A chef works at a restaurant, preparing food in the kitchen. There are different types of chefs, mostly depending on the type of restaurant they’re employed at – some chefs are tasked with cooking all of the incoming orders, as well as performing small-time maintenance work on the kitchen, which is common for smaller restaurants and diners. Large, professional restaurants commonly have separate chefs for different types of foods, such as vegetable chefs, soup chefs and pastry chefs, etc. Generally, the chef ranks highest in the kitchen hierarchy and can issue orders to the other workers, such as the dishwashers and helpers.
The requirements for becoming a chef vary from restaurant to restaurant. Some places accept candidates with just a high school diploma and no prior experience, allowing them to learn on the job. In other cases, not only is working experience a requirement, but the chef may also need to present certificates from various cooking courses and classes. Good hygiene and self-grooming are important for high-ranking restaurants, as is creativity and a sense of aesthetics. Most employers are able to spot potentially good chefs within their first few days of employment.
A chef can be either a low-paying or a high-paying job as determined by the restaurant of employment. Fast food chefs rarely earn over $30,000 a year, while those who manage to find employment in high-ranking famous restaurants can easily make over $100,000 a year. In most cases though, a chef at a moderately well-doing restaurant should expect an annual salary of between $40,000 and $65,000, and it goes up as the number of subordinates under the chef’s control increases.