppers or cubers or dicers
Commercial use food grinders
Commercial use food processors
Commercial use food slicers
Commercial use food warmers
Commercial use graters
Commercial use griddles
Commercial use grills
Commercial use heat lamps
Commercial use high pressure steamers
Commercial use hot dog grills
Commercial use icing sets or bags
Commercial use juicers
Commercial use measuring cups
Commercial use microwave ovens
Commercial use mixers
Commercial use pasta machines
Commercial use peelers
Commercial use pizza ovens
Commercial use ranges
Commercial use rice cookers
Commercial use rolling pins
Commercial use rotisseries
Commercial use scales
Commercial use smokers or smoke ovens
Commercial use steamers
Commercial use toasters
Commercial use waffle irons
Commercial use woks
Desktop computers
Domestic apple corer
Domestic double boilers
Domestic garnishing tools
Domestic kitchen or food thermometers
Domestic kitchen tongs
Domestic knife sharpeners
Domestic mandolin
Domestic melon or butter baller
Domestic sifter
Domestic strainers or colanders
Domestic trash compactors
Domestic vegetable brush
Domestic whipped cream maker
Fire blankets
Fire extinguishers
Ice dispensers
Ice shaver machines or accessories
Non carbonated beverage dispenser
Notebook computers
Personal computers

Analytical or scientific software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop publishing software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Financial analysis software
Instant messaging software
Internet browser software
Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Time accounting software
Web page creation and editing software
Word processing software

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