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Cooks, Private Household Occupation Detailed Description

Cooks, Private Household career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Cooks, Private Household

The main tasks and work activities of Cooks, Private Household are to plan menu options, order materials, supplies, or equipment, prepare breads or doughs, prepare foods for cooking or serving. In general, for the Cooks, Private Household, service Orientation, critical Thinking, management of Material Resources, time Management and other 8 skills are required.
Cooks, Private Household Job Description
EducationMost occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Related ExperiencePrevious work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Job TrainingEmployees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
ExampleThese occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include hydroelectric production managers, travel guides, electricians, agricultural technicians, barbers, court reporters, and medical assistants.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Cooks, Private Household jobs. 29.17% of Cooks, Private Household have High School Diploma (or the equivalent) and 33.33% of Cooks, Private Household have Post-Secondary Certificate.
Less than a High School Diploma
4.17%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
29.17%
Post-Secondary Certificate
33.33%
Some College Courses
16.67%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
16.67%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
-0.01%

Tasks and Work Activities of Cooks, Private Household

  • Plan menus according to employers' needs and diet restrictions.
  • Shop for or order food and kitchen supplies and equipment.
  • Peel, wash, trim, and cook vegetables and meats, and bake breads and pastries.
  • Prepare meals in private homes according to employers' recipes or tastes, handling all meals for the family and possibly for other household staff.
  • Stock, organize, and clean kitchens and cooking utensils.
  • Specialize in preparing fancy dishes or food for special diets.
  • Create and explore new cuisines.
  • Direct the operation and organization of kitchens and all food-related activities, including the presentation and serving of food.
  • Plan and prepare food for parties, holiday meals, luncheons, special functions, and other social events.
  • Serve meals and snacks to employing families and their guests.
  • Travel with employers to vacation homes to provide meal preparation at those locations.
  • Cool, package, label, and freeze foods for later consumption and provide instructions for reheating.
  • Keep records pertaining to menus, finances, and other business-related issues.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Monitoring and Controlling ResourcesMonitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
  • Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the PublicPerforming for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Monitor Processes, Materials, or SurroundingsMonitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Performing General Physical ActivitiesPerforming physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
  • Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or InformationEstimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
  • Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Plan menu options.
  • Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
  • Prepare breads or doughs.
  • Prepare foods for cooking or serving.
  • Cook foods.
  • Store supplies or goods in kitchens or storage areas.
  • Create new recipes or food presentations.
  • Coordinate activities of food service staff.
  • Plan special events.
  • Serve food or beverages.
  • Compile data or documentation.

Skills and Abilities for Cooks, Private Household

  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Management of Material ResourcesObtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Finger DexterityThe ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Manual DexterityThe ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Arm-Hand SteadinessThe ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Multilimb CoordinationThe ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Static StrengthThe ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Domestic knivese.g. Bakers' knives
  • Basters or basting brushese.g. Basting brushes
  • Domestic food scraperse.g. Bench scrapers
  • Domestic knivese.g. Boning knives
  • Domestic knivese.g. Bread knives
  • Anti cut glovese.g. Butchers' gloves
  • Domestic forkse.g. Carving forks
  • Domestic strainers or colanderse.g. Colanders
  • Laser printerse.g. Computer laser printers
  • Domestic convectional ovense.g. Convection ovens
  • Domestic can or bottle openerse.g. Corkscrews
  • Domestic microwave ovense.g. Countertop microwaves
  • Domestic cutting boardse.g. Cutting boards
  • Domestic kitchen or food thermometerse.g. Deep-fat thermometers
  • Domestic kitchen timerse.g. Digital kitchen timers
  • Domestic kitchen or diet scalese.g. Digital scales
  • Domestic dish washerse.g. Dishwashers
  • Domestic indoor electric grillse.g. Electric grills
  • Domestic strainers or colanderse.g. Fat skimmers
  • Domestic kitchen spatulase.g. Fish spatulas
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Food ProductionKnowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  • Sales and MarketingKnowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.