Work Environment
Executive Chefs typically work in the following Career Sectors:
Videos & Interviews
Videos on the Web
- Executive Chef- from: Youtube Search
- Chef - from: iCould [UK] Video
Most commonly reported Work Activities
- Developing and Building Teams Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
- Organising, Planning, and Prioritising Work Developing specific goals and plans to prioritise, organise, and accomplish your work.
- Coaching and Developing Others Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems Analysing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
- Training and Teaching Others Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
- Scheduling Work and Activities Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
- Thinking Creatively Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
- Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Getting Information Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
The Work
As a chef, your main task is to prepare and cook meals. Chefs need to be aware of current eating trends, food fashions and nutritional information, to put together menus that will attract customers.
Chefs are responsible for ensuring that the food is maintained at a high quality and looks appetising to the customer. They must also have full knowledge of the regulations and law surrounding food preparation and hygiene as well as observing health and safety procedures.
But there are a range of different types of chefs and the tasks of each chef often depends on the sise of the kitchen.
In a small kitchen, in a pub for example, the chef might work alone or with the help of only one or two staff. The chefs then tend to do the full range of tasks, including the preparation and cooking of everything from starters to desserts. They may also do the administration and paperwork.
But in a kitchen of a large hotel for example, there can be dosens of staff, with a number of specialist chefs working under a head/executive chef. This is a typical hierarchy, from top to bottom:
Head Chef / Executive Chef – The Head Chef is at the top of the kitchen hierarchy and manages staff and costs, deals with suppliers and creates menus.
Sous Chef / Second Chef – The French term ‘Sous Chef’ translates as ‘under chef’ and the role usually involves more hands on cooking and the day-to-day running of the kitchen compared to the Head Chef. Smaller restaurants may not have a Sous Chef, but larger operations can have more than one.
Chef de Partie / Station Chef – A restaurant, if big enough, can have several Chefs de Partie and each one responsible for a specific section of the kitchen, such as ‘Pantry chef’, Fish chef’ and Pastry chef (or ‘patissier’).
Commis Chef – A Commis chef often works under a Chef de Partie. This may be their first job after, or as part of their culinary training.
Kitchen Porter / Kitchen Assistant – They assist with basic food preparation and cleaning or washing up, and often do not need any formal training.
Most commonly reported Work Tasks
- Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations.
- Check the quality of raw or cooked food products to ensure that standards are met.
- Determine production schedules and staff requirements necessary to ensure timely delivery of services.
- Check the quantity and quality of received products.
- Supervise or coordinate activities of cooks or workers engaged in food preparation.
- Determine how food should be presented and create decorative food displays.
- Analyse recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs.
- Instruct cooks or other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, or presentation of food.
- Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions.
- Recruit and hire staff, such as cooks and other kitchen workers.
Further Information
- Executive Chef - from: N.C.S. [UK]
- Executive Chef - from: Get a Life in Tourism
- Executive Chef - from: YouTube [UK]
Qualities - Executive Chef
You'll need to enjoy cooking, cope with the heat, have a lot of stamina and be able to stay calm under pressure. You'll also need to be well organised and quick thinking.
Creativity is certainly an important traits as a chef, but you also need some patience as you will typically start your career doing the more monotonous tasks, and get the chance to do the more creative aspects of cooking when you have built up enough experience and progressed in the kitchen.
Team work skills are important as you will have to work other chefs, and there must be good communication between the waiting staff and chefs to ensure a good service. You need to be able to give clear instructions to others, as well as take instruction well yourself.
If you are managing or mentoring other chefs you should have skills in communication, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving and dispute resolution. You must be able motivate staff to work precisely and consistently.
You need to be able to work within agreed budgets, time frames and to plan and prioritise work.
Interests - Executive Chef
This occupation is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests:
Naturalist
Not surprisingly, some aspect of the natural sciences will run through the Naturalist's interests - from ecological awareness to nutrition and health. People with an interest in horticulture, land usage and farming (including fish) are Naturalists.
Some Naturalists focus on animals rather than plants, and may enjoy working with, training, caring for, or simply herding them. Other Naturalists will prefer working with the end result of nature's produce - the food produced from plants and animals. Naturalists like solving problems with solutions that show some sensitivity to the environmental impact of what they do. They like to see practical results and prefer action to talking and discussing.
Enterprising
Enterprising people like situations that involve using resources for personal or corporate economic gain. Such people may have an opportunistic frame of mind, and are drawn to commerce, trade and making deals. Some pursue sales and marketing occupations. Many will eventually end up owning their own business, or in management roles in larger organisations. They tend to be very goal-oriented and work best when focused on a target. Some have an entrepreneurial inclination.
