What types of cooking professions are there?

Have you always wondered what the difference is between a sole chef and a chef de cuisine? What actually makes a diet chef and do you need training for every job in the kitchen? In this blog post, we try to explain the most important job profiles in the cooking profession - including current job descriptions.

Do you like to work independently and be your own boss? As a single chef, you can live out these strengths to the full. All you need is a completed apprenticeship as a chef.

As a single chef, you usually work in smaller kitchens or family businesses. There, you take on all the work involved - from creating the menu to buying the ingredients and preparing the dishes to washing up. Is the work getting too much for you? Then look for a suitable assistant chef to help you with your daily tasks.

Becoming a chef without training? Absolutely possible. As a kitchen assistant, aide de cuisine or assistant chef, you don't need to have a degree in cooking. In this role, you will support the kitchen team - and carry out additional work and various auxiliary tasks. This allows you to grow into the job step by step. 

Diet cooks are particularly in demand in convalescent homes, hospitals and health centers. They prepare meals for people who have to follow a special diet due to certain intolerances or illnesses. The art in this context is to create delicious moments of indulgence when the choice of food and products is limited.

Good to know: It won't be long before you can train to become a vegetarian chef.

Are you a trained chef who loves responsibility and aspires to a management position? As a head chef, you are the captain of your kitchen crew, take care of the training and development of your kitchen staff, order goods, plan menus and calculate prices. You also have to optimize work processes and keep your employees on task.

As a sous chef, you are the deputy head chef. So if your boss is unavailable, you take over the reins. This is a popular stepping stone to eventually taking on the role of Chef de Cuisine - and a wonderful opportunity for you to slowly grow into a management position. 

Let's move on to the sweet side of life: if desserts, cakes, chocolates and pastries are your specialty, you are a born patissier. In this position, you will be responsible for desserts and drape and decorate the small delicacies in an appealing way.

Top-class cooking skills: depending on the country, certain awards are presented to the most creative and skilled chefs. In Austria, these are the "toques", in Germany the "stars". The more toques or stars you receive, the more legendary your reputation and therefore your market value. If you can call yourself a toque or star chef, you have definitely made it into the crème de la crème of kitchen skills.

Are you a chef or are you currently looking for a new challenge? Then find out about the vacancies on HOGASTJOB now! Our top employers in Austria's beautiful tourism regions offer you a place to grow - with great benefits included. Are you new here and interested in becoming a chef? Then check out our overview page and find out more about working in the kitchen, your earning potential, training and further education options and much more.