CompGeo Salary Survey Benchmark Job Summary and Competencies

Chefs and Head Cooks

The Benchmark Job Description below represents the specific Position Characteristics of the job used in the Salary Survey. Benchmark Job Descriptions should be inspected carefully to review the degree of matching between an organizations' Job and the Salary Survey Benchmark. Matching internal Jobs to Salary Survey Benchmark Jobs should not be done on Job Title alone. A thorough comparison of Salary Survey Benchmark to Internal Job Descriptions is recommended. A good overlap should exist on any comparisons used on critical Job Dimensions and Competencies.
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Travel/Entrtnmt/Lodging/Restaurant
Job Family: Food Service
Benchmark Title: Chefs and Head Cooks
 
Summary Job Description Tasks
Direct and may participate in 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. Check the quality of raw and 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 and other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation.
 
Supervise and coordinate activities of cooks and workers engaged in food preparation.
 
Inspect supplies, equipment, and work areas to ensure conformance to established standards.
 
Determine how food should be presented, and create decorative food displays.
 
Instruct cooks and other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, and presentation of food.
 
Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients.
 
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.
 
Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs.
 
Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions.
 
Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.
 
Recruit and hire staff, including cooks and other kitchen workers.
 
Meet with customers to discuss menus for special occasions such as weddings, parties, and banquets.
 
Demonstrate new cooking techniques and equipment to staff.
 
Meet with sales representatives in order to negotiate prices and order supplies.
 
Arrange for equipment purchases and repairs.
 
Record production and operational data on specified forms.
 
Plan, direct, and supervise the food preparation and cooking activities of multiple kitchens or restaurants in an establishment such as a restaurant chain, hospital, or hotel.
 
Coordinate planning, budgeting, and purchasing for all the food operations within establishments such as clubs, hotels, or restaurant chains.
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Travel/Entrtnmt/Lodging/Restaurant
Job Family: Food Service
Benchmark Title: Chefs and Head Cooks
 
Important Knowledge Competencies Competency Description
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.
 
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.
 
Food Production Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
 
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.
 
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.
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Travel/Entrtnmt/Lodging/Restaurant
Job Family: Food Service
Benchmark Title: Chefs and Head Cooks
 
Important Skill Competencies Competency Description
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.
 
Time Management Managing one's own time and the time of others.
 
Management of Personnel Resources Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
 
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.
 
Speaking Talking to others to convey information effectively.
 
Social Perceptiveness Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
 
Judgment and Decision Making Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
 
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.
 
Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people.
 
Negotiation Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
 
Instructing Teaching others how to do something.
 
Complex Problem Solving Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
 
Reading Comprehension Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
 
Persuasion Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
 
Management of Material Resources Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
 
Writing Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
 
Learning Strategies Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
 
Quality Control Analysis Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
 
Management of Financial Resources Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Travel/Entrtnmt/Lodging/Restaurant
Job Family: Food Service
Benchmark Title: Chefs and Head Cooks
 
Important Ability Competencies Competency Description
Oral Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
 
Oral Comprehension The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
 
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.
 
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).
 
Deductive Reasoning The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
 
Inductive Reasoning The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
 
Near Vision The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
 
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.
 
Arm-Hand Steadiness The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
 
Speech Recognition The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
 
Speech Clarity The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
 
Written Comprehension The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
 
Finger Dexterity The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
 
Trunk Strength The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.
 
Fluency of Ideas The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
 
Visualization The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
 
Manual Dexterity The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
 
Written Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
 
Category Flexibility The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
 
Perceptual Speed The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
 
Selective Attention The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
 
Visual Color Discrimination The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
 
Flexibility of Closure The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
 
Time Sharing The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
 
Mathematical Reasoning The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
 
Number Facility The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Travel/Entrtnmt/Lodging/Restaurant
Job Family: Food Service
Benchmark Title: Chefs and Head Cooks
 
Tools/Technology Example Product Category
ADP eTIME Time accounting software
 
Axxya Systems Nutritionist Pro software Analytical or scientific software
 
Barrington Software CookenPro Commercial Data base user interface and query software
 
CostGuard software Data base user interface and query software
 
Culinary Software Services ChefTec Data base user interface and query software
 
EGS CALCMENU software Data base user interface and query software
 
EGS F&B Control Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
 
Email software Electronic mail software
 
Food Software.com IPro Restaurant Inventory, Recipe & Menu Software Analytical or scientific software
 
GNOME Gnutrition Analytical or scientific software
 
Internet browser software Internet browser software
 
Menu planning software Data base user interface and query software
 
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software
 
Microsoft Office software Office suite software
 
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software
 
Microsoft Word Word processing software
 
Nutrition analysis software Analytical or scientific software
 
ReServe Interactive Table Management Software Data base user interface and query software
 
