29 Must Know Chef Facts Revealed For Culinary Arts Buffs

Being a chef is a task that needs a lot of dedication and skills and like all other professions in the world, you need much education and training to be one of the top chefs in the world.

You may dream to be an executive chef in the future at one of the top restaurants in the world, but getting there you will need to cross a lot of hurdles and levels like patissier, sous chef, and also saucier. Don't worry, with each level you cross to become an executive chef, you gain different worthwhile experiences.

Chefs work long shifts and also work with food all the time, but there are a lot of things that go behind the scenes that people don't know about.

Head chefs are the lead in any kitchen and head chefs have the duty to keep everything sorted. Chefs have the opportunity to gain knowledge from different food cultures all over the world from African to Asian cuisine, and that is the biggest perk there can be.

Chefs also get the opportunity to travel around the world, learning about different cultures, traditions, and of course, food and cuisines.

Back at restaurants, kitchen environments can be quite intense. They are very fast-paced and there can be a lot of shouting.

It does not mean that the environment is bad or that the chefs are unhappy, it just means that the chefs are truly passionate about the food they are cooking and want to do the best job in delivering the meal.

Chefs want the diners to enjoy the best food possible and they are dedicated to making sure that every dish they prepare is perfect. It is important for a chef to be artistic.

Through taste and beautiful presentations, the restaurant industry has appealed to customers throughout the many years of the existence of this concept and all the credit goes to the cooking skills of the executive chefs.

Chefs know how to perfectly balance the ingredients in their foods to make them delicious. A chef is incomplete with just plating design and food preparation if the food itself is not up to the mark.

Chefs work for long hours and work their heads off to prepare some excellent meals for you.

They might still experiment with the food in their spare time, but the long hours often mean they don't have much spare time! Chefs have the ability for food preparation with respect to the needs of the customers.

Some might have allergies, while others might not like some ingredients of the food, chefs cater to all.

Chefs do not just work in the kitchen in the restaurant for the money. It's their passion that makes chefs cook food for customers throughout their life and they do it like it's the end of the world.

The goal of a chef is always to make the customers smile and give positive feedback on the taste of the food and even the presentation. Chefs show their passion for their work by food preparation of the meal and the presentation.

Chefs have a knack to find any problem in any recipe all over the world. The most experienced chef will be able to differentiate between subtle differences of color, smell, a single nonexistent ingredient, and more.

When chefs get to have a meal in some other restaurant other than their own, they will be able to find if the ingredients used are fresh or cheap.

We already know that there is shouting and swearing among kitchen staff, but this feud only stays inside the kitchen.

Chefs can take criticism to the highest point and it might sound like they are arguing among themselves, but it is never personal. Chefs respect each other and they know they have a job to do and cannot drop their standards in the restaurant.

Chefs can have their rest but they are always ready to cook some delicious dishes for you and this is what their training is for. There is more than one type of chef if you want to choose hospitality management or cooking as your career option.

Apart from head chefs, executive chefs, and sous chefs, there are some other career options like poissonier, entremetier, and rotisseur.

Chefs, especially head chefs, have full freedom in menu planning and even how the dishes go out to the customers. The cuisine of the restaurant is the first thing to see, but apart from that chefs do everything in their power to make their food stand out and be better than other restaurants.

However experienced the chef is, there is no stoppage in knowledge.

In fact, the chef will learn to cook their whole life. There is room for growth forever in any job you do and this job as a chef makes you learn new things about food by traveling all over the world.

If you plan to be a part of the restaurant business and cook in larger kitchens or travel the world and open pop-up stores, then a career as a chef is the best thing to do.

What is a chef?

A chef is the head cook in a restaurant or a hotel and delivers the best meal to you wherever you go.

• Whether it is a Michelin-starred restaurant or a late-night food truck, being a chef is difficult.
• Being a chef wherever you are, has its perks. The biggest of these is gaining knowledge of various different food cultures and traditions all over the world.
• The opportunity to travel abroad and learn about new food and ingredients is what attracts a lot of people to becoming a chef.
• Chefs are passionate about what they do and it reflects in the food they make. Chefs are always ready to prepare new recipes for their customers.
• Chefs often have a favorite knife. It has a specific weight and precision that allows the chef to do the best of their work.
• Chefs often add their favorite meal to the menu.
• A chef will always use the latest technology to cook. But they also use the latest technology in their shoes. Trips, slips, and falls are very common hazards seen in kitchens, slippery floors are one of the most common causes. Chefs often use slip-resistant and water-resistant shoes in the kitchen to reduce all kinds of hazards.
• Chefs wear tall hats called 'toque blanche' (French for 'white hat') for maintaining cleanliness, keeping hair out of food, and helping absorb sweat.
• Chefs wear white clothing as white is reflective, repelling heat rather than absorbing it.
• Also, white, which denotes cleanliness, can be bleached, so the marks aren't permanent.
• Marie-Antoine Carême was deemed the world's first celebrity chef.
• To become a chef, you need to start working in a restaurant to familiarise yourself with the environment.
• In order to get to culinary school, you need to obtain a high school diploma or GED.
• After finishing schooling, you need to obtain practical working experience. Subsequently, you need to make your way up through different levels, and eventually, you will become head chef.

