Chef Vs Cook – Know Their Difference
Chefs and cooks are often confused with one another due to the similar nature of their jobs. However, there are a few key differences between the two positions, the article will highlight the key difference of a chef vs cook and the advantages of choosing either career.
Who is a Chef?
A chef is someone who is responsible for the overall culinary operation of a kitchen. They typically have extensive training and experience in cooking, as well as management and leadership skills. Chefs must be able to oversee the entire kitchen, including hiring and training staff, creating menus, and ensuring that food safety protocols are followed.
Who is a Cook?
A cook is someone who specializes in cooking and preparing food for consumption. They typically do not need any special training or certification to obtain this position, and they may work under the chef of a commercial kitchen.
What do Chefs Do?
A chef’s duties include cooking meals, planning, purchasing, and maintaining supplies. They must also prepare staff meals, communicate with customers about meal selections, and monitor that equipment is working properly. Chefs ensure the overall conduct of kitchen operations. Furthermore, they manage kitchen staff to ensure their proper working performance. This includes hiring new workers, training them properly in a safe work environment, and ensuring all state and federal regulations are followed.
Chef Duties
- Creating and planning menus for customers
- Preparing all food items on the menu
- Staff management and training
- Properly maintaining equipment and supplies
What do Cooks Do?
A cook’s primary task is to prepare meals as requested by their chef. They typically do not need any special training or certification to obtain this position. Cooks follow strict guidelines to ensure the food they prepare is safe for consumption. They must also keep their workstation clean and sanitary, including daily washing of equipment.
Cook Duties
- Preparing meals for customers
- Ensuring proper safety procedures are followed when preparing ingredients
- Keeping cooking area clean and tidy
- Ability to lead a team in action
- Creative abilities allow them to devise new recipes and ingredients for an endless list of potential dishes
- Strong sense of taste and smell which allows them to determine the quality of ingredients used in food preparation
- Can create menus for customers; cooks primarily focus on menu creation at high-end restaurants
When deciding between a career as a chef or cook, one should consider where they would like to work and what type of food they would like to prepare. If you want to develop new recipes and create menus, then becoming a chef may be the best option for you! However, if you do not have any training in cooking and prefer working under a chef, then becoming a cook may be the best choice for you!
There are benefits to both positions that chefs and cooks should consider before applying for either job. Chefs typically earn more money than cooks, but they also have more responsibilities. Cooks work in kitchens that usually do not require as much responsibility as those required by chefs.
Similarities
Both chefs and cooks are involved with kitchen operations, whether it be in the preparation or cooking of food. They also work with food that may be considered edible or inedible, such as raw ingredients and spices.
Differences
Chefs typically need more training and experience than cooks. Chefs oversee the entire kitchen operation, including hiring and training staff, creating menus, and ensuring that food safety standards are followed. On the other hand, cooks follow a very strict set of guidelines to ensure that food is prepared safely for customers. This includes sanitizing cooking areas, keeping workstations tidy, and following specific recipes when preparing meals.
Education
Typically no formal education is needed to obtain a position as a cook, although an associate degree in culinary arts or a similar field is often preferred. Chefs typically work their way up through the ranks of lower positions, such as sous chef and line cook, before they can apply for jobs with more responsibility. Overall, it takes about four years to become a trained chef at the professional level.
Job Outlook
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, both chef and cook positions will continue to grow at a faster than average rate through 2022. Competition for these jobs is also expected to be very high due to a large number of people in this industry.
How to Become a Chef
A chef typically needs more training and experience than a cook. In order to become a chef, one could start out as a cook and work their way up the ranks. Alternatively, there are many culinary schools that offer degrees in culinary arts or a related field. These programs usually take about four years to complete and provide students with the skills they need to work as professional chefs. This degree can also help individuals find a job more easily.
How to Become a Cook
There are many ways to become a cook. One could start out as a dishwasher or prep cook and work their way up the ladder. Alternatively, many community colleges offer associate degrees in culinary arts or a related field. These programs usually take about two years to complete and provide students with the skills they need to become professional cooks.
The Pros of Being A Chef
Being a chef can allow people to make more money than cooks. Chefs typically earn higher salaries than cooks because they are in charge of every aspect of the kitchen, including hiring and training staff, creating menus, and ensuring that food safety standards are followed.
The Cons of Being A Chef
Being a chef is harder than being a cook. Chefs are more likely to be injured on the job because they oversee everything that goes on in the kitchen, including using certain tools and equipment. Before becoming a chef, one should consider their physical capabilities and whether they can handle these responsibilities.
The Pros of Being A Cook
Cooks typically have less stress than chefs because they are not in charge of as many aspects as chefs, such as hiring and training staff, creating menus, and ensuring that food safety standards are followed. In fact, cooks may report feeling stressed out after working with a chef because it may make them feel incompetent because of the many responsibilities chefs have.
The Cons of Being A Cook
Cooking jobs often do not pay very much. As noted before, cooks typically earn less than chefs because they are in charge of fewer tasks.
Conclusion
If you want to be a chef and have the time and money necessary for four years of culinary school, we highly recommend doing so. However, if cooking is your passion or you’re just looking for a job that pays well without any formal education, then this may be an option for you too! The best thing about being a cook is that there are many ways to become one with no degree required at all. You can start out as a dishwasher or prep worker in most kitchens before becoming an assistant chef or even head chef depending on how much experience and skillset you gain over time.
