head chef vs private chef first draft

Kennan Patton

Oct/ 04/ 2011

Professor Kerr

EN101

Head vs. Private

According to the 2007 census there are 217,282 Full-service restaurants in the USA, (American) and in those restaurants there is a head chef in all of them. The number of private chefs is less, because unlike head chefs a private chef must find a client that is willing to pay for a head chef for their home. To see the differences between head chefs and private chefs one must look at economies, day to day, and training/ Education.

The first thing that one should compare is economies. When looking at economies the first thing that pops in one’s head is how much do they make? Before answering that, one must look at the others. Looking at the first economies thing is the cost of driving to work. As a head chef one will have to drive to work, and if one is lucky you will find a job close to where one lives. As a private chef most of the time one will live at the client’s house, but only if one is single, so there is no driving to get to work, but unlike a head chef a private chef has to drive to get food. Another thing to look at is because a private chef lives at his client’s house that is one less thing that he has to think about. It boils down to one question how much do they make? First the head chef an executive chef’s salary can earn an average of $89,000 per year (“How Much”). The private chef is every close Yearly salary rates for full-time work (45-50 hours/week) ranged from $50,000-$85,000 per year. (“Rates”)

The next thing that one should compare is day to day. As a head chef there are a lot of responsibilities that are charred to you. An executive chef has primary responsibility for everything involved in a restaurant, from staff development to menu design to restaurant décor. Many executive chefs own the restaurant they work in. Executive chefs design the menu, creating each meal and training the sous chef to produce the meals. (“How Much”) in other words if something happens in the kitchen the head chef has a hand in it. From ordering food and supplies, hiring and firing staff, and keeping records. a private chef has almost the same type of day to day. One private chef Audrey Heckwolf said “I was in charge of anything edible. Usually, how days ran, I did not have to put breakfast out every day, because I prepared it the night before. The lives of the family I worked for were hectic, and they didn’t always sit down together in the mornings. Breakfast might be fresh baked goods or quiche, and I didn’t always have to be there personally. I was usually present at lunch, and I packed the kids’ lunches. Family dinner was a three-course meal that I served, so I was responsible for menu planning, grocery shopping, cooking, execution and clean-up on a daily basis. I also traveled with them to their other homes, and I managed their wine cellars and did all their entertaining. Depending on the size of an event, say for 300, I might not cook, but I would hire and manage a caterer and menu planning, and I would manage the valet, coat-check and the rest of the household staff for that event.”(Heckwolf)

The last thing that one should compare is training/ education. A private chef is not a job that one can choose it kind of falls in to one lap. To become a private chef all it takes is an associate’s degree in culinary arts it may help if one has more experience than just school, but most people who are hiring a private chef will be looking for more than just an associate’s degree in culinary arts from some Community College. As a head chef you can have just an associate’s degree in culinary arts but one must work its way up the ladder in a kitchen. For most people with a degree one can start at as a station chef/ line cook and then move up to Sous chef and then move up to Executive chef/ head chef to work up to this point is about four to five years if one has the talent, and not trying to do something one is not good at, but not all people are the same.

Both are a great choose, both get around the same salary both have around the same responsible and both have the same base education. The NRA has this fact 1.3 million: Number of positions the restaurant industry will add in the next decade ("Research”) it’s never too late to join the chasse to the top.

Work cited

American FactFinder. 29 Sept. 2009. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. .

Frei, Brent T. "On Being A Private Chef." American Personal & Private Chef Institute & Association - Professional Personal Chef Support and Training. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. .

"How Much Do Chefs Earn?" Cooking Schools. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. .

"How To Become A Chef." How To Start A Restaurant, Resources and Guides.Web. 03 Oct. 2011. .

"Rates for Private Chefs." ChefTalk.com - Cooking Forums and Reviews for Chefs and Food Lovers. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. .

"Research & Insights: Facts | National Restaurant Association." Home Page | National Restaurant Association | National Restaurant Association. Web. 03 Oct. 2011. .