Occupation Profile

Chefs and Head Cooks

(SOC Code : 35-1011)

in California

Direct the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts. May participate in cooking.

Employers are usually looking for candidates with Post secondary vocational training .

Occupational Wages

[Top]

Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
California	2012	1st Qtr	$23.55	$15.79	$21.62	$28.82

View Wages for All Areas About Wages

Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

[Top]

Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Annual Avg Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
California	2010 - 2020	11,500	13,900	2,400	20.9	460

View Projections for All Areas About Projections

Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

[Top]

Enter a Zip Code Find a Zip code in California

Within miles of Zip Code.

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

[Top]

Industry Title

Number of Employers in State of California

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

Full-Service Restaurants

30,594

56.1%

Accommodation

11,143

11.4%

Special Food Services

3,605

7.6%

Other Amusement & Recreation Industries

11,489

3.9%

Limited-Service Eating Places

29,819

1.4%

About Staffing Patterns

Training Programs (click on title for more information)

[Top]

Program Title

Baking and Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef

Culinary Arts/Chef Training

Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management/Manager

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

[Top]

Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.

Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.

Check the quantity and quality of received products.

Order or requisition food or other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation.

Inspect supplies, equipment, or work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.

Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.

Determine how food should be presented and create decorative food displays.

Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.

Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.

Collaborate with other personnel to plan and develop recipes or menus, taking into account such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients or the likely number of customers.

More Tasks for Chefs and Head Cooks

Top Skills used in this Job

Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Time Management - Managing one`s own time and the time of others.

Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

More Skills for Chefs and Head Cooks

Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

More Abilities for Chefs and Head Cooks

Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Recognition - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.

More Work Values for Chefs and Head Cooks

Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

More Interests for Chefs and Head Cooks

Alternate Titles

Executive Chefs; Pastry Chefs, and Sous Chefs.