Specialty: food industry technologist. Professions related to nutrition Cooking professions

Technology lesson in 9th grade

Topic: “Professions of the food industry”

Technology teacher, MBOU Secondary School No. 7

Abdulova Natalia Lvovna

Target: Find out the level of students’ knowledge about food industry professions, expand students’ knowledge about the world of professions

Tasks:

Introduce students to food industry professions;

Foster a respectful attitude towards people of any profession and work;

Develop the ability to work independently;

Develop the ability to plan and evaluate your activities.

Equipment: computer, projector,

Didactic material: inscriptions, illustrations.

Presentation The file will be here: /data/edu/files/g1454012069.pptx (Food Industry Profession Presentation)

DURING THE CLASSES:

ORGANIZING TIME:

Teacher's word

Self-determination in life is a very responsible choice that can significantly affect the future path of life.

Now the main thing for you is to study at school, which you will continue in educational institutions, where you will receive knowledge not only in school subjects, but also acquire knowledge in your chosen profession. And right now you and I are seriously thinking about choosing our profession.

At your age this is not easy to do. Choosing a profession is one of the most important steps that every young person takes. Much depends on what it will be - this is the first step.

MAIN PART

The food industry is a set of industries whose enterprises primarily produce food. Almost every relatively large settlement has enterprises in this industry. In some countries, the food industry is a branch of international specialization, in others it satisfies the needs of only its population.

The sectoral structure of the food industry is complex. It includes enterprises producing food products, as well as soap and perfumes and cosmetics.

The location of enterprises in the industry is influenced mainly by two factors: orientation towards the raw material base or towards the consumer.

The location of enterprises near areas where raw materials are produced is explained by the fact that in some industries (sugar, alcohol, canning industries) the consumption of raw materials far exceeds the mass of the finished product. In addition, such agricultural raw materials are difficult to transport.

The attraction of enterprises to areas of consumption is explained by the fact that most branches of the food industry produce mass products that have a limited shelf life and cannot be transported over long distances. Therefore, bakeries, confectionery and pasta factories, breweries are created in areas where products are consumed, regardless of whether there are raw materials for them here.

In the International Standard Industrial Classification, food production is classified as a manufacturing industry, with independent subsections including food production and beverage production; In the food production subsection, 13 industries are identified:

Meat industry

Fishing industry

Fruit and vegetable processing industry

Oil and fat industry

Dairy industry

Flour milling industry

Starch industry

Bakery industry

Sugar industry

Confectionery industry

Pasta industry

Production of ready-to-eat meals

Production of animal feed

What food industry professions do you know? (children's answers).

Agree, not very many, but there are more than 200 professions in the unified tariff list of professions and positions.

On the screen you and I see four professions that almost each of you named. This is a cook, pastry chef, catering technologist, deboner.

Look at the screen, before you is a small list of food industry professions.

The world of professions does not stand still, more and more new professions appear every year, and the food industry does not stand still either. Many of the new professions that have emerged are old professions with new names.

Let's look at several modern food industry professions.

A pizza maker can go by different names: and pizza maker(English version), and pizzaiolo (Italian version). He is also a pizza chef or pizza maker. All these names have a right to exist, although in fairness it must be said that this profession appeared in Italy, like pizza itself.

Remuer- master of shaking bottles of maturing champagne. A rare profession, but very important in winemaking

The master turns thousands of bottles a day, carefully looking at the color and consistency of the contents. So he has a trained eye.

An experienced remuer is highly valued. The quality of the future drink depends on his attentive and clear actions.

Blending is a combination of several types of product into one whole. The resulting mixture is called a blend. Blending is carried out with one goal - to achieve the best taste.

Blending is used in winemaking, in the production of tea, coffee, juices, honey, tobacco, etc.

For example, a tea composition may include more than 20 varieties of tea leaves. Juice blending means that 20% juice improvers are added to 80% of the main juice.

Developing a recipe and blending scheme is a creative process. It means tasting the raw materials, experimenting with different proportions, testing again, chemically analyzing the results, and finally choosing the best option.

Chocolatier- a profession on the verge of art and magic!

Chocolatier is a master, magician and wizard who creates candies and figured chocolate from chocolate mass according to classic or original recipes.

The profession of chocolatier appeared in the 17th century, when chocolate became hard. Before this they only drank it.

In chocolate, not only the original taste is valued, but also the original appearance. That is, the form must correspond to the delightful content. Developing and testing the shape of chocolate is also a creative aspect of a chocolatier’s job.

