Chefs and Lead Cooks

A Day in the Life

Your restaurant's service may not start until evening, but your day begins well before noon. Chef means "chief," and aside from the owner and the executive chef, you're at the top of the kitchen hierarchy; that means long days. As you read the morning paper and drink your coffee, you're happy to see the local food critic proclaim your chicken the best in the city. The praise is welcome, but you make a note to order extra chicken today.

The prep cooks and pastry cooks are the first ones through the door, but you aren't far behind them, generally arriving before noon to oversee preparation, check equipment and take inventory. Your first order of the day is to contact your distributor as you expect a run on your signature chicken dish. As your prep cook chops and stirs, you warn him he's going to be up to his elbows in chicken soon.

Your sous-chef is your right hand. Thanks to her, you're able to plan tonight's specials while she takes care of deliveries. You design your specials around the freshest items in the kitchen. While you're in the office, you get some paperwork done, filing the new dishwasher's information and scanning resumes for new line cooks. Like every other chef in the city, you're always looking for a great line cook.

After designing tonight's specials, you work with your sous-chef on menus for upcoming events. Even during slow times, you have an upcoming soiree to cater or a seasonal menu to plan. Unless you work for a chain restaurant with a static menu, you're always finding new ways to delight your patrons. During last week's staff meeting, your prep cook came up with a great suggestion. You whip up a sample to work out the plating and are impressed with the ingenuity that went into it; the dish is slated for tomorrow's special.

By mid-afternoon, the restaurant is preparing for the dinner rush in earnest. You divide your time between cooking, phone calls and meetings with the owner or event planners. Fortunately, your sous-chef, prep cook and line cooks work as a seamless unit, freeing you to oversee instead of doing the work yourself. They're the orchestra, and you're the conductor. You taste everything and give final approval, though.

Once dinner service begins, your night flies. You expedite on some nights; on others, you cook. Tonight, your sous-chef expedites while you jump on the line. As you predicted, the chicken is flying out of the kitchen. By the end of the night, you're overheated and sore, but exhilarated; the wait staff delivered customers' compliments all night, and the table bussers brought back nothing but empty plates. Although it's late, you stay to help the staff break down and clean everything. Kitchen cleanliness is vital, so everyone helps.

It's been another 12-hour day for you, but that's typical for a weekend. Barring unforeseen crises, you'll enjoy your upcoming time off on Monday and Tuesday.