Buzz
If the Kitchen department is likened to the heart of a restaurant, then the Head Chef is the main artery to nourish that heart. We use this analogy to emphasize the importance of this 'conductor'.
In some restaurants and hotels, the Head Kitchen position (Head Chef) is sometimes also the Executive Chef. In this article, we discuss the job description for the Executive Chef position.
>> More: Organizational chart of the Kitchen Department in a Restaurant
So what exactly does an Executive Chef do that makes their role so crucial and significant? The primary role of an Executive Chef is to oversee and manage all kitchen operations, including: menu creation, staff management, business management, etc. Executive Chefs tend to oversee kitchen operations across multiple outlets and locations, usually not directly involved in cooking unless there are special requests. Let's explore the detailed job description below!
Overseeing and managing all activities in the Kitchen Department
- Being accountable to the Board of Directors (Restaurant Owner) for all kitchen activities at a single establishment or across multiple locations within a chain, depending on the scale of each restaurant or hotel.
- Fully participating in meetings with the Board of Directors, Department Heads, and the Food & Beverage department within the restaurant.
- Collaborating with the Food Director, Marketing department, Restaurant Management, etc., to implement business ideas, menu concepts, new dishes, and promotional programs for the restaurant.
- Coordinating with relevant departments to receive and address customer complaints regarding food quality.
- Preparing daily and monthly food cost reports for the accounting department; reporting on work plans and food costs periodically to the Restaurant Manager.
- Directly disseminating new regulations and information from higher authorities to all kitchen staff, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
- Planning expenses and placing orders.
- Assigning tasks to the Head Chef, Sous Chef, or Kitchen Team Leaders, and supervising their implementation down to lower-level staff.
- Conducting pre-shift meetings as required.
- Establishing work procedures, monitoring execution by each staff member to ensure correctness and standards compliance.
Creating menus, specifying cooking methods, and food quality standards
- The Head Chef advises and presents to the Board of Directors plans for restaurant menu design, creating new menu items, themed menus, or event menus as required.
Specifying cooking methods, food quality standards, and customer service standards.
Training and instructing kitchen staff according to restaurant standards.
Ensuring food quality after preparation; directly inspecting food quality before handing it over to the service department.
- Inspect the quality of all food items and ingredients in the kitchen area.
Managing kitchen staff.
- Coordinating with the restaurant's HR department to plan recruitment and directly conducting interviews for hiring kitchen staff. May advise on the proposed salary levels for recruiting junior staff.
- Directly providing job instructions to kitchen staff, training new kitchen staff.
- Establishing work rules in the kitchen department; applying them to each specific kitchen job and position.
- Arranging reasonable work schedules for staff, including vacation days, holidays, and flexibility in staff deployment.
- Listening to the advice of Kitchen Team Leaders, Head Chefs, and Sous Chefs to regularly evaluate the performance and results of all staff in the kitchen department; recommending commendations, promotions, and salary increases for kitchen staff.
- Proposing and directly conducting regular employee training.
Ensuring food safety and hygiene standards.
- Establishing regulations for controlling hygiene quality throughout the kitchen space, including food safety, workplace cleanliness, and kitchen tools and equipment. Managing, supervising, and taking all related responsibilities.
Managing kitchen tools, equipment, and assets.
- Monthly coordination with the accounting department to inventory kitchen assets, machinery, and tools.
- Instructing and monitoring staff on the use and maintenance of shared assets, machinery, equipment, and kitchen tools.
Other duties
- Directly prepare dishes when there is a large number of guests, as requested by the Director or special customers.
Salary level of restaurant head chef.
With tasks like these, the Executive Chef of a restaurant is a coveted position that every kitchen staff member aspires to. It's not just about culinary expertise but also about being respected within the restaurant. Alongside this is a worthy head chef salary, ranging from 12 – 30 million VND/month, or even higher. This doesn't include various allowances, bonuses, and unlimited tips from customers or the management,...
Whether a head chef's salary is high or low depends on individual experience, competence, the scale of the restaurant, the volume and job requirements of each restaurant, hotel.
To effectively fulfill the assigned tasks, the Head Chef must be physically fit and versatile, proficient in both culinary expertise and management skills. Additionally, a bit of creativity, market insight, good communication, and proficiency in English are advantageous.
With this detailed description of the Head Chef's job, we hope you have a more comprehensive understanding of the culinary profession. Furthermore, if you are a restaurant owner or manager, we believe this information will be helpful in managing and operating your kitchen staff more effectively.
Wishing you success in your business endeavors,
Warm regards,
Delightful dishes prepared with care and love.
Source: Chefjob.