TEACHER'S FINAL WORD

The food industry is one of the oldest industries. It is more connected with agriculture than other industries, as it receives raw materials from it. Almost all food consumed by people is industrially processed. The role of the food industry is constantly growing. Its development makes it possible to sustainably provide people with food throughout the year. The Russian food industry currently unites over 25 thousand enterprises with a total workforce of 1.5 million people. The share of the food industry in total industrial production invariably amounts to 12-13%. And therefore, professions in this industry are and will always be in demand.

REFLECTION

Today in class:

I learned____________________________________________

It was interesting________________________________________

It was difficult___________________________________________

Made me think__________________________________________

HOMEWORK

Prepare a report on little-known professions in the food industry.

“Issues of choosing a profession” - Choosing a profession. Teachers' position. Man-man. Description. Family. Parents' opinion. Knowledge about professions. Peer opinion. Level of aspirations and self-esteem. The choice of profession should not be random. Factors. Tendencies. Work. Press conference. Man-nature. Profession. Personal professional plan.

“Health and choice of profession” - 1 Ignorance of the world of profession. 2 Ignorance of oneself. 3 Ignorance of the rules for choosing a profession. Questions: To develop students’ readiness for an informed choice of profession and career. 1. How to help choose a profession - Simonenko V.D. 2. Your professional. Health and choice of profession. Working on new material. It is known that health must be protected and strengthened.

“Test for choosing a profession” - Determination. Representatives of the demonstrative type. Processing the results. Military leaders. Methodology "Character and profession". Psychologist T.V. Orlova. Impulsive children. A model proposed in 1908 by the American scientist F. Parsons. Character profile. Anxious children. G.V. Rezapkina.

“Rules for choosing a profession” - When describing your skills, use verbs in the present tense. Resume form. Career. Man is an artistic image. Rules for choosing a profession. Possible ways to obtain professional education. Receive individual consultations from professional psychologists. Man-technology. Pass computer diagnostics.

“Defining a future profession” - Technology. Number of professions. Creative professions. Professions of today. My future profession. Several types of activities. Forge. Peasant's work. Scientists. What profession to choose. Kind of activity. Means of artistic expression. Cubo-futuristic style of painting by artists. Work.

“Choosing a future profession” - Have you chosen the university you will enroll in? Conduct lectures and testing. What could help you in choosing a profession? The problem of choosing a profession among applicants. Project goal: What difficulties do you think young people experience when choosing a profession? A total of 100 people were interviewed: 50 boys and 50 girls.

There are a total of 43 presentations in the topic

No matter what happens in human society, no matter what direction of development civilization chooses, only one thing remains unchanged - our need for food. The absence or excess of food has always dramatically affected the development of human society. In some cases, it was the complete lack of food that led to the outbreak of wars, in the flames of which more than one ancient civilization burned down. It is not surprising that in our time, a food industry technologist is a very important specialty, and the life and health of people depend on his professionalism.

How it all began?

Food production has been constantly improved, following the development of scientific and technological progress. Once upon a time, our ancestors baked meat and vegetables on fire, but since then technology has stepped far forward.

According to research by nutritionists, the average person eats more than a hundred varieties of foods every month! And the production of each of them is under the strict control of competent specialists. In general, without this circumstance, it will be difficult for an enterprise to count on any kind of fame and popularity of its product, since modern consumers simply will not pay for low-quality products. In addition, even one case of poisoning can put an end to a prestigious, long-cultivated brand. There are no errors here.

In general, those people who monitored food preparation have existed almost always, but in its modern form, the profession of “food industry technologist” appeared relatively recently. Nowadays, there is a shortage of quality food products, and therefore control over food production is becoming increasingly important. In addition, agricultural technology has now stepped far forward, which has led to the possibility of growing in large quantities those crop products that were not available in the recent past.

Therefore, industrial technologies were required to process such quantities of food. Technologists have an extremely important role in this area, since they are the ones who develop and control all stages of the production of high-quality and safe products suitable for human nutrition. This is especially important if it is intended to produce products that will be used in baby food.

Where is this profession in demand?

As employment service statistics for all regions of our country show, a food industry technologist will definitely not be left without work. This especially applies to those areas where the food industry is traditionally developed (Kuban, for example). It should be remembered that this profession is closely related to the need for maximum automation of labor and constant maintenance of high interest in their products on the market. Think about this right away when deciding where to study to become a food industry technologist! Otherwise, you risk simply being disappointed in your chosen profession, and this will definitely not bring you anything good.

