Job description of a cook: responsibilities, functions

Chef job description sample

General provisions

During the absence of the chef (business trip, vacation, treatment), his functions are transferred to the chef assigned to the restaurant manager.
The chef is hired and dismissed by order of the restaurant manager.
A person applying for a chef position must meet all of the following qualification requirements:
specialized advanced training courses;
Two years of experience in food preparation;
valid medical record;
successfully passed a medical examination.
The chef must have knowledge in the following areas:
basics of maintaining relevant document flow;
rules for operating specialized equipment installed in the kitchen;
methods of preparing dishes and drinks presented on the restaurant menu;
principles of menu development, including dietary and thematic areas;
standards for preparing dishes and culinary products for festive events;
safety standards for food ingredients, their expiration dates, rules of use;
rules of compatibility and incompatibility of various dishes, drinks and seasonings;
standards for the consumption of products and other components consumed in the preparation of various dishes;
principles of managing employees in small groups;
rules for monitoring the food preparation process by subordinates;
standards for supplying the kitchen with necessary products, seasonings, ingredients;
current experience in preparing dishes from industry leaders;
rules of labor discipline, fire safety;
sanitary and hygienic standards related to food preparation.
The chef is guided by:
documentation of the legal entity that owns the restaurant;
provisions of this instruction.

Responsibilities

The chef performs the following set of responsibilities:

Manage a restaurant kitchen with a focus on preparing diverse, high-quality, and sought-after dishes.
Managing the selection of employees for the restaurant kitchen.
Ensuring the efficient performance of a team of subordinate cooks and kitchen staff.
Monitoring the required level of stocks of products, seasonings, and other required ingredients and submitting requests for their necessary replenishment.
Monitoring proper operation of kitchen equipment.
Quality control of products, seasonings, and other ingredients purchased for kitchen needs.
Quality control of prepared dishes.
Implementation of procedures to improve work activity within its competence.
Monitoring compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards in the kitchen.
Managing the process of creating a restaurant menu, taking into account the requirements of its managers.
Ensuring the preparation of necessary dishes for special and festive events.
Consideration of the wishes of the manager and clients regarding the inclusion of additional dishes in the menu.
Training cooks, both subordinates and those sent from other establishments, in cooking techniques.
Assessing the quality of work of subordinates.
Interacts with the restaurant manager and others on issues related to food preparation.

Responsibility

The chef may be held liable for the following violations:

For damage caused to the restaurant through his fault - within the limits given in the relevant sections of the current legislation.
For failure to fulfill assigned job duties - in accordance with sections of labor legislation.
For violations of current rules, norms and sections of legislation - in accordance with articles of criminal, administrative, and labor legislation.

Rights

The employer provides the chef with the following rights:

Make suggestions to improve the components of the restaurant and its kitchen.
Get acquainted with draft internal documents affecting the scope of his activities.
Participate in meetings of restaurant managers and owners, where issues are raised that affect aspects of the functioning of the kitchen.
Manage entrusted funds within the assigned competence.
Inform restaurant management of the need for personnel decisions related to kitchen employees.
Sign relevant documents within the established job responsibilities.
Demand that the restaurant manager temporarily suspend the work of the kitchen if serious problematic issues are noticed in its activities.
Require restaurant management and employees to provide access to information necessary for work.
Require the restaurant management to create the conditions necessary for the full functioning of the kitchen.

Working conditions

The chef may be sent, at his request, in accordance with the provisions of internal documentation, to courses to improve his qualification level.
The chef is provided with branded clothing necessary for his work by the employer.
The chef may be required to work on weekends and holidays to cater for special events, while receiving additional benefits in accordance with the provisions of labor laws.
The chef may be sent, at his request and at the employer’s expense, on a special business trip to familiarize himself with the preparation of dishes in other restaurants.

Qualification and sanitary requirements for catering workers

For causing material damage - within the limits determined by the current labor and civil legislation of the Russian Federation.

Another very important feature of the work of workers in this profession is constant sanitary control. Indeed, in addition to the taste and harmlessness of ready-made dishes to humans, the production process itself is subject to regular or sudden inspection by regulatory organizations.

