Chris Williamson

Mrs. Penner

English III

11/23/15

Chef Research Paper

	There are many careers, like architecture, nursing, and teaching. One of my personal favorites is culinary arts. It is one of the best careers to have, as only a keen interest in food (Meyer 11). If you want be a chef or are interested in being a chef, you must know about the roles chefs play, the education, and the salary chefs make.

	First off, you will need an education to be a chef, as chefs learn a variety of skills, which can take many years (16). Schedules are often demanding and may include early morning and late evening hours (Becoming a Chef). You have two choices. One, you can be an apprentice (Chef Job Info), or two, you can prepare for work by being in a college part-time or full-time (Chef Job Info). Being an apprentice is easy. There are a number of options for internships/apprenticeships in the culinary industry (Meyer 45). More than 200, in fact (Becoming A Chef). The range of apprenticeship depend on your local job markets (Chef Job Info), and they require at least 2 years and a minimum of 1000 hours (Becoming a Chef). If you do decide to go to a college, there are many decisions, like a 2-4 year program, budget, full time job or part-time (Meyer, 36). Some of the advantages of being in a school is that you can learn new skills in a controlled environment, as the formal training can give you a much better range of knowledge of skills, techniques, and culinary references (Meyer 33). College level culinary training programs offer more comprehensive courses (Becoming A Chef) for chefs in the future. Nutrition classes help people learn to create more nutritious and healthier foods, while classes in menu planning/portion control help prepare them for the duties of a head chef (Cool Careers 17). If you do plan on opening a restaurant, you must learn about accounting, managing (22) and have an education in hospitality (17).

	Now that you have gotten education down, you need to find out what kind of chef you want to be. There are many kinds of chef roles, and they depend on the restaurant. You usually start off as a commis (Chef Job Info) but chefs with a degree can begin their careers as as a prep or sous chef (Becoming a Chef). A commis is a basic chef that works under a chef de partie (Chef-Wiki). A Chef de Partie is known as a station chef or line cook, they are in charge of a particular area in the kitchen (Chef-Wiki). With experience, you can become a sous chef. They are responsible for the kitchen’s inventory, cleanliness, organization, and training of the staff, as well as filling in or assisting a chef de partie when needed (Chef-Wiki). They also carry out the executive chef's command (Meyer 24). The executive chef can decide what should be on the menu and how it should be prepared (Meyer 25).

	Depending on what kind of chef you are and how well you do, you can get paid lots of money. The pay rate is associated with your training status (Chef-Wiki). Most chefs make 29,000-51,000 dollars per year, but the highest paid chef makes more than 66,000$ (Cool Careers 25). The median pay tht head chef makes was 40,630$. Since restaurants employ around 13 million people, restaurant industry sales are around 600 billion per year (Meyer 65).

	Even though being a chef sounds fun, it can be tough and very stressful. You'd have to use your own money to buy ingredients for the restaurant, sometimes they can be very heavy. You would also have to get plenty of sleep, as hours range from early morning to late evening hours. Kitchens also tend to be hot and humid, so expect a lot of sweating. Being a chef can be very stressful, but it is very satisfying and rewarding as well.