Research Chef Careers Information
Ever wonder how your favorite restaurant or store-bought meals taste so good so consistently? Or how these businesses always seem to have something new for you to try? The answer: research chefs, people paid to experiment in the kitchen. Research chefs use their unique blend of scientific knowledge and culinary training to create recipes that are not only tasty, but will remain that way when mass produced, stored, and shipped.
Research Chef Careers & Degrees
- Art Institutes: The Art Institute of Atlanta
Virginia College: Mobile
Lincoln Culinary Institute: Hartford
Research chefs most often work for large restaurants or food service providers. They read food-related magazines and industry reports to learn about current trends. They also use customer survey data to help them decide what might be desired in new products.
When a new recipe is being created, research chefs take precise measurements of the ingredients they use and try alternative ways of cooking items. Once a product reaches a certain stage, taste testers are called in to rate the product. Armed with their suggestions, research chefs go back to the lab to tweak the recipe for a new taste group. This back and forth is repeated until the ideal product is created.
Throughout the process, the research chef must keep careful notes and always keep in mind the ease with which the food product may be stored, shipped, and prepared as well as how much it will cost.
Research Chef Careers Path
Most research chef careers require a unique combination of science education and culinary training. A Bachelor’s degree in science with coursework in chemistry, nutrition, and/or food science is the common way to learn the technical side of the job.
Culinary training from a school accredited by the American Culinary Federation as well as subsequent certification is helpful for proving competence with food preparation. Experience working in a kitchen under trained chefs, while not necessarily required, is also useful in securing a job.
Research Chef Careers: Salary Expectations
According to a survey conducted in 1999, the last year for which there is data, the average research chef earns a salary between $70,000 and $90,000 a year. The higher salary likely results from the fact that research chefs must be highly skilled in the culinary arts as well as knowledgeable in the sciences.
Though being a research chef is one of the highest positions a chef may have, those with more experience may be able to work with larger companies or supervise other research chefs in order to earn more money.
Research Chef Careers: Compatible Personality Traits
Creative, precise, meticulous, inquisitive, excellent oral and written communicator, good with hands, project oriented, willing to work (and even repeat work) until the project is satisfactorially completed.
Research Chef Interview
The path of a research chef career is long but rewarding. Read More…
Research Chef Careers Job Outlook
Competition for positions as research chefs should be strong since there are relatively few positions available as compared to other food service jobs. But with the public’s demand for meals and food products that are healthier, yet easier to prepare and cheaper, there will be a need for the services of research chefs.
Those chefs with the right educational history, both culinary and scientific, and who have the most professional kitchen experience will be the most likely to find work in a research kitchen.
Research Chef Associations and Resources
The American Culinary Federation
The International Association of Culinary ProfessionalsSlightly off the Footpath
Culinary News
Whether you want to start a culinary career or you’re an experienced chef looking to learn more, you need to know the latest industry news. Our culinary news page is updated daily with headlines from sources across the web. Read more about Culinary News >>
Source: bls.gov/ooq/2002/fall/yawhat.pdf
