How to become a Chef

Official title: Chefs

Also called: Chef, Executive chef, Head chef, Pastry chef, Saucier, Sous-chef

Chefs design menus, create dishes and oversee the planning, organization, preparation and cooking of meals in hotels, restaurants and other eating places, on board ships, on passenger trains and in private households.

Main tasks

• Planning and developing recipes and menus, estimating food and labour costs, and ordering food supplies
• Monitoring quality of dishes at all stages of preparation and presentation
• Discussing food preparation issues with managers, dieticians, kitchen and waiting staff
• Supervising and coordinating the activities of cooks and other workers engaged in food preparation
• Inspecting supplies, equipment and work areas to ensure conformity with established standards
• Determining how food should be presented, and creating decorative food displays
• Instructing cooks and other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing and presentation of food
• Participating in the recruitment of kitchen staff and monitoring their performance
• Preparing, seasoning and cooking speciality foods and complex dishes
• Explaining and enforcing hygiene and food safety regulations

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: HK$27,000 a month
• About 1,542,900 people in 2025, and about 1,639,100 projected by 2028. (+6.2%)
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Interior designers and decorators
• Gallery, museum and library technicians
• Other artistic and cultural associate professionals
• Photographers

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Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a Chef?

Not always. 36% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Chef?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026