On your way to becoming the next Iron Chef/Gordon Ramsay/whatever, you have to pass through a number of chef jobs. Starting as a trainee or commis chef, you’ll work your way through on-th-job training towards the top. Just before you become head chef and after you have been a chef de partie, you become a sous chef.
The Sous Chef is also called the sous chef de cuisine which means ‘under-chef of the kitchen’. This position is considered to be the second-in-command, and is generally the direct assistant of the head chef or chef de cuisine.. The sous chef generally works with the head chef and chef de partie on scheduling the kitchen staff, creating the menu and substituting when the head chef is off-duty. While it may seem a demotion, the sous chef will also fill in for, or assist, the chef de partie when needed.
Much like the chef de partie, the sous chef is responsible for the kitchen’s inventory, cleanliness and adherence to health and safety standards, organization, and probably most importantly staff training. The kitchen may be the domain of the head chef but the sous chef is as important, works closely with the head chef and is the head chef at times. A sous chef works longer and harder than other chefs but learns every station, every skill and management of the kitchen. Beyond the skills a chef de partie has, a sous chef work all lines.
When you are a sous chef you are in a position much like middle management. It is your responsibility to face problems and turn them into solutions. It is up to the sous chef to coax out all the best traits from their cooks and temper the not so good ones. A sous chef thinks every day about how they can better the kitchen and make it more cost-effective, efficient, less wasteful and a better all-around place. A sous chef has to have eyes in the back of their head. They gets to the kitchen before anyone else and they are the last to leave.
A sous chef must be a clean cook and a well versed gastronomist. The sous chef must also know the cuisine the chef is making well. Even if the cuisine doesn’t come naturally to the sous chef, they have to be able taste and feel them because it is their job to execute the chef’s wishes perfectly once the chef walks away from the kitchen.
If you’re ready to make the change to sous chef, caterer.com has one of the best selections of sous chef jobs online. You will be able to find a number of positions all across the UK and in some parts of Europe.
