Culinary Arts Job Descriptions
- Most culinary workers begin their careers as food preparation workers: chopping vegetables and fruits, cutting meats and measuring ingredients for cooks to use. In some establishments, they also prepare salads and cold plates or stir and strain sauces, soups and stews.
- Chefs and cooks prepare the dishes served. Depending on where they work, they may hustle up burgers and eggs as short-order cooks in diners, make large batches of food for schools or hotels, or create exotic masterpieces in fine-dining restaurants. Line chefs in larger restaurants work one station and concentrate on one type of food, such as preparing vegetables, or one method, such as deep frying.
- Executive chefs oversee the entire operation. They create menus, choose ingredients, order supplies and supervise kitchen workers. For large hotels or chains, they may manage multiple kitchens. In some kitchens, they are assisted by a sous chef, who runs the day-to-day kitchen operations.
- Bakers and pastry chefs produce breads, rolls, muffins and desserts for retail shops and restaurants.
Food stylists work with photographers to make dishes look as enticing on camera as they do on the plate.
Some culinary artists specialize in creating elaborate sculptures from ice or dough. - Teaching opportunities range from instructing students in high schools, vocational schools and community colleges to instructing students in specialized culinary schools, in hotels, or for food chains that run their own classes. For some types of teaching jobs, you will need a college degree as well as specialized training in your field.
