Cooks, Restaurant

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This occupation is part of the Food Preparation and Serving Related cluster

About the Job

Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

It is also Called

  • Back Line Cook
  • Banquet Chef
  • Banquet Cook
  • Breakfast Cook
  • Broiler Chef or Cook
  • Chef
  • Chef de Froid
  • Chef De Partie
  • Cook
  • Cook Apprentice

What They Do

  • Inspect and clean food preparation areas, such as equipment and work surfaces, or serving areas to ensure safe and sanitary food-handling practices.
  • Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.
  • Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock.
  • Turn or stir foods to ensure even cooking.
  • Season and cook food according to recipes or personal judgment and experience.
  • Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.
  • Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes or personal judgment, using various kitchen utensils and equipment.
  • Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons.
  • Observe and test foods to determine if they have been cooked sufficiently, using methods such as tasting, smelling, or piercing them with utensils.
  • Wash, peel, cut, and seed fruits and vegetables to prepare them for consumption.

Interests

People who work in this occupation generally have the interest code: RE.

This means people who work in this occupation generally have Realistic interests, but also prefer Enterprising environments.

Work Values

People who work in this occupation generally prize Support, but also value Relationships and Independence in their jobs.

Things They Need to Know

  • Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  • Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Things They Need to Be Able to Do

  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Additional Resources


Education Required

These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Wages

In 2012, the average annual wage in California was $24,590.00 with most people making between $18,060.00 and $33,490.00

Outlook

2.74%
avg. annual growth

During 2010, this occupation employed approximately 101,900 people in California. It is projected that there will be 129,800 employed in 2020.

This occupation will have about 2,790 openings due to growth and about 2,170 replacement openings for approximately 4,960 total annual openings.

Common College Majors

Industries that Employ this Occupation

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