What Does an Executive Chef Do?
An executive chef, also called the chef de cuisine or head cook, runs the kitchen in a restaurant, country club, hotel or cruise ship. Most executive chefs manage a team of 10 or more kitchen workers. The duties of an executive chef include training staff, maintaining quality, assigning tasks, ordering supplies and planning meals. Typically, an executive chef’s day begins with menu planning. The menus must fit in with the budget allotted to the chef. The executive or head chef is responsible for ordering any needed food and equipment for the kitchen. Executive chefs should make and keep good working relationships with vendors. A good head cook also keeps up with new trends in food as he or she must create new dishes and menus that are appealing to the clientele of the restaurant or other venue. Once the dishes and menu are decided upon and any necessary supplies and equipment are ordered, the executive chef assigns tasks to his or her staff. A food preparation task may include cleaning
The specific responsibilities of executive chefs are determined by a number of factors, including the type of establishment in which they work. Because they are in charge of food service operations and may supervise the kitchens, responsibilities include: determining menus, ordering food products, staffing the kitchens and dining operations, and serving as the public “face” of the entire food service operation. Characteristics/Qualifications Of An Executive Chef Executive chefs should work well as part of a team, have a keen sense of taste and smell, and work efficiently in a fast-paced environment. Personal hygeine is essential since health certificates indicating that workers are disease-free are often required. Executive chefs who work in upscale restaurants require an intense desire to cook. In addition, many years of training and experience are required. Some may start their training in high school or post-high school vocational programs. Others may receive formal training through
• Think up what to do with leftovers and command the other chefs to cook up his creative creation. • Executive Chef Overview: Responsible for the entire galley staff, food planning, preparation, quality control, food cost, storage, ordering, distribution and stock cost control of all food supplies, cleaning and maintenance of galley, and maintains highest possible food standards set by the company. Reports directly to the Hotel Manager. Requirements: Eight to ten years experience in subordinate positions on board and/or hotel and restaurant experience of no less than five years. Graduate from an accredited culinary school. USPH Certificates required. Managerial experience necessary. • tell the other chefs what to do Powered by Yahoo!
An Executive Chef is responsible for conceptualizing and creating the menu, handling the budget and being the face of the establishment. An Executive Chef is also part air traffic controller, part fireman, part policeman–essentially the person is in charge of making sure that every guest that comes into the restaurant is satisfied. Is an Executive Chef also in the kitchen cooking? Yes, they can be. In some restaurants the chef is a working chef, knee-deep with his cooks. In a restaurant of this magnitude however, the chef is more like an orchestra leader; calling the shots, making sure everything is happening, coordinating the meal tickets. Here at Brasserie, I cook but not nearly as much as I used to. You were diagnosed with diabetes in 1997. How does that affect the way you cook? Being a diabetic shapes what I cook: my food is lighter. Also, I’m much more conscious about the amount of carbohydrates I put on any one plate or that I give to a diner at any given time. It makes my food
I oversee all the food operations for the hotel: Juliettes, in-suite dining, banquets and the employee cafeteria. Anything that has to do with food or its amenities falls in my lap. HANDS-ON MANAGEMENT Sous chefs and banquet chefs are involved heavily in production. Now Im working with employees to create a good atmosphere so they do a good job. I try to put myself into it. During the daily routine, I will be involved in whats being produced. I still get to cook. SAMPLER Two years at Embassy Suites in Baymeadows taught Harris the skills to be an executive chef. Before that, he was a banquet chef at Epping Forest Yacht Club. In Nashville, Harris worked as a sous chef at the Renaissance Hotel and ran the commissary for Marriott Health and Nutritional Services at Columbia HCA World Headquarters. He also worked as a cook at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Atlanta. COLLEGE Harris majored in music at Northeast Missouri State University. We had a band called Marilyns Neighbors. It was a cr
