Duties and responsibilities
A private household cook is responsible for planning and preparing meals in private homes. These meals are created according to their clients tastes and dietary. Private household cooks may also cater parties, lunches and other social events. Their typical duties and responsibilities include:
- Developing meals, based on the clients needs
- Tasting meals to ensure they are adequate
- Ordering groceries and kitchen supplies
- Cleaning the household kitchen
- Washing the dishes and other kitchen utensils
- Preparing food for larger social events, if necessary
- Plating the food and serving it to the client
Qualifications
There are no formal education requirements to becoming a private household cook. The real key to becoming a private household cook is to gain experience in the profession. Most cooks will start off working in lower level roles hospitality industry. For example, they may start a as a pot washer or food runner. They may then gather experience as a line cook and then become a cook.
Normally, cooks will receive on-the-job training or complete an apprenticeship. Some cooks may attend community colleges or culinary art schools to complete training, but this is not a necessity.
Skills and relevant work experience
As well as a genuine passion for food, private household cooks will need skills such as:
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- Verbal communication skills, as private household cooks will need to communicate with there clients about what their specific needs are
- Creativity, as part of producing excellent and tasty meals is to think outside the box and add a touch of uniqueness
- Attention to detail, as private household cooks must plan the best menus, with the most delicious flavouring
- Organization skills, as private household cooks need to stay on top of grocery orders and make sure food is prepared on time
Hours
Most private household cooks including early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays. Some private household cooks are self-employed and work for many different clients. Others work solely for one house hold and they may also live in at the home.
Salary
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly salary for a private household cook in the United States is $18.21 per hour.
Progression
Private household cooks tend to progress from lower level kitchen roles, such as pot washers or assistant cooks. They can then progress, with more experience, to becoming an executive cook, or even owning their own company. This does, however, take time as being a head chef requires years of experience.