In order to work in a restaurant, you need to qualify as a chef by studying at a secondary specialized educational institution.

However, the limits of his liability are limited in this case to the average monthly earnings in accordance with Art. 241 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

A qualified, experienced specialist in his field of cooking sometimes needs to be given greater freedom to implement his ideas, because the desire of customers to visit this establishment again, having tasted the delicacy of their favorite culinary recipe, depends on the taste and quality of the prepared food.

I suspect that hiring a cook will differ only in that the cook must have a health certificate and must undergo a medical examination before being hired, as well as undergo periodic medical examinations.

The job description of the chef of a kindergarten, health camp or school usually clearly describes the activities of the head of the kitchen, all his rights and responsibilities.

The SES will also want to inspect the dining room (buffet). By the way, I think the firefighters will be happy to examine it, at your expense, of course. So any position, manager, administrator, etc. It's better with vague responsibilities.

But the job description of a chef at a preschool educational institution is more mandatory and has a very strict framework. Nutrition for children requires compliance with special standards. Food must meet several parameters, such as serving size and calorie content. The daily diet should be designed so that it covers the children’s needs for vitamins, microelements, fats, proteins and carbohydrates.

Works indoors at elevated temperatures. In the first minutes of working at the stove, the pulse rises to 140 beats/min. Significant physical activity (moving heavy objects up to 40-50 kg). There is a danger of injury (working with cutting objects and mechanisms, near hot objects).

Our goal is simple: to answer most legal questions that arise in everyday life, free of charge, reliably and in simple language.

Uses hand tools (knives, chef's needle, scoops, etc.) and mechanical devices (potato peeler, meat grinder, electric vegetable cutter, electric stoves).

The finished draft job description is submitted for approval to the head of the organization, who, after reviewing the document, must approve it by order.

An important stage in opening a new cafe is finding qualified personnel. After all, it is the hired employees, being the “face” of the establishment, who will be responsible for quality service and the future loyalty of regular customers. Therefore, knowledge and compliance by the owner with the requirements for catering workers is a mandatory factor on the path to business success in this area.

The unwashed hands of a cook suffering from an intestinal infectious disease can lead to mass poisoning of cafe visitors and its closure. But even if work continues, the damaged image of the establishment is unlikely to allow it to return to its previous profit levels. Therefore, increased attention must be paid to compliance with sanitary standards by personnel.

First of all, the cook must have some kind of professional education - primary or secondary, preferably secondary. Employers are paying attention to this.

The imposition of disciplinary sanctions on a cook will directly depend on how detailed his functionality is specified in the employment contract. In other words, it will be possible to clearly track which specific obligations the chef is not fulfilling or performing improperly. The parties may specify the employee’s responsibility (Part 2 of Article 232 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

In practice, persons in need of domestic staff rarely enter into written employment contracts; as a rule, these are oral agreements. But then you need to understand that any disagreements will be resolved only peacefully, since the parties to the dispute will have nothing to refer to.

What to remember when drawing up instructions

Current legislation does not prescribe the format of the job description. Employers therefore use standard forms of instructions, many of which have been written using appropriate occupational standards. Typical points of these instructions:

General provisions.
Job functions.
Rights.
Responsibility.

To these basic sections, several more can be added, describing some specific labor parameters. The most popular additional sections are:

Working conditions.
Qualification requirements.
Criteria for assessing performance results.
Job relationships with colleagues and managers.

Additional sections are in demand by large international companies, as well as specialized enterprises.

Attention! Professional standard 33.011, approved by the Ministry of Labor in 2020, can be used to draw up chef instructions.

Basic provisions

This introductory part provides a formulation of the general parameters of the employee's activities. The order of subordination, the procedure for his temporary replacement, who makes decisions on his dismissal - all this is described here. Requirements for an employee's qualifications and skills are of a highly individual nature. They must ensure the performance of the job functions described in the next section.

Attention! A job description can be drawn up either for a specific employee, taking into account his individual characteristics, or in a standard form suitable for any employee in a certain position.

Responsibilities

This part can vary quite a bit from one employer to another. In relation to the chef, his standard functions of preparing dishes and running the kitchen can be supplemented with some more. For example, many restaurants require his presence at special outdoor events.