Sage MAS 90 ERP Enterprise resource planning ERP software
 
SoftCafe MenuPro Desktop publishing software
 
Apple corers Domestic apple corer
 
Blast chillers Blast freezers
 
Blenders Commercial use blenders
 
Bone saws Commercial use cutlery
 
Boning knives Commercial use cutlery
 
Box graters Commercial use graters
 
Braziers Commercial use barbeque ovens
 
Bread slicers Commercial use food slicers
 
Broilers Commercial use broilers
 
Cake decorating tools Commercial use icing sets or bags
 
Cappuccino makers Cappuccino or espresso machines
 
Carbonated beverage dispensers Carbonated beverage dispenser
 
Chefs' knives Commercial use cutlery
 
Commercial coffee grinders Commercial use coffee grinders
 
Commercial coffeemakers Commercial use coffee or iced tea makers
 
Commercial dishwashers Commercial use dishwashers
 
Convection ovens Commercial use convection ovens
 
Conveyer ovens Commercial use conveyer toasters
 
Cream whippers Domestic whipped cream maker
 
Desktop computers Desktop computers
 
Double boilers Domestic double boilers
 
Dry or liquid measuring cups Commercial use measuring cups
 
Electric deep-fat fryers Commercial use deep fryers
 
Electric ovens Commercial use ranges
 
Electric stoves Commercial use ranges
 
Fire suppression blankets Fire blankets
 
Food dicers Commercial use food choppers or cubers or dicers
 
Food processors Commercial use food processors
 
Food shredders Commercial use graters
 
Food smokers Commercial use smokers or smoke ovens
 
Fruit zesters Commercial use graters
 
Garbage compactors Domestic trash compactors
 
Gas ovens Commercial use ranges
 
Gas stoves Commercial use ranges
 
Gas-powered deep-fat fryers Commercial use deep fryers
 
Griddles Commercial use griddles
 
Grills Commercial use grills
 
Hot dog cookers Commercial use hot dog grills
 
Ice shaving or crushing equipment Ice shaver machines or accessories
 
Ice-making machines Ice dispensers
 
Infrared heat lamps Commercial use heat lamps
 
Instant-read pocket thermometers Domestic kitchen or food thermometers
 
Juice dispensers Non carbonated beverage dispenser
 
Juice extractors Commercial use juicers
 
Kitchen fire extinguishers Fire extinguishers
 
Kitchen shears Commercial use cutlery
 
Kitchen tongs Domestic kitchen tongs
 
Knife sharpeners Domestic knife sharpeners
 
Laptop computers Notebook computers
 
Mandolines Commercial use food slicers
 
Meat grinders Commercial use food grinders
 
Meat slicers Commercial use food slicers
 
Meat thermometers Domestic kitchen or food thermometers
 
Melon ballers Domestic melon or butter baller
 
Microwave ovens Commercial use microwave ovens
 
Mixers Commercial use mixers
 
Oyster knives Commercial use cutlery
 
Paring knives Commercial use cutlery
 
Parisian cutters Domestic garnishing tools
 
Pasta machines Commercial use pasta machines
 
Personal computers Personal computers
 
Pizza ovens Commercial use pizza ovens
 
Plane graters Commercial use graters
 
Portion scales Commercial use scales
 
Pressurized steam cookers Commercial use high pressure steamers
 
Refrigerator thermometers Domestic kitchen or food thermometers
 
Rice cookers Commercial use rice cookers
 
Rolling pins Commercial use rolling pins
 
Rotisserie units Commercial use rotisseries
 
Salamanders Commercial use broilers
 
Serrated blade knives Commercial use cutlery
 
Sieves Domestic strainers or colanders
 
Sifters Domestic sifter
 
Slicing machines Commercial use food slicers
 
Steam kettles Commercial use steamers
 
Steam tables Commercial use food warmers
 
Strainers Domestic strainers or colanders
 
Toasters Commercial use toasters
 
Vegetable brushes Domestic vegetable brush
 
Vegetable peelers Commercial use peelers
 
Waffle makers Commercial use waffle irons
 
Woks Commercial use woks
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Travel/Entrtnmt/Lodging/Restaurant
Job Family: Food Service
Benchmark Title: Chefs and Head Cooks
 
Prerequisite Qualification Category Education and Experience Level
Required Level of Education High School Diploma (or GED or High School Equivalence Certificate)
 
On-the-Job Training Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months
 
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Travel/Entrtnmt/Lodging/Restaurant
Job Family: Food Service
Benchmark Title: Chefs and Head Cooks
 
Alternate Job Title(s)
Banquet Chef
Bread and Pastry Baker
Cake Froster
Cake Icer
Cake Maker
Cake Mixer
Chef
Chef de Cuisine
Chef de Froid
Chef de Patite
Chief Cook
Chocolatier
Confectioner
Cook
Cook Manager
Cooking Chef
Corporate Executive Chef
Culinary Artist
Culinary Chef
Culinary Specialist
Executive Chef
Executive Sous Chef
Food and Beverage Director
Garde Manger Chef
Head Baker
Head Chef
Head Cook
Head Pastry Chef
Kitchen Chef
Kitchen Manager
Line Cook
Master Chef
Menu Planner
Pantry Chef
Passenger Vessel Chef
Pastry Artist
Pastry Chef
Pastry Cook
Pastry Cook Apprentice
Personal Chef
Pie Maker
Salad Chef
School Cafeteria Head Cook
Second Baker
Sous Chef
Sushi Chef
Wedding Cake Designer
 
CompGeo Occupation Group: Travel/Entrtnmt/Lodging/Restaurant
Job Family: Food Service
Benchmark Title: Chefs and Head Cooks
 
 
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