Different Culinary Careers
- Upscale restaurants offer cooks higher pay, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.cook work image by Alexander Zhiltsov from Fotolia.com
Culinary arts careers, such as food preparation, chefs and head cooks, are expected to increase 6 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Besides the increase in jobs, culinary careers offer workers ample opportunities to move to higher positions and be creative. Education and training requirements, such as an associate's degree in culinary arts, vary according to job titles and duties. - Personal chefs, also called private household cooks, are responsible for planning and preparing meals for their clients. These chefs are employed in private homes and may travel with their clients. Often, the private household cooks must prepare meals according to their clients' dietary needs or tastes, according to BLS. Also, in cooking and creating meal plans, personal chefs are responsible for ordering groceries and serving meals. However, they may prepare a week's worth of meals that their clients can heat themselves. Personal chefs typically have post-secondary training from a culinary arts school or from culinary programs in community colleges or technical schools. Typically, culinary arts programs can last two to four years, depending on the school. As of May 2009, the median salary for personal chefs was $44,240 a year. However, salaries can vary according to experience, location and employer.
- Head cooks are responsible for planning and coordinating meal preparation in restaurants. For instance, they supervise, coordinate and train their cooking staff. Head cooks order food and kitchen supplies at their restaurants. In addition, they are responsible for checking and monitoring the sanitation practices, and the quality of cooked and raw foods. Head cooks create menus and recipes for staff to follow. Individuals interested in working as head cooks should have on-the-job experience and/ an associate's degree in culinary arts. According to O*NET, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, the salary for head cooks was $40,090.
- Food preparation and serving supervisors work at food service facilities, such as cafeterias and restaurants. They are responsible for supervising the kitchen staff --- which includes employees who don't cook or prepare meals. Food preparation and serving supervisors perform duties such as hiring and training staff and creating work schedules. In addition, they may estimate the cost of food or supplies. Food preparation and serving supervisors can have some post-secondary training. However, according to BLS, individuals with less education and more experience can become supervisors. The median salary for food preparation and serving supervisors as of 2009, according to BLS, was $31,460 a year.