Basic rules for creating instructions

There is no unified sample job description, just like there is no such legally established concept. As a rule, instructions are written according to common templates or, if there are special needs, compiled individually.

The standard form always includes four main sections:

"General Provisions"
"Main functions",
"Rights",
"Responsibilities",

which, if necessary, can be supplemented with other paragraphs.

The document is printed in a single copy, and if the enterprise employs several people in the same specialty, then you can slightly adjust the instructions (to avoid duplication of labor tasks) and make your own personal version for each employee.

The instruction must be certified by the head of the company, as well as by the signature of the employee himself, who thus confirms that he agrees with the responsibilities assigned to him and is ready, if necessary, to bear responsibility for them.

What are the requirements for a chef?

The profession of a cook is a big responsibility, and this is what determines a number of requirements that apply to candidates for this position.

The applicant must have a specialized secondary education; a higher technological education will be an advantage. It is advisable to have some category (II-VI). A valid medical record is also required. If work activity involves manufacturing products using alcohol, then only an adult will be accepted.

The employee must have sufficient knowledge of current collections of recipes and be able to apply them when preparing food. Another important quality for a cook is to determine the types, properties and other characteristics of products and semi-finished products. Particularly important is the ability to determine the good quality of products.

In the process of cooking, the cook must show his skills in the use of aromatic substances and food additives, as well as know the basic combinations of spices and types of products. In other words, this can be called an understanding of the culinary processing process. It is necessary to ensure that products retain the greatest amount of nutrients and do not lose their taste.

Considering that the work of a cook is connected not only with products and food production, but also with those who consume the dishes he prepares, the following is an important aspect:

strict compliance with all sanitary and hygienic standards;
compliance with product storage conditions;
exclusion of the use of low-quality raw materials or raw materials that contain substances hazardous to human health.

In addition to the main dishes, the cook must have skills in preparing therapeutic and dietary foods, as well as food for children and schoolchildren. This knowledge is necessary when working in enterprises of the relevant profile, for example, in preschool educational institutions.

Working in restaurants may require knowledge of the national cuisines of various nations, knowledge of the ceremonial or ritual features of dishes, and the ability to prepare dishes in front of visitors. These requirements are specific and apply depending on the place of work.

Goal of the work

The main purpose of a chef's job is to prepare food of varying levels of complexity.

Position requirements

The employer has the following qualification requirements for the position:

special education of secondary level or higher;
work experience of at least six months;
a certain level of qualification (category). Depending on the type and level of the establishment, there are different requirements for the rank of chef.

For this position, clean, stress-resistant employees who are ready for a high degree of responsibility are preferable.

Special skills and knowledge

To perform high-quality functional tasks and responsibilities, the cook must have the following professional skills and knowledge:

methods for determining food readiness;
rules for operating kitchen equipment;
conditions and periods of food storage;
technology and recipes for preparing dishes, drinks and baked goods;
temperature conditions;
calculation of ingredients based on the required number of servings;
types of defects in sold dishes, methods for preventing and eliminating defects.

What documents will you need to present when applying for employment?

Here is a short list of documents that are usually required when applying for a job.

Passport
Employment history
Pension certificate
Military registration documents
Diplomas and certificates of education
A valid medical book with a set of examinations for tuberculosis, blood tests, urine tests, feces tests (helminth eggs), a conclusion from a dermatovenereologist, a therapist, an ENT and dental examination. Information about vaccinations (hepatitis, diphtheria, measles), examination for HIV status, hepatitis, staphylococcus, examination for brucellosis. Information about vaccination is certified by the seal of the medical institution that performed it.

