Executive Chef

The title of executive chef is fairly new and did not exist during the time of Escoffier. You’ll find this title used more often in North America than in Europe. Restaurants have become big business and as a result chefs for larger kitchens require substantially more in terms of business and management skills. An executive chef in a large hotel kitchen, for instance, often attends meetings, deals with the Human Resources department, and crunches numbers on the computer.

Today, the executive chef of a large operation, is rarely found in the kitchen cooking, with the exception of special events, the creation of new menus, training for competitions, or preparing for promotions. The executive chef has become a manager and organizer who is financially accountable to the owner(s) or manager(s). The executive chef is also asked for his counsel and has an understanding of marketing and public relations so that he can maximize sales. Ducasse, Bocuse, and even Escoffier were natural marketers.