Everyone is looking for a profession to their liking. But how else, because you want to go to work with a smile on your face, and not with a sour grimace. Among all the variety of specialties, culinary business is very attractive for many. Judge for yourself, often there are good working conditions, work takes place in a warm room, and most importantly, you will never be hungry.
However, do not build “vanilla” illusions. Despite the general opinion, the duties of the cook are quite complicated, and not everyone can cope with them. Therefore, let's look at this profession more carefully in order to understand how hard it is to master it.
Cook education
It doesn’t matter how well and tasty a person knows how to cook - without an appropriate document for work he will not be taken anyway. Perhaps someone will think that this is unfair, but in reality this is a completely justified measure. Understand that the health of other people is at stake, because who knows what an unskilled specialist can feed them?
Therefore, everyone who wants to connect their lives with culinary affairs must graduate from this educational institution. In general, they can be divided into three large groups: vocational schools, technical schools and universities. I think it’s not worth explaining that the higher the level of education, the more chances to get a promising place.
As for the study itself, it will only benefit. After all, it is here that they can make a real genius out of an ordinary self-taught chef. In addition, as students learn, all the features of their future profession will be explained to students, including the main duties of the cook.
What should every cook be able to do?
So, we will understand the basics that every self-respecting cook must own. After all, otherwise, he will have no place both in the public kitchen, and in the elite restaurant.
Mandatory Cooking Skills
- Each cook should be familiar with the basic cooking techniques: cooking, frying, stewing and so on.
- Be able to draw up the correct recipe, which will indicate: the number of necessary products, cooking technology, number of servings and the like.
- The culinary specialist must be able to use modern kitchen appliances. For example, gas stoves, ovens, double boiler and so on.
- Any person in the kitchen must have the skills to use weights. Otherwise, he will not be able to exactly follow all the instructions that are prescribed in the recipes.
Hierarchy in the culinary world
As in any other profession, the kitchen also has its ranks and grades. The first can be obtained directly from the school. For example, after technical school, they often give IV category. You can increase it as you move up the career ladder, or by completing special courses.
As for the "ranks", it all depends on the specific place of work. So, in an ordinary dining room, workers are divided into assistants and cooks, and the head cook is at the head. If we talk about the restaurant, then the hierarchy is much more complicated.
Naturally, depending on the place of work, the duties of the cook also change. Therefore, it will be quite reasonable to talk about where you can get a job in the kitchen? And also about the specifics of labor in these places.
Work in the dining room
Now there are very few public canteens, as they are being replaced by cafes and restaurants. However, they still work in large factories. Therefore, it will be very reasonable to try to get there.
What are the main responsibilities of the cook in the dining room?
- First of all, the cook must be able to properly compile a diet for workers.To do this, you need to have certain knowledge that can be obtained at a technical school or university.
- When working in such a place, the culinary specialist must calculate the amount of food in such a way that it is enough for all employees, but at the same time minimize food overruns.
- Also, the cook in the dining room should be prepared for the fact that you will have to devote a lot of time to cleaning the hall, washing dishes and so on.
School work
It’s much harder for cooks at school. Firstly, in such places, they very carefully select employees in the kitchen. And secondly, it’s very difficult to please children, especially when there are a lot of them.
What is the responsibility of the school cook?
- Planning a balanced diet for children. Simply put, food should be both healthy and tasty at the same time.
- Keeping records of the food warehouse - God forbid, something goes bad or goes missing. After all, if the child has at least a slight poisoning, then parents can raise a serious scandal.
- Also, the school kitchen worker must closely monitor the technical condition of the equipment. Having noticed a malfunction or gas leak, he is obliged to immediately call the management and inform about it.
Features of work in kindergarten
So, the duties of the cook in kindergarten are not particularly different from those that are customary to observe in other institutions. But, there are certain nuances that greatly affect this work as a whole.
First of all, this is manifested in what kind of food is prepared in the dining room of the kindergarten. Often these are milk porridges, broths, and carbohydrate-rich foods. Therefore, the culinary specialist should be familiar with the preparation of such dishes.
Also, the duties of the cook in the kindergarten include compliance with sanitary standards in the kitchen. That is, cleanliness and order should always reign here.
Chef Responsibilities
Most of all difficulties arise for those who work in restaurants or hold senior positions in ordinary kitchens. After all, the duties of the chef are much more saturated and varied than it might seem at first glance.
For example, a chef must monitor not only the quality of his dishes, but also how his subordinates cook. In addition, he will have to show all his organizational talents in order to uniformly load the work of all the kitchen staff.
But the hardest part is responsibility. After all, whatever one may say, but for all the mistakes the chef will have to pay, regardless of whether he is guilty or not.
