Modern chefs face many challenges, such as high levels of competition, a well-informed customer base, and high staff turnover, to name just a few. We will discuss these issues and others in more detail. Part of maintaining high staff morale is the need to keep chefs happy, which can sometimes be a big challenge. Chefs and head cooks oversee the daily preparation of food in restaurants and other places where food is served.
They direct the kitchen staff and take care of any food-related issues. Chefs and head cooks often start out working in other positions, such as line cooks, learning cooking skills from the chefs they work for. Executive chefs and chefs who run their own restaurant need to know how to budget supplies, set prices and manage workers to make the restaurant profitable. The American Culinary Federation certifies several levels of chefs, such as certified sub-chefs and certified executive chefs.
While this is an advantage for chefs who move on, it's a big challenge for the head chef trying to manage a busy kitchen.
