The Six Fastest Growing Culinary Jobs in the U.S.

The term “culinary industry” is a very broad umbrella. The U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics concentrates on chefs and cooks of various types, along with food preparation workers of many types. However catering managers and restaurant managers can easily fall into the category of culinary professional; indeed, many trained cooks and chefs do take on management roles or open their own restaurants.

Their statistics for these categories, however, do not include those who both prepare and serve food in fast-food restaurants. This discussion will not include some of the jobs available at the various McFood chain restaurants that seem to be sprawling across the landscape.

Culinary workers include chefs, cooks, and food preparation workers. Service staff (waiters and waitresses, etc.) do not train in the culinary arts and aren’t included in our market analysis either. Food service managers include restaurant and cafeteria managers, along with hotel catering managers.

The culinary industry is in a state of flux, in the sense that true full service restaurants and hotel catering operations are beginning to expect formal training for their cooks, chefs and managers. Here’s a look at the fastest growing jobs in the culinary industry.

1. Food preparation workers. This category can include kitchen workers who prep salads or perform other similar tasks in kitchens with a large output. One of the large growth areas for food preparation workers will be in the institutional kitchens, which include health care facility kitchens, schools and industrial cafeterias. This is an entry level job, requiring speed and the ability to make changes on the fly.

2. Cooks, and food preparation workers who prepare meals-to-go, such as those who work in the prepared foods sections of grocery or specialty food stores. The Labor Department says that these jobs will mushroom as take home specialty outlets expand their competition with full service restaurants.

3. Higher-skilled chefs and cooks working in full-service restaurants-those that offer table service and more varied menus. These are trained and often certified culinary school graduates. This job category’s rapid growth is due to the established social trend toward eating out more often.

4. Institution and cafeteria cooks, and food service managers. These positions not only require training in the traditional culinary skills, they often require knowledge of dietary guidelines. These positions usually pay decently, and experience in the field provides a lot of flexibility in relocating.

5. Sous chefs and pastry chefs for higher grade full service restaurants and quality hotel kitchens. These jobs are where culinary graduates often break in. They include long hours and maybe a temperamental executive chef, but there is no better way to break into the top of the culinary industry. In recent years, there has been a distinct trend toward in-house, quality desserts and morning pastries among the better restaurants and hotels.

6. Chef, or executive chef at a quality restaurant or high-end hotel. These jobs are highly competitive, but there is also a high turnover rate. It’s what most culinary grads strive for - and despite the competition, with the right education that turnover rate will provide you an opportunity.