Chef

As a chef you will make delicious food for people to enjoy in a restaurant, cafe and bar. You'll cook the food to order and present it for the waiting staff to serve to the customers.

You’ll prepare food using a variety of cooking methods. Creativity and imagination would help you present your food attractively.

You will:

• prepare, cook and present food to the required standards

• make sure that food is served promptly

• monitor food production to ensure consistent quality and portion size

• look after kitchen equipment

• control the stock levels of ingredients

You need to follow hygiene regulations and health and safety legislation to make sure your food won’t make customers ill and that the kitchen is a safe place to work.

If you work in a large kitchen you’d be part of a team and focus on one type of food, such as bread and pastries, or vegetables.

The head chef – also known as executive chef or chef de cuisine – runs the entire kitchen, plans the menus and manages the budgets.

You’d probably start as a kitchen assistant or trainee chef (also called a commis chef). You’d spend time in each area of the kitchen, learning a range of skills and how to look after kitchen equipment.

With experience, you could become a section chef (also known as station chef and chef de partie) and take charge of an area of the kitchen.

The next step would be sous chef, where you would be running the entire kitchen for the head chef when needed.

• Career Scope - Explore careers in hospitality, leisure and tourism

• The Hospitality Guild - About a career in a hospitality from this industry-wide group of employers, skills bodies and trainers