head-chef/references/skills.md

Competences — head chef

Source: ESCO v1.2.1 occupation-skill relations (http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/01484951-15e6-4b88-a20f-1201868d36a0).

Essential

• assist customers (skill/competence)
• compile cooking recipes (skill/competence)
• comply with food safety and hygiene (skill/competence)
• control of expenses (skill/competence)
• develop food waste reduction strategies (skill/competence)
• ensure maintenance of kitchen equipment (skill/competence)
• estimate costs of required supplies (skill/competence)
• food storage (knowledge)
• food waste monitoring systems (knowledge)
• handle customer complaints (skill/competence)
• handover the food preparation area (skill/competence)
• keep up with eating out trends (skill/competence)
• maintain a safe, hygienic and secure working environment (skill/competence)
• manage budgets (skill/competence)
• manage hospitality revenue (skill/competence)
• manage staff (skill/competence)
• manage stock rotation (skill/competence)
• monitor the use of kitchen equipment (skill/competence)
• perform procurement processes (skill/competence)
• plan menus (skill/competence)
• plan shifts of employees (skill/competence)
• recruit employees (skill/competence)
• set prices of menu items (skill/competence)
• supervise food quality (skill/competence)
• train employees (skill/competence)
• train staff to reduce food waste (skill/competence)
• types of whisks (knowledge)
• use cooking techniques (skill/competence)
• use culinary finishing techniques (skill/competence)
• use food preparation techniques (skill/competence)
• use reheating techniques (skill/competence)
• use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality (skill/competence)

Optional

• advise guests on menus for special events (skill/competence)
• attend to detail regarding food and beverages (skill/competence)
• check deliveries on receipt (skill/competence)
• conduct research on food waste prevention (skill/competence)
• cook pastry products (skill/competence)
• create decorative food displays (skill/competence)
• design indicators for food waste reduction (skill/competence)
• execute chilling processes to food products (skill/competence)
• forecast future levels of business (skill/competence)
• handle chemical cleaning agents (skill/competence)
• identify suppliers (skill/competence)
• manage contract disputes (skill/competence)
• manage inspections of equipment (skill/competence)
• manage medium term objectives (skill/competence)
• molecular gastronomy (knowledge)
• negotiate supplier arrangements (skill/competence)
• plan medium to long term objectives (skill/competence)
• prepare flambeed dishes (skill/competence)
• think creatively about food and beverages (skill/competence)
• upsell products (skill/competence)

Market evidence (job-ad analysis, 52 ads, as of 2026-07-12)

Share of analyzed job ads mentioning the item (threshold ≥ 20 %). Source: JSearch/Adzuna APIs.

Hard skills

• inventory management — 50 %
• menu development — 44 %
• kitchen management — 31 %
• food preparation — 25 %

Responsibilities

• kitchen operation oversight — 21 %