Requirements for catering production personnel

Requirements for a production manager (chef, department head, deputy production manager, sous chef, deputy department head)

The production manager (chef, department head, deputy production manager, sous-chef, deputy department head) must: - have a higher or secondary vocational education and work experience in the specialty; - know the basics of legislation on administrative offenses and the basics of labor legislation, “Rules for the provision of public catering services,” regulatory and technical documents relating to his professional activities; — know the basics of organizing production at a catering enterprise; - be able to organize the production activities of subordinates, carry out rational organization of the technological process, selection and placement of personnel; — know the technology of production of public catering products, requirements for the quality of semi-finished products, dishes, culinary, flour confectionery and bakery products, sanitary and epidemiological rules for public catering establishments; — know the basics of organization and technology of therapeutic, preventive, dietary nutrition (for staff of catering establishments of the corresponding profile); — know the basics of organization and technology of school and children's nutrition and the features of the production of public catering products for schoolchildren and children (for staff of public catering establishments of the corresponding profile); - be able to use collections of recipes for dishes and products in work, know the procedure for creating menus, calculating dishes and their costs, methods for determining waste standards and losses of raw materials (products) and developing recipes for new signature dishes (products), developing technical, technological and technological maps ; — maintain accounting and reporting documentation; — know and apply in practice the main provisions of the relevant national standards for public catering services; — know the requirements of regulatory and technical documents for food raw materials, food products and public catering products; - know the commodity characteristics of raw materials, the sequence of the technological process of preparing public catering products, modes and methods of processing raw materials, food products and semi-finished products, their interchangeability; - know and apply in practice organoleptic methods for assessing the quality of public catering products, know the signs of poor quality of semi-finished products, dishes and products; — know a foreign language (English and/or corresponding to the specifics of the enterprise) within the limits of conversational minimum and professional terminology (for staff of luxury and higher class restaurants and bars); - know the peculiarities of preparing, preparing and serving (decorating) national, signature dishes, dishes of foreign cuisines, flour confectionery products, be able to create menus for special events (for staff of luxury and high-class restaurants and bars); - know modern types of mechanical, thermal, refrigeration equipment and measuring instruments, principles of their operation, technical characteristics and operating conditions, types of containers and packaging, equipment, utensils; — carry out constant monitoring of the technological process of production of public catering products; - know the location of fire protection and alarm systems, as well as the rules for using them, organize the evacuation of consumers from a public catering establishment in emergency situations, ensure calling emergency services (police, ambulance, fire service) if necessary.

Where to look for work

Cooks are needed everywhere. This is one of those positions that only becomes more in demand as you move and travel. For example, in sushi bars in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS countries they prefer to hire Asians or people who have lived in Asian countries and worked there in similar positions for a total of a year. Such people have a correspondingly higher salary, greater specialization, and the dishes are more colorful.

However, for those who have just entered the profession, they have to peel a lot of potatoes, wash tons of vegetables, grate hundreds of carrots and do a lot more kitchen work, since the first position on the path to a chef is an assistant cook.

Cook assistant: education, responsibilities and prospects

Chief of “bring and serve”. There is an assistant cook or junior cook in every kitchen of any catering establishment, boarding house, camp, or resort. This person is often still studying or has recently graduated from culinary college and has come to gain practical experience and demonstrate cooking skills. Of course, such a specialist will not be entrusted with the key work of preparing dishes, but secondary tasks will be entirely his responsibility.

The duties of a junior culinary specialist may include:

preparing products for subsequent culinary processing, for example: peeling potatoes;
simple cutting of products, for example: vegetables and fruits, creating simple dishes from them under the guidance of a chef;
tracking the safety of products; here you already need to know organoleptic methods for determining the quality of food, as well as recommendations for its storage;
care of machinery, equipment and inventory in the kitchen, hot and cold shops, for example: be able to use a food processor in all modes, disassemble and clean it;
maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in the kitchen, cleaning the workplace (and not only your own).

The job list of tasks may differ depending on the kitchen, but the main duty everywhere will be: listen to the chef or culinary specialist. The qualifications gained in practice allow you to move up the career ladder. Once you gain certain skills, you can look forward to more serious culinary tasks. Since assistants in elite kitchens are not allowed to participate in the direct cooking process, but perform only secondary tasks.

Secondary education at a culinary college or technical school makes it possible to find a job as a junior cook in the relevant establishments. The salary of such a specialist is often minimal. To earn good money, experience and skills, it is recommended to go to the Balkan regions to work during the season. There, during the tourist period, there is an increased demand for culinary specialists in local cafes, restaurants, resorts and hotels. This is a great opportunity to gain experience, look at the picturesque nature of the Balkans and relax among tourists from all over the world.

