Education
Fact-checked

At PracticalAdultInsights, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

What Does a Chef De Cuisine Do?

Maggie Worth
Maggie Worth

A chef is a professional who prepares meals for a living. A chef de cuisine is the head chef or managing chef in a restaurant, resort or other food service facility. He is generally responsible for managing the other chefs and kitchen employees. He is also usually responsible for creating and preparing the menu; determining nightly specials; and if applicable, setting the menu for special events or meals. It is not unusual for the chef de cuisine to be the owner of a restaurant.

As with many professions, there are levels within the chef career path. Entry levels include line cooks, sous chefs and expediters. The chef de cuisine is the pinnacle of the kitchen staff. Sometimes an executive chef supports this senior professional, particularly if he owns or manages more than one restaurant.

A chef de cuisine oversees all cooking and other processes in a restaurant's kitchen.
A chef de cuisine oversees all cooking and other processes in a restaurant's kitchen.

The chef de cuisine usually sets the atmosphere and decor in the restaurant. He may create the marketing and advertising plan as well, or might hire a business manager to do this. Although he may be responsible for hiring the servers, bartenders and other non-kitchen staff, a front-of-house manager is frequently employed to manage the day-to-day operations outside the kitchen.

When it comes to the kitchen operations, however, the chef de cuisine is intimately involved in the decisions and processes. He will select and purchase all the kitchen equipment and will hire and train all of the kitchen staff. He will set the regular menu and determine all the preparation processes and recipes. If the restaurant holds special events, such as for holidays, he will design special menus for these events as well.

A chef de cuisine either places food orders himself or delegates this duty to someone he trusts. He is usually present in the kitchen and oversees all cooking activities. Depending on the size and nature of the restaurant and his own preferences, he may or may not actively cook on a regular basis.

In some cases, chefs de cuisine may have a variety of other duties and opportunities. Most television chefs, for instance, are chefs de cuisine — or have been at some point. Many also write and publish cookbooks, which they must then publicize through a variety of means. Others create lines of cooking equipment or dishware, or lend their names to such lines. Some also serve as consultants, developing menus and training kitchen staff for those who wish to open restaurants but don't have the kitchen experience to do so.

Discussion Comments

ZsaZsa56

It can be a long hard road to work your way up to being a chef. I worked in restaurants for over 30 years before I became the head chef at one.

I started as a dishwasher, bounced around to a ton of different line cook jobs. Then I thought that I was really hot stuff so I decided to go to culinary school. I mostly just ended up with student loans and got kicked around to about a dozen different restaurants before I found one where the environment worked out.

I became the sous chef at a small french restaurant. I got along great with everyone there. When the head chef decided to move on the asked me straight away if I wanted to take over. How could I refuse? Now after a long career with many stumbles I have my own kitchen.

jonrss

I work in a Michelin starred restaurant in Boston and we have an amazing chef. He is know for a very modern and experimental take on Italian cuisine and he turns out some amazing dishes. Working in the kitchen I have been lucky enough to both see the dishes, taste the dishes and also watch how they are made.

I have a degree from culinary school but working in this kitchen has been the best education on really refined cooking techniques that I could ever have. Our chef does things that I would never have thought of, that no one would ever have thought of. It is expanding my idea about cooking and ingredients in amazing ways.

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • A chef de cuisine oversees all cooking and other processes in a restaurant's kitchen.
      By: goodluz
      A chef de cuisine oversees all cooking and other processes in a restaurant's kitchen.