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Where is the best place to make money as a Sou Chef?

#culinary #cooking #culinary-arts #chef

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Mark’s Answer

Sous chefs are the managers of the kitchen, they basically help the chef with the day to day operations like writing schedules, training cooks, overseeing prep, maintenance, health and safety regulations, ect. See also, assistant kitchen managers (akm), kitchen managers (km), lead line cooks and even shift supervisors fall into this category. It's not a particularly lucrative job, considering the hours, pace, and demands compared to other industries but it's the only real stepping stone to an exec chef post.

Sure, salary is dependent on your skill set and experience level but if you want to make sure you are being compensated competitvely LinkedIn or indeed has good stats for salary averages in your market.

Overall though, the best place to make money is in an up and coming market that has affordable housing and transportation options. $45k/year wont get you very far in New York City or Chicago but it can be decent in a smaller market like Pittsburgh, Austin, or Nashville. Consider this above all before moving anywhere.

Mark recommends the following next steps:

Work as a line cook, be reliable, efficient, and teachable.
Show that you have leadership ability by helping less experienced staff improve their skills.
Teach yourself the basics of cooking, for example, know how to make stock, roux, basic baking skills, different techniques for cooking meats and veg and common seasoning profiles for different meats and veg.
Stay out of the day to day drama of the staff.
Figure out a constructive way to handle the stressful environment of a kitchen. Take care of yourself.
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foodwinetour’s Answer

Hi Savannah!!

If you love your job, if you are good in your job, if you believe in yourself, and you are dynamic and on-going people, you will get money, big money... there are no secrets.... hard work and enthusiasm.

foodwinetour recommends the following next steps:

Study
Think
Work
Be happy
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Peter’s Answer

It depends on your experience as a Sous Chef as well as where you live. Bigger Cities pay more ie New York, LA, San Francisco, but that comes at the price of expensive living cost. Hotels usually pay more in general. But if you work for a well known Chef, that experience can make you more valuable in the long run. High volume restaurants can pay well too. I’ve alwaus looked at the long view on what I think would help me get my career to where I wanted to go. Best of luck! Cheers, Chef Peter
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BARBARA’s Answer

Hey there! I would say that the best place to get more money for your time and experience would be in large hotels like Marriotts and Hiltons. I have worked in the hotel industry for quite some time as well as the independent restaurant route and have to say that the large hotels are the ones that award the most money and have the most security. Another place that I have found is with fortune 500 companies that might be around you that have enough money to have a personal chef in their payroll for special events as well as regular breakfasts and lunches. It will all depend on where you are located.

Warm Regards,
Chef B
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Ray’s Answer

That will depend on a number of factors:
1. How many years do you have in the industry?
2. Have you been a Sous Chef before and if so, for how long?
3. What is your skill set?
4. What type of environment and cooking style are you comfortable with?

All of thia comes into play. It's not so much about the location as it is the right fit and the right environment for you to learn and grow.

Hope that helps.
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Dada’s Answer

Hi ,
Savannah L

The hospitality industry promotes from within, so there is always a strong incentive to put your most professional foot forward, no matter what kitchen job you are working , Your first job in a kitchen will not be as the Executive Chef, so measure your expectations early on, as you carve out your culinary . As you become the best in the kitchen station from best recognised Restaurants your place to make money as a Sou Chef will be worthy enough to keep you going in being a "Great-Chef" .

Cheers :)
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Michael’s Answer

Savannah,
Sous Chef salaries vary greatly depending on the level of the restaurant and the region it's in.
Are you still in culinary school?
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