Food prep and cook jobs

If you're going to be a famous TV chef on Food Network, you've got to start here.

Chefs and cooks

• Chefs and cooks create recipes and prepare meals.
• Chefs and head cooks also are responsible for directing the work of other kitchen workers, estimating food requirements and ordering food supplies.
• The specific responsibilities of most cooks are determined by a number of factors, including the type of restaurant in which they work.

Food prep workers

• Food preparation workers peel and cut vegetables, trim meat and perform other duties, such as monitoring ovens and stovetops.
• Food preparation workers often perform routine, repetitive tasks under the direction of chefs and cooks.
• Responsibilities also include cleaning work areas, equipment and washing dishes.
• Larger restaurants and food services establishments tend to have varied menus and larger kitchen staffs. They often include several chefs and cooks, sometimes called assistant or line cooks, along with other lesser skilled kitchen workers, such as food preparation workers. Job titles often reflect the principal ingredient prepared or the type of cooking performed—vegetable cook, fry cook or grill cook.

Working conditions

• Many restaurant and institutional kitchens have modern equipment, convenient work areas and air conditioning, but kitchens in older and smaller eating places are often not as well designed.
• Kitchen staffs work in small quarters against hot stoves and ovens.
• Food workers and cooks are under constant pressure to prepare meals quickly, while ensuring quality is maintained, and safety and sanitation guidelines are observed.
• Working conditions vary with the type and quantity of food prepared and the local laws governing food service operations.
• Workers must often withstand the pressure and strain of standing for hours at a time, lifting heavy pots and kettles, and working near hot ovens and grills.
• Job hazards include slips and falls, cuts and burns.
• Work hours in restaurants may include early mornings, late evenings, holidays and weekends. The food service industry creates work opportunities for individuals seeking supplemental income, flexible work hours or variable schedules.

Training, qualifications and advancement

• Most fast food or short-order cooks and food preparation workers require little education or training; most skills are learned on the job.
• Training generally starts with basic sanitation and workplace safety subjects, and continues with instruction on food handling, preparation and cooking procedures.
• A high school diploma is not required for beginning jobs, but it is recommended for those planning a career as a cook or chef.
• Important characteristics for chefs, cooks and food preparation workers include working well as part of a team, having a keen sense of taste and smell, and working efficiently to turn out meals rapidly.
• Personal cleanliness is essential, because most states require health certificates indicating that workers are free from communicable diseases.
• People who have had courses in commercial food preparation may start in a cook or chef job without spending a lot of time in lower-skilled kitchen jobs.
• Vocational or trade-school programs typically offer more basic training in preparing food, such as food handling and sanitation procedures, nutrition, slicing and dicing methods for various kinds of meats and vegetables, and basic cooking methods, such as baking, broiling and grilling. Advancement opportunities for chefs, cooks and food preparation workers depend on their training, work experience, and ability to perform more responsible and sophisticated tasks. Many food preparation workers, for example, may move into assistant or line cook positions.

Earnings

• Wages of chefs, cooks, and food preparation workers vary greatly according to region and the type of food services establishment in which they work.
• Wages usually are highest in elegant restaurants and hotels, where many executive chefs are employed, and in major metropolitan areas.
• Some employers provide employees with uniforms and free meals.
• Chefs, cooks and food preparation workers who work full time often receive typical benefits, but part-time workers usually do not.

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