II. Job responsibilities

The responsibilities of the cook include:

1. Preparing inventory, equipment and the chef’s workplace for work:

— Assessment of the availability of stocks of raw materials and semi-finished products necessary for the preparation of dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Assessing the availability of personnel and material resources necessary for the preparation of dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Drawing up requests for raw materials and semi-finished products used in the preparation of dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Preparation of product reports for the production of dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Monitoring the execution of tasks by the assistant chef

— Control of storage and consumption of products used in the production of dishes, drinks and culinary products

2. Preparation, decoration and presentation of dishes, drinks and culinary products:

— Development of menu/assortment and recipes for dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Preparation of raw materials and semi-finished products for the preparation of dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Preparation of exotic and rare types of vegetables and mushrooms for preparing dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Slicing and shaping vegetables and fruits

— Preparation and presentation of canapes and light snacks of a varied assortment

— Preparation and presentation of cold and hot appetizers

— Preparation and presentation of cold fish and meat dishes

— Preparation and presentation of soups, decoctions and broths

— Preparation and presentation of hot and cold sauces

— Preparation and presentation of dishes from vegetables and mushrooms

— Preparation and presentation of dishes from fish, shellfish and crustaceans

— Preparation and presentation of meat dishes, semi-finished meat products, poultry and game

— Preparation and presentation of dishes from cottage cheese, cheese, pasta

— Preparation and presentation of flour dishes from different types of flour and various assortment of dough products

— Preparation and presentation of cold and hot desserts

— Preparation and presentation of healthy food and dietary (medicinal) dishes

— Control of storage and consumption of products in production

— Quality control of preparation of dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Control of the safety of prepared dishes, drinks and culinary products

— Presentation of ready-made dishes, drinks and culinary products to consumers

Working as a cook: description of the profession, responsibilities and prospects

Higher demands are placed on the chef. He is directly involved in preparing and decorating dishes and serving them. At this level, the classification of specialists begins. For example, a key responsibility of a saucier is preparing sauces. And the hot shop master is engaged in processing products in an oven, on fire.

In the kitchens of large restaurants, hotels and resorts, such a clear division is in demand, since hundreds of dishes must be prepared daily for thousands of visitors. But in smaller cafes and restaurants you can find generalist chefs. When employed in an elite restaurant, in the kitchen of a famous hotel or resort, the chef who was once named in the cafe may not pass the qualification exam and apply for the position of junior cook. However, this experience will allow me to work in the best kitchens in different countries in the future.

The main responsibility of a cook is preparing dishes. At the same time, he is also responsible for the quality of the products used, sanitary and hygienic standards.

Features of the labor functions of a cook at a school or preschool educational institution

The essence of the work functions of cooks in a school canteen or canteen of a preschool educational institution (kindergarten), as well as any others, is to prepare food. However, a feature of the work of these specialists is that they have to prepare food for children - which means that the requirements for dishes are significantly increased. In other words, when preparing dishes, school and kindergarten cooks need to take into account the nutritional characteristics of infants, preschool and school-age children.

At the same time, it is no coincidence that the functions of school canteen and kindergarten canteen cooks are considered in our article together: in some organizations, the job description for these specialists is called the job description of a baby food cook. The difference in the characteristics of work in these positions lies only in the age range of the children, which must be taken into account during the work.

How to find a job as a chef abroad

As already mentioned, during the tourist seasons in the resort towns of the Balkans, all culinary professions are in demand: assistants, cooks, chefs, pastry chefs, technicians and others. Moreover, the salary promised to applicants is two to five times higher than what is offered for similar duties and conditions in Ukraine, Russia and the CIS countries. Therefore, many specialists begin or continue their career growth abroad.

To get a job as a cook in the Balkan countries, fill out a high-quality resume. Be sure to indicate how much you want to earn, skills, education, places of work. You can find an example of a resume from applicants for a similar position on our website, or choose a suitable template on the Internet. The next step is to post your resume along with your application on the Promo Choice website.

To increase your chances of getting the desired position in the near future, translate your resume into English. And also systematically review vacancies from employers and offer them your services. All this completely free allows you to find a decent job, move to another country and improve your quality of life.