A Day in the Life of a Chef

Most people would sum up a chef's job by saying that they cook food. End of story. But it's nowhere near that straightforward. And there are so many types of chefs and so many types of food service establishments — restaurants, cafeterias, banquet halls, hotels, cruise ships, resorts — that describing a day in the life of a typical chef is practically impossible. Instead, we can cover some of the fundamental aspects of a chef's job and then you can figure out which culinary careers and settings spur you towards further investigation.

Job Fundamentals

In a big nutshell, chefs measure, mix, and cook ingredients to prepare food according to recipes. In the process, they use a variety of pots, pans, cutlery, and other equipment, including ovens, broilers, grills, slicers, grinders, and blenders. Some chefs are responsible for managing other kitchen workers (including teaching them new techniques), planning menus, estimating food requirements, handling food budgets, and ordering food supplies. That's a lot more than just cooking!

While smaller restaurants may consist of one chef and only a couple of assistants, larger restaurants tend to have much bigger menus and staffs that include several chefs and cooks, as well as assistant or apprentice chefs and cooks, in addition to other kitchen workers (busboys, dishwashers, etc.). Executive chefs and sous-chefs coordinate the work of the rest of the kitchen staff, who are often assigned specific jobs and tasks — for instance, sauces or pastries or garde manger.

The title "chef" and "cook" are often used interchangeably, but chefs tend to be more highly skilled and professionally trained than cooks. Keep in mind, though, that many positions are often used as stepping stones in a culinary career; you might make your way from pantry cook to line cook to sous-chef over the course of time, depending on your goals, aspirations, and work environment.

Beyond Restaurants

As mentioned before, though, not all cooking is done in traditional restaurant environments. Institutional and cafeteria cooks work in the kitchens of schools, cafeterias, businesses, hospitals, and other institutions. These cooks may create a more limited number of dishes per meal, but must typically prepare vast quantities of each dish which requires a unique skill of its own — especially when that cook is also managing an institution's often-tight food budget. Personal chefs often work solo and can be responsible for cleaning, serving meals, and even ordering groceries, in addition to planning and preparing meals.

No matter where they work, however, almost all chefs have one thing in common: long hours, most of which is hard time spent on your feet. It can be strenuous work — standing all day, working in close quarters with a number of other kitchen staff, lifting heavy pots and kitchenware, working with knives and sharp utensils, and working near dangerous appliances at high temperatures. Work hours in restaurants may include early mornings, late evenings, holidays, and weekends. By the same token, the work schedules of chefs, cooks and other kitchen workers in factory and school cafeterias may be more regular. Cooks and chefs are more likely to have part-time schedules than other workers.

All told, being a chef is a tough job. It's more than just cooking — it's also planning and managing, accommodating the needs of co-workers and patrons, and making the best of things when your pantry contains only a stick of butter, two sausages, three carrots, and a tub of lard. But it's also an immensely rewarding career, filled with challenges and opportunities that you won't find elsewhere. Now get out there and start cooking!