Time to get cooking and check out the best states for chefs and head cooks. You’ll surely include those states in your next eating-centric trip, right?
My uncle is a french chef. As in, he was born in Paris, not he cooks French food. Well, he also cooks French food. But, having him as an uncle has made holidays a delight–that is when he is not working. I doubt it’s a delight for him to essentially work for his family on his days off, but that’s the price you pay for making delicious lamb!
Chefs and head cooks are usually tasked with having full control over a restaurant’s menu. They may or may not meddle with the cooking itself, but they always have the responsibility of making sure everything is going smoothly. They oversee the entire process, like making sure food arrives on time, the presentation is perfect, and the quality is always the premium. This is especially true when these chefs work in fine dining restaurants and hotels.
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Now, that does not mean chefs and head cooks are limited to working in hotels and restaurants. There are also private chefs who can work in households and private events. The demands of the job are quite hard and can even be overwhelming–very long hours in hot kitchens with wild demands and actual, you know, fire.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the expected job growth for chefs and head cooks is at 9%–which is relatively higher than other occupations. Apparently, there would be a growing demand for these professionals because the food industry is a consistently in-demand business. More and more restaurants are being launched every day, plus there is also a growing demand for really good chefs in casinos and shopping malls.
Chefs and head cooks enjoy an annual median salary of $41,500, according to BLS. The job is typically full-time, and is tiresome, to say the least. The pressure and stress seem to be part of the job description because the responsibility is huge–after all, they are responsible for food people eat–which makes or breaks an event. They have to make sure everything works smoothly and that it will leave people satisfied.
We all know one has to have a culinary certificate to be a chef or head cook. Then again, most chefs and head cooks in America continue to acquire their skills through experience. Although there are some upstarts who teach themselves and only learn by doing, but this is much more difficult. In the same way, high-end restaurants, casinos, and hotels usually pay more for more experience, especially experience cooking at a certain level That being said, the same places that pay the highest wages for chefs and head cooks have the highest competition for jobs, too.
In the context of finding the best states for chefs and head cooks, it usually boils down to the states that are popular for their hotels and restaurants. They pay well and have high employment rates. The thing you just have to consider apart from those two is how much their living expenses actually cost. It is very rare for an American state to provide wages higher than the national average and low cost of living rates at the same time. Those are the states we are looking for, but they also have to have great employment rates for chefs and head cooks.
If you’re a chef or aspiring to be one, you might also be interested in knowing about the 10 Most Successful Top Chef Contestants and Where They Are Now.
If you know certain states popular for having the best restaurants and hotels, you would most probably expect them to automatically make this list. The question is, do they have what we are looking for? Read on to find out if your state is one of the best states for chefs and head cooks.
