Here are the chef positions that possess the most authority on a cruise line ship:
Executive Chef – As you can imagine, a cruise ship executive chef needs extensive restaurant or hotel chef experience, along with 8 years experience. They carry most of the staffing, food planning and quality control.
Executive Chef Assistant – The executive chef assistant is required to assist the chef with all their responsibilities such as managing the chef staff, managing quality control, and food preparation. 4 or 5 years of experience working for a cruise liner, restaurant or hotel is required for this position. The assistant executive chef can be hired as the executive chef if the position is in need of being filled.
Chef de Partie – This position is comparable in many ways, mainly experience and level of authority with the assistant executive chef. It requires 4 or 5 years experience, 2 or 3 of which should be on a cruise ship.
First Cook – The first cook is mainly responsible for overseeing the second and third cooks, as well as the bakers and pastry chefs. This position that reports directly to the executive chef, requires 2 – 3 years on board the cruise ship.
Second and Third Cooks – These positions share similar responsibilities as the first cook, such as overseeing lower level chefs, bakers, pastry chefs, trainees, etc. Additionally, they will personally take on food preparation and cooking responsibilities.The second and third cooks report to the executive chef and first cook.
There are many other lower level chef positions on cruise line ships, including pastry chefs and bakers, crew chefs, and chef trainees. As stated above, it’s a great opportunity to learn from other cultures and cooking styles while traveling the world. If being “anchored” (pun intended) to a hotel or restaurant is wearing on you, consider some of these chef jobs on cruise liners for a welcome change.