Description of the function
The cook’s task is to prepare and cook food from recipes and menus in order to offer quality food and meet the needs and tastes of the customers of a restaurant, hotel, community facility, cafeteria or other. In a traditional or community restaurant, the cook prepares and creates dishes, from the entree to dessert, and provides the presentation for serving.
In major or large restaurant establishments, the head chef may be assisted by kitchen help; when the establishment has a large crew, the cook and his kitchen help work under a chef de partie, himself managed by a sub-chef, with the entire crew following the orders of the chef de cuisine.
He must in particular:
- Plan his work and direct his crew with the work to be done
- Review reserves and available ingredients
- Create a recipe
- Prepare the dishes
- Perform placing
- Perform serving
- Control the quality of the prepared dishes
- Prepare the food
- Identify food to be preserved
- Determine the method of preservation
- Keep the work station in order
- Maintain the tools and equipment
- Apply personal hygiene and safety rules
Prerequisites
- DEP in Cuisine
- ASP in contemporary cuisine
- ASP in market cuisine
Relevant experience of two to four years in institutional cuisine may be required.
Personal qualities
- Leadership
- Very good physical condition
- Timeliness
- Very good culinary knowledge
- Tolerance for stress
- Analytical skills
- Knowledge of refrigeration equipment and preservation techniques
- Communication skills
- Multitasking
- High capacity for concentration
- Creative spirit
- Team worker
- Methodical and organized
Compensation
- Minimum wage: $9.00 to $9.99 per hour
- Maximum wage: $19.00 to $21.49 per hour
Like any other function working in the restaurant industry, compensation varies according to the experience of the employee, the company’s situation and the job itself. This work sometimes requires working evenings, weekends and holidays.
Potential Employers
- Hotels and inns
- Restaurants, caterers and cafeterias
- Community facility food services
- Maritime and rail companies