Creative
Creative people are drawn to careers and activities that enable them to take responsibility for the design, layout or sensory impact of something (visual, auditory etc). They may be atrracted to the traditional artistic pursuits such as painting, sculpture, singing, or music. Or they may show more interest in design activities, such as architecture, animation, or craft areas, such as pottery and ceramics.
Creative people use their personal understanding of people and the world they live in to guide their work. Creative people like to work in unstructured workplaces, enjoy taking risks and prefer a minimum of routine.
Entry - Executive Chef
Apprenticeship Route
The official entry route for a Executive Chef is through undertaking an apprenticeship.
Click here to find information on the Executive Chef apprenticeship
Although some current chefs work their way up the ranks in a Kitchen, formal training is typically required to progress to Executive/ Head Chef. You can build you initial skills and experience via:
Traineeship programmes that can give an introduction to working in the restaurants and bars sector, such as Food and Beverage Service, Hospitality, and Patisserie and Confectionery traineeships. Search for Traineeships here.
- Apprenticeship programmes NFQ level 6 -8
- Culinary Arts Degrees NFQ levels 6-8
Apprenticeship programmes have the benefits of allowing you to earn a wage while you learn. To find information chef apprenticeship programmes:
Commis Chef Apprenticeship NFQ level 6
Chef de Partie Apprenticeship NFQ level 7
Sous Chef Apprenticeship NFQ level 8
Executive Chef NFQ level 9 [in development launching soon]
CAO course finder to search for courses in culinary arts (offered in Technology Universities around the country) where you combine practical cookery tuition with academic subjects such as Food Science, Product Development, and Entrepreneurial Studies.
Post graduate NFQ level 9-10
Professional Development
Please note that to work as a chef in the public health system, there is a chef grading system in place with specific entry/eligibility criteria. See HSE Careers for more information.
Private courses which may be more costly, but generally provide another practical route to acquiring the expertise and skills needed to pursue a career in the food industry.
Progression requires hard work and dedication. Compared to many other careers, chefs have a fairly rigid career ladder, from Commis chef to Chef de Partie, to Sous chef and finally Head / Executive Chef. Read more about each of these careers in the Tourism & Hospitality Sector.
Last Updated: October, 2023
Pay & Salary - Executive Chef
Salary Range (thousands per year)* €50k - €100k
Salaries vary by employer, location, experience, and duties.
Data Source(s):
Excel / Indeed/ Talent.com/ Payscale/ Salary Expert
Last Updated: August, 2024
* The lower figures typically reflect starting salaries. Higher salaries are awarded to those with greater experience and responsibility. Positions in Dublin sometimes command higher salaries.
View Salary information from Indeed.ie
Note: data not aways available
Labour Market Updates - Executive Chef
This occupation has been identified as a Job in Demand by the most recent National Skills Bulletin.
This information has been derived from the Solas National Skills Bulletin (2023).
The five-year employment growth rate was negative for chefs; despite a growth of over 5,000 persons employed since 2021, employment levels in 2022 remained below pre-COVID-19 levels. One half of those employed as chefs were non-Irish citizens, far exceeding the national average of 19%. The number of employment permits issued grew from an average of approximately 500 per annum between 2019 and 2021 to over 2,100 in 2022; this is in line with the overall increase in employment permits issued in 2022.
A high volume of vacancies advertised through DSP Jobs Ireland (primarily for chef de partie roles), and the increased volume of advertised vacancies in the OVATE data, indicate that demand was strong for chefs in 2022. However, it should also be noted that there was a relatively high share of jobseekers registered with the DSP in December 2022 who indicated that they had previously been employed in food preparation trades. Despite an increase between 2020 and 2021, output from the further and higher education and training system has been, in the main, declining in recent years. As such, skill shortages persist.
Useful Contacts - Executive Chef
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Fáilte Ireland
- Amiens Street, Dublin 1
- (01) 884 7700
- [email protected]
- Click Here
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Restaurant's Association of Ireland
- 11 Bridge Court, Citygate, St Augustine Street, Dublin 8
- 01 6779901
- [email protected]
- Click Here
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Irish Hotels Federation
- 13 Northbrook Road, Dublin 6
- 01 497 6459
- [email protected]
- Click Here
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Bord Bia
- Clanwilliam Court Lower Mount Street. Dublin 2
- (01) 668 5155
- [email protected]
- Click Here
