Commis Chef – Job Description
Main Duties
This is an entry level job where you will be working in a kitchen. You will be involved with doing all the preparation work for the chef in the kitchen.
This can be a lot of hard work where you will be preparing vegetables, meat, fish, pastry and making sauces. You will need to be aware of hygiene and make sure that everything is hygienic all of the time. You must also be aware of good health and safety procedures.
You may be involved with measuring ingredients and getting portion sizes right. You may help with stock deliveries. There will be a lot of menial jobs and you may have to do the same things all the time as the same dishes will be being served each day.
You will have to wear a uniform which will be expected to be perfectly clean when you arrive for work each day but could be very dirty by the end!
Working hours can be difficult. You will need to be prepared to start work early and finish late as the commis chef has to start preparation first thing and be the one to clean down at the end of the day. There will be extra work on weekends and bank holidays as well. This will never be a 9-5 job!
Expected Salary
The starting salary in this position will be around £12,000 and you could earn up to £18,000 in a top London restaurant.
Pros
Working with a team should help you make lots of friends.
You will get the opportunity to learn a lot of kitchen skills as well as time management.
Can be a great way in to becoming a chef.
Cons
The working hours are very long.
High stressed environment.
You are likely to get shouted out if things go wrong.
Qualifications Required
Qualifications are not necessary and an on the job apprenticeship is possible.
You can get on the job training and there are diplomas, NVQ’s and health and safety and food hygiene qualifications that you can work towards once in the job.
Required Skills
You will need to be ambitious as there is not much motivation otherwiseHard working and prepared to put in long hoursThick skinnedWilling to learn and do so with speed and enthusiasmCreativity and practicalityAn interest in food and cooking
As there’s no qualifications required, this is quite a good job for those who are interested in working in kitchens but aren’t qualified yet. On the job training is always good, as you’ll get paid as well as getting some experience and qualifications too.