Chefs are just one of the professions involved in culinary arts.
According to All Culinary Schools, culinary arts professions can involve such positions as cook, chef, restaurant manager and even food scientist. All such jobs exist in North Carolina. What these professions have in common is formal training in cooking skills ranging from a certificate to a bachelor's degree. They also involve a desire to elevate the preparation and serving of food beyond a mechanical skill.
Chefs
Chefs plan menus, create dishes and supervise the staff in their kitchens. They primarily work in restaurants and hotels. They usually work long hours since food deliveries occur in the morning and restaurant activities usually extend into the night. They make a mean $18.50 per hour or $38,470 per year, which is almost double the mean $9.32 per hour or $19,390 per year for all food preparation and serving occupations in North Carolina. This is as of May 2009 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The amounts are only slightly under the mean hourly rates for all workers in the state, which run $18.95 per hour or $39,420 per year.
Cooks
Cooks prepare, season and cook such foods as appetizers, soups, main dishes, salads and desserts in restaurants or other food-service institutions. In small businesses, they may be responsible for a variety of dishes. In larger facilities, they may specialize in a type of food such as pastries or baked goods. They may work under the management of a chef or head cook. Though many learn skills on the job, they often advance their training by attending cooking schools or vocational training programs. In North Carolina, restaurant cooks make a mean $10.37 per hour or a mean $21,580 per year, which is still above the mean for food preparation occupations but also below the mean for all workers in the state.
Restaurant Managers
Restaurant managers not only supervise chefs and other workers in the kitchen, but food servers and other employees. They interview, hire, train and fire workers, interact with customers and resolve their complaints, plan schedules and goals, and decide on marketing strategies. They also tally the cash and reconcile income and expenses, and ensure that all food regulations are met. Many restaurant managers have some postsecondary training, with management trainees often recruited from two and four-year college programs in hospitality management. Restaurant managers in North Carolina make a mean $25.50 per hour or $53,050 per year, which is under the mean of $48.64 per hour or $101,170 per year for all management occupations in the state.
Food Scientists
Food scientists work in universities, the government or in the food processing industry to improve the production and quality of food. They combine knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, physics and engineering to develop better ways of preserving, processing, packaging and delivering foods. A bachelor's degree is the minimum educational requirement, though research work at universities often demands master's or doctoral degrees. Food scientists in North Carolina make a mean $23.26 per hour or $48,380 per year, which is below the mean $29.47 per hour or $61,290 per year made by all life, physical and social sciences positions in the state.
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