Road to Executive Chef May Include Pit Stop as a Grill Cookby Kirk Bangstad If you plan on working in a restaurant after going to cooking school, there’s a good chance that you’ll spend some time as a grill cook. In a full service restaurant, the variety of food workers include grill cooks, cooks that prepare salads and desserts, cooks that prepare side dishes and appetizers, and head chefs that pull everything together. Day of a Grill CookHere’s a day in the life of a professional grill cook. Get to work around 4 p.m. for the dinner shift. Meet with the executive chef to discuss the daily specials. Make sure your line is stocked with ingredients, and that all your tools are ready. A grill cook’s job is not for those who can’t handle a little perspiration. Grill cooks have to develop an innate sense of timing, because they are in charge of cooking an order to a customer specification, like medium-rare or well-done, and this is where cooking school comes in. A Good Chef EducationA grill cook is an important job, but most grill cooks want to make the most out of their chef educations and become head chefs. According the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, grill cooks make a little over $9 an hour on average, but head chefs at elegant restaurants can earn a lot more than that. A grill cook’s chef education usually starts in cooking school. Cooking schools are designed to give students the tool they need to eventually reach the top of the cooking profession. Cooking meats at specific temperatures as a grill cook is definitely part of this chef education, and if you want to be a proficient, knowledgeable head chef, you’ll be glad you spent some time learning the intricacies of a grill cook’s job. SourcesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics About the AuthorKirk Bangstad is a singer living in Chicago, IL. Having received his B.A. in Government at Harvard, Kirk previously worked as a management consultant.
Posted on May 11, 2006 at 01:40 PM
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