January 27, 2012

A chef de cuisine is simply a head chef in French. They have the same duties of a head or an executive chef. These types of jobs are not for everyone. They must have special skills in both cooking as well as personable skills. A chef de cuisine is an elite position is a restaurant and they must posses the following skills,

1. They must be able to plan menus and schedule the food prep and the workers that are needed to get the orders out to the customers.


2. The chef de cuisine must be able to plan out and schedule workers and over look the kitchen functions of the other workers
3. They will be responsible for talking about how the food has to be prepped, these discussions will be had with dietians and restaurant managers
4. They will prepare and cook the meals
5. They can hire and train their staff as they see fit.
6. They will be responsible for freezing and storing the food at the end of the night

Now, depending on where you seek employment, a chef de cuisine can end up supervising the kitchen staff more than doing the actual cooking. A very important part of their jobs is communications. They must be able to communicate their orders clearly and patiently. They must get the respect of the other workers because just like in anything else,

when one person cannot keep up the rest of the line falls short.

So make sure that you keep things running smoothly and you can have a successful dinner service. Chef de cuisine must also possess a great amount of knowledge in the cooking field. Culinary schooling is most often required. Being a chef is rewarding but it can take its toll on your physical as well as mental being.

You have to have the stamina to work in a hot kitchen and work long hours. You will have to have the ability to deal with stress in a positive manner. You must also have the skill of listening. When staff members and co workers are trying to speak to you, you must listen and deal with the problems calmly. Making the staff mad is not a great way to start for a dinner or lunch service.

Overall a chef de cuisine is a person who has the highest position in the kitchen. They must have the skills and the experience in order to deal with that. So if you have the experience and the skill test your ability and apply for a chef’s position. In some restaurants they may start you off in a lesser position and see what you can do. It is well worth it in order to run your own restaurant