Chefs & Head Cooks

Also Called:

Chef,

Executive Chef (Ex Chef),

Kitchen Manager,

Sous Chef

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.

Hospitality, Events, & Tourism, Management & Entrepreneurship icon

Hospitality, Events, & Tourism, Management & Entrepreneurship

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
  • 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.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.

Leadership Orientation

Stress Tolerance

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Innovation

Achievement Orientation

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Enterprising

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Realistic

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Conventional

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Order or arrange things

Verbal

  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Attention

  • Pay attention to something without being distracted

  • Do two or more things at the same time

Hand and Finger Use

  • Hold or move items with your hands

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

  • Talking to others

Social

  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions

  • Understanding people's reactions

Resource Management

  • Managing your time and the time of other people

  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Chefs & Head Cooks jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop