What does a chef actually do?
A professional chef plans, prepares and cooks food for a restaurant, hotel, resort or institutional kitchen. The job is physical, fast, hot, late and unforgiving — but it is also one of the most direct creative crafts left in the modern workplace. You start a service, you serve hundreds of plates, and at the end of the shift you know exactly how it went.
The hospitality industry uses a structured rank system (the brigade de cuisine) to organise kitchens. Knowing the ladder is the first step in planning a chef career, because each rung determines what you do day-to-day, what you earn and where you can move next.
Last reviewed: May 2026. Salary ranges below cite UK ONS ASHE 2024 published data unless stated otherwise.
The brigade ladder
A typical hotel or restaurant kitchen has these roles, from junior to senior:
- Kitchen porter (KP) / dishwasher — entry-level, not strictly a chef role. Wash, clean, prep basic ingredients. Many chefs start here at 16–18.
- Commis chef — first true chef rank. Works under a Chef de Partie, learns one station (sauce, fish, larder, pastry). Typical UK starting salary: £20,000–£24,000.
- Demi Chef de Partie — second-in-command on a station. Trusted with more decisions but still under a CDP. See the Demi Chef de Partie guide for a deep dive on this rank.
- Chef de Partie (CDP) — runs a single section (e.g. the sauce station). Owns the menu, the orders, the timings for that station during service.
- Sous chef — second-in-command of the whole kitchen. Runs the line during service, deputises for the head chef, manages the rota.
- Head chef — runs the kitchen day-to-day: menu, costing, hiring, supplier relationships.
- Executive chef — strategic role in a hotel or restaurant group. Oversees multiple outlets, sets menus across properties, manages senior kitchen staff.
Not every kitchen has every rank. A 12-cover bistro might just have a head chef, a CDP and a commis. A 5-star resort with three restaurants, a banqueting kitchen and 24-hour room service might have 60+ chefs across the full ladder.
Pathway #1 — Culinary school
The fast, structured route. You pay for a 1–3 year programme at a culinary college (Le Cordon Bleu, Westminster Kingsway, Cyprus Tourism Organisation School, etc.) and come out with a recognised qualification, a stage at a partner restaurant, and a network of classmates.
Realistic costs (2026):
- UK BTEC / NVQ Level 2 + 3 (2 years): £8,000–£14,000 total tuition.
- Le Cordon Bleu Grand Diplôme (9 months): £21,000+ tuition only.
- Culinary Institute of America associate degree (2 years): $32,000+ per year.
- Cyprus Higher Hotel Institute: heavily subsidised, ~€1,500/year for EU students.
What you actually get:
- Recognised qualification (helps with employer-sponsored visas later).
- Structured exposure to multiple cuisines and techniques (you'll touch saucier, pastry, butchery, larder).
- A stage or placement at a partner kitchen — a major foot-in-the-door.
The downside: you pay tens of thousands of pounds for skills you could learn on the job. Many head chefs argue that the second pathway (apprenticeship) produces better day-one cooks.
Pathway #2 — Start as a commis and learn on the line
The traditional route. You apply for a commis chef role at a hotel or restaurant kitchen with no qualifications beyond food-hygiene basics, and you learn by doing — moving station every 6–12 months, working long shifts, and absorbing the trade from chefs above you.
Pros: No tuition cost, you earn from day one (£20–24K/year UK starting salary, €13–16K/year Cyprus), and you accumulate the actual muscle memory that defines a working chef.
Cons: Slower CV development, no formal qualification (which can matter if you want to migrate for work), and the quality of your training is entirely down to the kitchen you're in. A bad first kitchen — chaotic, unsupervised, no rotation — can stunt a career for years.
Hybrid path: Many chefs do both. They start as a commis at 18, prove themselves over 1–2 years, then their employer sponsors a part-time NVQ or apprenticeship qualification. Most large UK hotel groups (IHG, Marriott, Whitbread) and Cyprus hotel groups (Louis, Atlantica, Tsokkos) run sponsored apprenticeship programmes.
Seven skills that actually matter
The skills that determine whether you make it past commis are not what most students expect.
- Stamina. Service runs 5–8 hours of continuous standing, heat, focus. If you can't physically do that, the job will burn you out before you learn anything else.
- Knife discipline. Speed is secondary. Consistent, clean cuts and absolute respect for sharpness are what separate a hire-again commis from a liability.
- Mise en place. "Set in place" — the discipline of preparing every ingredient, sauce and tool before service starts. If you can't mise, you can't cook a service.
- Calm under pressure. Heads of kitchen don't shout for the sake of it (mostly). They need to know that mid-service, when a 12-top sends back two plates and a ticket is missing, you can act without panicking.
- Palate. Taste constantly. Taste salt levels. Taste reductions. Taste raw ingredients. A chef who doesn't taste produces inconsistent food.
- Reliability. Showing up sober, on time, every shift, for years. Half the chefs who could be sous chefs aren't, because they didn't show up.
- Cleanliness. Health inspections fail kitchens. Pest violations close restaurants. Cleanliness is non-negotiable.
What to expect in year one
- Shifts: 50–55 hours a week is typical. Split shifts (10am–3pm, then 6pm–11pm) are common. Sundays and bank holidays count as normal work days.
- Pay: £20–24K UK / €13–16K Cyprus / €18–26K most of Western Europe. Tips depending on outlet (rare in upscale, common in mid-market chains).
- Burnout rate: roughly 30–40% of commis chefs leave the profession within 2 years. The ones who don't typically become CDPs in years 2–3 and the salary picks up sharply.
Salary trajectory by rank
Indicative UK ranges (ONS ASHE 2024 published data, rounded). EU and Cyprus figures are lower. Resort and luxury hotel roles include accommodation and meals — adjust for total compensation, not just the cash.
| Rank | UK gross/year | Cyprus gross/year (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Commis chef | £20,000–£25,000 | €13,000–€16,000 |
| Demi CDP | £24,000–£28,000 | €16,000–€19,000 |
| Chef de Partie | £28,000–£32,000 | €19,000–€24,000 |
| Sous chef | £35,000–£45,000 | €25,000–€32,000 |
| Head chef | £45,000–£70,000 | €32,000–€55,000 |
| Executive chef | £70,000–£120,000+ | €55,000–€90,000+ |
See Chef Salary Guide for sourcing detail and per-rank specifics, and Hotel Manager Salary for managerial roles.
How long until I am a head chef?
Realistic timelines, assuming you don't leave the trade:
- Commis → Demi CDP: 1–2 years
- Demi → CDP: 2–4 years
- CDP → Sous: 3–6 years
- Sous → Head: 2–5 years
So 8–17 years from commis to head chef in most kitchens. Faster in groups that promote internally; slower in independent restaurants where the head chef is the owner.
Common questions
Do I need food hygiene certificates to start? Yes. Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene for Catering is the minimum. It costs around £10–£30 online and takes 2–4 hours. Many kitchens will pay for or run this on the first day.
Do I need to know how to cook before applying for a commis role? No. You need to know basic knife skills, you need to be able to follow a recipe, and you need to demonstrate respect for cleanliness. Everything else is learned on the job.
What's the difference between a chef and a cook? Loosely: a cook prepares food, a chef manages people who prepare food. In practice the line blurs — a Chef de Partie cooks all service, but also orders ingredients, plans the menu for their section and supervises a commis or two.
Can I work as a chef abroad? Yes, and many chefs do. The trade is portable. EU passport holders can move freely within the EU; non-EU chefs need employer sponsorship plus accommodation, which Cyprus hospitality employers commonly provide.
Is it worth becoming a chef in 2026? The industry is short-staffed in most of Europe — there is no shortage of jobs. Pay at the top end is excellent; pay at the bottom end is rough. If you're mid-20s and considering it as a career change, do a 6-week stage in a real kitchen before committing.
What to do next
- Get your Level 2 Food Safety certificate online (cheap, fast).
- Apply for commis chef roles: browse chef jobs in Cyprus.
- Read the Demi Chef de Partie guide and the Chef Salary Guide so you know what you're aiming at.
- If you're not EU, read the Cyprus Work Permit guide — most large hotel groups sponsor.