Chefs and Head Cooks

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.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Arrange for equipment purchases and repairs.

• Meet with sales representatives in order to negotiate prices and order supplies.

• Demonstrate new cooking techniques and equipment to staff.

• Coordinate planning, budgeting, and purchasing for all the food operations within establishments such as clubs, hotels, or restaurant chains.

• Meet with customers to discuss menus for special occasions such as weddings, parties, and banquets.

• Recruit and hire staff, including cooks and other kitchen workers.

• Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.

• Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions.

• Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs.

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

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

• Experience: Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

• Education: Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.

• Examples: These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include funeral directors, electricians, forest and conservation technicians, legal secretaries, interviewers, and insurance sales agents.

• Svp range: (6.0 to < 7.0)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• Food Production
  Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Chemistry
  Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Public Safety and Security
  Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Service Orientation
  Actively looking for ways to help people.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Equipment Selection
  Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.

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

• Equipment Maintenance
  Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

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

• Negotiation
  Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

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

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

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

• 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.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Information Ordering
  The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Originality
  The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Category Flexibility
  The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Handling and Moving Objects
  Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

• Monitoring and Controlling Resources
  Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates
  Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
  Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

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Work Context

• Spend Time Standing
  How much does this job require standing?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Responsibility for Outcomes and Results
  How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers?

• Work With Work Group or Team
  How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?

• Responsible for Others' Health and Safety
  How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?

• Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions
  How much does this job require making repetitive motions?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
  How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• 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.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

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Work Styles

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Leadership
  Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Authority
  Workers on this job give directions and instructions to others.

• Moral Values
  Workers on this job are never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Security
  Workers on this job have steady employment.

• Co-workers
  Workers on this job have co-workers who are easy to get along with.

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