You are in charge of the kitchen: planning menus, negotiating prices and delivery arrangements with suppliers, ordering and storing food, organising staff rotas, supervising everyone in your team, recruiting and training new staff.

You have a hands-on involvement in the cooking - the reputation of the restaurant largely depends on your food, and the imagination and skills which you bring to it. At service time, you will co-ordinate the orders as they come in, issuing instructions to your team. You have to keep your eye on progress with earlier orders, and see that every dish that goes out to a customer is up to standard: the correct temperature, presentation and portion size. The job requires careful planning, good timing, and excellent team work to bring together orders for large parties, or maintain good service when the restaurant is very busy, When you have time, you might make an appearance in the restaurant to talk to the customers, in particular the regulars and any VIPs.

Menus need to take account of the needs of vegetarians, other religious and ethical diets, those with an allergy to certain foods, such as flour or nuts, and people that avoid fats or other ingredients. Food hygiene and health and safety are also major concerns, and you will have visits from an environmental health officer to check standards and discuss your food safety management system.

You are also responsible for making sure that the cost of food is within the budget: wastage must be kept to the minimum, production quantities and portion control accurate. You will need to liaise closely with the general manager to whom you will be responsible for budgets, including staff costs. You will also work with the restaurant manager and waiting staff, to ensure that service runs smoothly and that staff can accurately describe dishes to customers. Depending on the type of operation (e.g. hotel, pub, restaurant), the kitchens may prepare food for a number of self-service restaurants, snack bars and directors' dining rooms, as well as cocktail parties, business meetings, conferences and other special events. For example in a high street restaurant your kitchen may be preparing meals for 30 guests for lunch and 60 guests for dinner, whereas a hospital kitchen might be preparing meals for several hundred patients three times a day, as well as the doctors, specialists, nursing and ancillary staff.

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Career

• Pre Employment Training
• Safe and Legal
• Workforce Development
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Type

• Customer Services
• Management & Leadership
• General Craft
• Apprenticeship
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Duration

• Day
• Week
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• Express your creativity, imagination and flair
• Need to have good business skills

Darren, A Head Chef from Leeds says the key to success is hard work and commitment. If you are interested in a similar career, Darren’s 3 top tips are: Get a job in a kitchen as soon as possible – even washing pots, to familiarise yourself with environment As in all industries there are good and bad employers so do research about companies you want to work for – don’t let a bad experience put you off Be open-minded and not be intimidated by the environment. Darren. Leeds Gary,Burton-On-Trent

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