Cooking

Cooking embraces a wide range of skills from creating menus and preparing dishes for Michelin-starred restaurants, to workplace canteens and cafeterias.

Why is this skill important?

The professional chef can work in a wide range of establishments including high-class and casual restaurants, hotels, welfare caterings such as hospitals and residential homes, theme parks, airlines, ships, clubs, retail HMR and Food To-Go, Fast Food outlets, and industrial canteens; providing catering services to both guests and staff. The range of skills and customer expectations will vary according to the workplace. There is also a direct relationship between the nature and quality of the service provided and the payment made by the customer.

The professional chef can also deliver different styles of dining such as fine dining, banqueting, casual dining, cocktail dining, canteen and take-away dining, as well as different styles of food service including plated, a la carte, and set menu service, buffet self-service, silver service, canteen counter service, and breakfast service. As well as the skill of cooking, the role of a chef will also demand further skills that relate to cooking in a commercial setting and therefore working towards a budget or expected profit margin. These skills include menu compilation, food costing, purchasing, storage, utilization of food commodities and minimizing wastage, as well as the control, work/time organization, planning, and communication required in managing a kitchen brigade.

Professional chefs need to demonstrate outstanding skills in food preparation (with both speed and accuracy), in production (using varied cooking methods and techniques) and in the final presentation and flavour. They are expected to create and adapt dishes that meet the expectations of demanding customers with varying nutritional and religious dietary requirements. Fashions and trends in cuisine also fluctuate, so it is important that the professional chef keeps abreast of these trends and adapts their product and service accordingly The Professional chef needs to be adept at managing food cost and maintaining environmentally-friendly sustainable food production by making use of locally sourced and seasonal ingredients, as well as controlling unnecessary waste by creatively re-using trimmings and reducing ingredient wastage.

Strict maintenance of the highest level of personal and food hygiene and safety are paramount at all times. Failure to fulfil this requirement can have a devastating impact on a diner’s health and well-being, and may cause irreparable damage to the restaurant’s reputation and business.

Commercial kitchens are equipped with complex specialist equipment that must be used carefully to avoid accident and injury. Kitchens are potentially dangerous places to work. Staff work under intense pressure, often in a confined space, working with hot food and dangerous tools and equipment.

Effective communication skills are essential for the chef. A professional kitchen is a high-pressure environment where teams of chefs specializing in various aspects of the menu work together to produce the entire meal. Co-ordination of the kitchen brigade is essential to quality assure the dishes being sent to the restaurant and to meet very tight service time frames. In addition, the kitchen team need to work effectively with other departments in the hotel or restaurant to ensure a good overall experience for the guest. - A customer is expecting a memorable meal experience which incorporates the setting and ambiance of the restaurant, staff interaction, and outstanding customer care, as well as exceptional food.

With the globalization of cuisine, chefs can work all over the world. Talented chefs are always in demand and have opportunities to travel and work in some of the most interesting and exciting international destinations. This carries with it the need to appreciate diverse cultures, especially with regard to using locally available ingredients, and observing local dietary requirements and traditions.

Location

Messe Luzern, Lucerne, Switzerland

23–26 October 2022

Skill photos on Flickr

Results

See all results

Rank	Medal	Result	Competitor	Country/Region
1.	Gold	735	Korae Nottveit	Canada
1.	Gold	735	Samuel Santos	Portugal
1.	Gold	734	Paul PIPARD	France
4.	Medallion for Excellence	723	Sabrina Rees	Australia
5.	Medallion for Excellence	720	Leong Yuk Shang	Malaysia
6.	Medallion for Excellence	717	Natsuki Ueda	Japan
7.	Medallion for Excellence	713	Maria Rezev	Estonia
8.	Medallion for Excellence	712	Christoph Guggi	Austria
9.	Medallion for Excellence	711	Jonathan Supsupin	Philippines
10.	Medallion for Excellence	710	Rino Zumbrunn	Switzerland
11.	Medallion for Excellence	709	Donghyun Park	Korea
12.	Medallion for Excellence	707	Ashleigh Hellowell	United Kingdom
13.	Medallion for Excellence	705	Hiep Nguyen	Finland
14.	Medallion for Excellence	703	Puripat Wuttipattananon	Thailand
14.	Medallion for Excellence	703	Leyla Valiyeva	Azerbaijan
16.		697	Elizabeth P. T. Isai	Namibia
17.		694	CHE-WEI KANG	Chinese Taipei
18.		692	Thanmayee Nallamothu	India
19.		683	Daivy Ramphele	South Africa
20.		680	Love Dahl	Sweden
21.		672	Aurelien DE NOBLE	Belgium
22.		671	María-Emilia PIEDRA	Spain
22.		671	ZHAIYK SEIITKALYK	Kazakhstan
24.		665	Orlando Arcos Acosta	Colombia
25.		660	Jessica Cummins	Barbados
26.		659	Usukh-Ireedui Samdan	Mongolia
27.		651	GAYANE SIMONYAN	Armenia
28.		612	Daniel Glogač	Croatia
29.		604	SHEIKH TASHNIAH TABASSUM	Bangladesh
30.		583	Camila Arancibia	Chile