Roles And Responsibilities Of A Chef

Being a chef comes with immense responsibility and here are a few of them.

• Chefs need to be artistic in their approach. Beautiful presentations and good taste of the food are what pulls customers to a restaurant and it's the duty of the chef to present food in an attractive manner.
• Chefs need to take the lead and mentor the team behind any successful kitchen.
• They need to develop and plan menus that cater to most of the people in the area.
• Maintain the cleanliness of the stations and the kitchen as a whole.

Titles Of Chefs

Hospitality is an ever-growing industry and employs millions of people each year. Culinary arts have flourished too and people have started eating out more than ever. Here are some titles of chefs that are used in every kitchen of all restaurants all over the world.

• The executive chef is the leader among the kitchen staff.
• Not all restaurants will have an executive chef as executive chefs are limited to larger kitchens and bigger restaurants.
• These chefs do not cook much and their work is limited to managing the kitchen and all the other chefs and staff.
• Their job description includes training of personnel, menu planning, budget maintaining, and purchasing. This job requires experience as a chef and in management.
• Head Chef (Chef de Cuisine) is the top post in any kitchen around the world if the executive chef is not present. They also have similar work as the executive chefs, and sometimes also cooking.
• The head chef will leave the cooking to the sous chef and the others. However, the head chef might also get involved in day-to-day cooking.
• The deputy chef, or sous chef, is the second-in-command in a kitchen. If the restaurant is bigger in size, there can be more than one sous chef.
• A sous chef is more hands-on than a head chef, but the job description is similar to the head cooks.
• Chef de partie or station chef has the most critical job in the kitchen.
• A station chef cooks the food that goes out to the restaurant tables. Different chefs will be there for each food category, so there will be multiple station cooks for each station.
• One station chef might cook the meats, while another one will head the fish station, and so on. Pastry chefs, sauce, vegetables, and so on falls under this, with proper training for each cook, of course.
• Junior chef (commis chef) works with the station cooks to learn more about the environment in the kitchen.
• A commis chef has just completed the training or schooling in the culinary field and needs hands-on experience in the restaurant. The job description is to help experienced cooks and in the process, learn and take in skills.
• The kitchen porter does the basic preparation of the food. This job does not need the same training as the cooks in the kitchen. They cut the vegetables and clean the fruits.
• The last job in the kitchen is of the purchasing manager. They buy the food in the kitchen. They constantly keep track of the food left in the kitchen and food that needs to be ordered.

Different Types Of Chefs

There are many different types of chefs. The three main jobs are the head chef, sous chef, and commis chef. Three different specializations are also present. Here are the different types of cooks in the kitchen cooking your meals with dedication.

• The head chefs are the leaders in the kitchen. It takes years of practice and experience to become an executive chef or a head chef.
• They look after the kitchen and take the assistance of the sous chefs whenever needed. There is no rest for these head cooks as they are always ready for work.
• Sous chefs are the next in line as they run the kitchen and do the hands-on work which the head cooks don't. There can be more than one sous chef.
• The station chef takes care of each station given to them. They work directly under the sous chef and are responsible for all the other chefs in the area.
• They have a team in the station given to them.
• Expeditor checks the meals and sees if they are perfectly presented for the customers. In a small kitchen, the head cooks take responsibility for the expediter.
• The kitchen manager works behind the scenes. They check if the inventory is equipped to handle the rush in the restaurant.
• Commis chef is a new chef that is present to learn skills and help other chefs in the process.
• Pastry chefs attend culinary school to learn their required skills. They are masters of pastries, desserts, bread, and all types of baked goods. You will find that a celebrity chef is often a pastry chef.
• The saucier makes sure the sauces are always made in the correct way and are important in high-quality fine dining restaurants.
• The poissonier specializes in everything that involves fish. They prepare the sauces and all the seafood available on the menu.
• The entremetier specializes in vegetable dishes, however, they might make soups too.
• The rotisseur makes and roasts the meat. They are responsible for everything involving meat.
• Chef garde manager or pantry chef looks after all refrigerated dishes and ingredients.
• They monitor stock levels and ensure that the pantry is never empty.