Corporate Chef

Exactly what it sounds like. Though a corporate chef may end up working in one location, often Certified Corporate Chefs are professional educators and world travelers, picking up recipes and business associates throughout their delicious career.

Corporate Chefs travel the country (and sometimes the world) teaching a variety of customers about their products and how to prepare them. The corporate and the culinary cannot be separated, because the corporate chef must be talented and engaged in marketing and cooking. A bad cook cannot sell a good food product. A great cook without the ability to convey enthusiasm and expertise in their presentation cannot maintain the integrity of the product.

What Does A Corporate Chef Do?

The Corporate Chef works with both large chains and street accounts and should be able to appreciate the integrity and value of both. They advise their clients on menu deployment, costing, and training. Their job is to pass the baton, teach the recipient how to hold it, and maintain the batons integrity and consistency.

Characteristics Of A Corporate Chef

The ideal combination of traits for a Corporate Chef include business savvy, corporate experience, and the ability to teach well. The most important part of the job is the ability to convey an intimate understanding of a product to their customers effectively. They are blending something new in the world and must introduce it as well as explain its place in its new home. Placement of products on multiple menus is the goal, passing on their knowledge to chefs who otherwise may never have this expertise and training.

The Nitty Gritty: Salary

It pays well. That’s the benefit of any job title with the word ‘corporate’ in it. A Corporate Chef with three to five-years of experience can expect to make up to $80,000 annually. A more experienced Corporate Chef who is also involved in branding and creating new products can expect to make almost twice that.