Executive Chef Job Profile: Rule the Kitchen

by Jane Greer

As an executive chef in a professional kitchen, you're the boss. You'll manage all the other chefs and cooks, plan the menu, and ensure that food leaving the kitchen is consistently delicious and beautifully presented. You'll make sure your employees follow safety procedures and sanitation ordinances. And you'll probably be responsible for recruiting, hiring, training, and firing kitchen staff.

Executive Chef: A Day in the Life

Executive chefs are on their feet for hours at a time, work long days and weekends, and seldom get a holiday off. You'll arrive at work early to receive deliveries and stay late to ensure that the kitchen is clean and fully prepared for the next day. You'll manage a large group of cooks and chefs during many busy, stressful service periods each day. The responsibilities are huge--but so is the autonomy. You'll be able to operate your kitchen as you see fit, with little or no supervision, to produce the highest-quality cuisine.

Executive Chef Culinary Training Requirements

You won't necessarily need a culinary school degree in order to become an executive chef, but culinary training will help you advance more rapidly. The American Culinary Federation (ACF) certifies executive chefs, and one factor in certification includes having at least three years of high-level culinary experience. ACF certification can lead to the highest-paying positions, and a culinary school degree may speed your acquisition of the high-level on-the-job experience needed for certification.

Programs in culinary schools, vocational schools, and colleges range in length from a few months to a few years. In the shorter programs, you'll learn about nutrition, safe food handling and sanitation, and basic cooking and baking methods. The longer programs lead to either a certificate or a two-year or four-year degree, and teach more advanced techniques, cooking and baking for large groups, catering, international cuisines, purchasing and inventory, and accounting. Most culinary training programs require--and help students acquire--an internship or apprenticeship.

Salary Information for Executive Chefs

Salary earnings of executive chefs vary greatly, depending on the region and employer. You'll probably earn the highest salary in a high-end restaurant or hotel, and in a large city or resort. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest 10 percent of chefs and head cooks--that is, executive chefs--earned more than $64,000 in 2007. Depending on the job and your qualifications, you could earn much more than that amount.

Sources

• American Culinary Federation
• National Restaurant Association
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

About the author:
Jane Greer is a freelance writer, editor, and communication consultant.