Sous chef jobs can be very demanding and involve working a lot of hours; that makes them pretty thankless jobs at times. The sous chef is in charge when the head chef is absent. The sous chef’s job is seen by many as a stepping stone to get into the head chef’s job or land a star chef job, and this is, in a lot of cases, what prevents the sous chef from giving up.
The job of a sous chef involves solving a lot of different problems within the kitchen. The sous chef very often gets a rough deal, but this is one of the main ways into the head chef’s job. The pay is reasonably good too, so that makes putting up with all the bad times worthwhile. In general the sous chef is responsible for planning and supervising the daily running of the kitchen. There are a lot of sous chefs who work closely with the head chef, and in some cases the executive chef, in order to produce menus and perform any in-house training that needs to be done with the staff.
The sous chef has to ensure that only the highest quality of food is sent out to the customers, and if there is anything wrong with the food it has to be redone. The work of chefs, regardless of what position they have, is very stressful at times due to the large amount of work that needs to be done and the time restraints. The job of a sous chef requires a vast amount of knowledge; sous chefs need to know about every single aspect of the kitchen, from dishwashing up to ordering the ingredients and planning and managing the budgets. The sous chef may be given the chance to design the menu; however, the head chef will have the final say on what actually goes on the menu.
There are a lot of opportunities for sous chefs, and they are not only in restaurants. There are also sous chef jobs available in hotels, the armed forces, and on cruise ships; these are only some of the many places these jobs can be found. It is said that the best sous chefs are both stupid and smart. They are thought of as being stupid because they are working sometimes as much as ninety hours per week; however, they are smart because while doing this they have their eyes fixed on the head chef’s job.
Qualifications and Salary
The pay rate for chef’s jobs depends very much on the experience you have, exactly what you are required to do, and the type of establishment that you are working in. Sous chef jobs are usually paid about $32,000 per annum. They are usually paid on a monthly basis.
If you are interested in a job as a sous chef, there are a few different courses that you can take in order to strengthen your knowledge and your resume. The more management and customer service experience you have, the greater ability you will have to perform the role to a higher standard. One of the main skills that sous chefs need is the ability to get on well with people and to work as part of a team while keeping the team motivated. It is very common for people to study for this job on a flexible basis while still working. One of the courses that is available is a two-year hospitality management program, and it covers a wide range of things including staff management, budgeting and budget control, skills related to creating and maintaining business relationships, knowledge of all the jobs within the kitchen (so that if anyone is off they are able to step in), health and safety regarding working conditions, the legal responsibilities of the kitchen, stock control skills, and menu planning skills. As you can see, there are a lot of different skills that are required, and the courses cover a lot of different areas.
Jobs for a chef can be found in a lot of different places, ranging from various local newspapers to the many job sites that are on the Internet.
Conclusion
The middle management of the catering world, sous chefs have a very demanding job, which can mean that they very often have to work hours in the range of ninety per week, and often more than that. The sous chef is responsible for overseeing the whole kitchen in the absence of the head chef or assisting the head chef in this role. The sous chef is given a lot of responsibility; however, everything still has to be run past the head chef. The head chef can very often turn around and throw the idea back in the face of the sous chef. A lot of sous chefs keep themselves going through all the bad times by fixing their mind and soul on getting the head chef’s job, and thinking how they could change things and make the kitchen run better once they are in charge. Sous chefs are usually reasonably paid; they can often make as much as $32,000 per annum, which is paid on a weekly or monthly basis. However, the amount depends on where you work and the amount of experience and qualifications that you have. Some of the best-paid sous chef jobs are on cruise ships.