Therefore, a person who decides to connect his life with this path must not only have a perfect knowledge of the theoretical basis, but also be a good innovator, capable of making practical adjustments to the food production process. In many cases, the degree of competitiveness in the modern market, which in principle does not forgive any mistakes, depends on the technologist.

Main advantages and disadvantages of the profession

As in all cases of human activity, the profession of “food industry technologist” has both undoubted advantages and certain disadvantages. The positive aspects include the high demand for these specialists in the labor market and the high social significance of their activities. As for the negative qualities, it should be remembered that working conditions will not always be ideally comfortable.

Type and class of professional activity

According to the type of activity, the profession of a technologist should be classified as the “Man - Nature” variety. This means that specialists will have to actively interact with objects of living and inanimate nature, they need to have good perseverance and observation. Of course, the profession of “food industry process engineer” may well be classified as a “Human-Technology” type, since it presupposes a good knowledge of the features of numerous mechanisms for their proper management. This requires individuals to have good motor skills as well as a love of manual and technical activities.

In addition, the profession also belongs to the “performing” class, since in many cases there is no need to show special creative imagination, but you need to work in strict compliance with the requirements of standard instructions. Organization, diligence and a high degree of accuracy are required.

What does the activity involve?

What does a food process engineer actually do? He controls the sequence and quality of execution of all stages of food production, gives comments and suggestions on how to correct any shortcomings identified during the process. The whole purpose of his work is to provide the consumer with high-quality and absolutely safe products, the use of which does not threaten human life and health.

What else should a food processing technician do? For example, he studies and analyzes the quality of the raw materials from which the products will be made, as well as the materials used in production and the finished product itself. He is responsible for conducting technological calculations and drawing up all the necessary documentation, studying the reasons that led to the appearance of defective products on sale. Accordingly, the specialty “food industry technologist” presupposes the ability to draw up a plan to prevent such situations in the future and eliminate the consequences of an already occurring production defect. In addition, in many enterprises, the same people are also responsible for ensuring that employees comply with safety regulations.

Now let’s give a more expanded list of job responsibilities for the specialty in which you may intend to work in the future:

• In some cases, it is the technologist who is responsible for organizing production, correct placement of equipment, etc. In addition, he almost always trains personnel in the correct handling of the machines and devices that are available at the enterprise.
• In restaurants and canteens, he also creates the menu.
• Distributes work among workers or cooks, simultaneously monitoring the results of the execution of his orders.
• He is responsible for monitoring the final yield of finished products and comparing this indicator with accepted technological standards.
• Introduction of new and progressive methods of preparing food products with optimization of processes to suit the existing capabilities of the enterprise.
• He is also responsible for monitoring the operation of the equipment - it is the technologist who calls the technicians in the event of a breakdown. The same specialist is responsible for complete quality control of food produced in production.
• By studying existing regulatory documents, he compiles new prescription combinations.
• It is the technologist who can and should study the emergence of new trends in the market in order to introduce something new and useful in production.
• Engaged in the development and “presentation” of new dish options to the market, at the same time being responsible for their “promotion”.
• Monitors how fully the enterprise complies with sanitary and epidemiological standards, and, if necessary, corrects this issue.
• When creating new dishes, a process engineer draws up their technological maps, determining the exact composition and nutritional value of the product.
• In some cases, these specialists are responsible for the completeness and timeliness of supplying production with all necessary tools, materials and raw materials.
• If necessary, takes part in various programs to improve the skills of employees in order to better meet all the requirements of our time.

In which sectors of the food industry are technologists most in demand?

There are many industries in which these specialists are especially in demand, but the largest number of them is noted in the following industries:

• Production of bakery products.
• Milk production, as well as its processing with subsequent production of dairy products.
• Production of food products from meat, as well as enterprises that produce meat.
• Sugar production, as well as the entire confectionery industry.
• Preservation of fruit and vegetable products.
• Production of wines and beer products.
• Production of food products associated with the intensive use of microbiological cultures.

That's what a food technologist does. The profit of the entire enterprise and the attitude of people towards its products often depend on the results of his work, attentiveness and resourcefulness. So it is not surprising that rather high demands are placed on future specialists!

What should a future specialist know and be able to do?

To successfully master a specialty, mathematics, biology, chemistry, and natural science are extremely important. Every qualified technician should know the following:

• Properties, range, and structure of products produced in production.
• List of equipment used, have an idea of ​​its operation.
• A list of standard consumption of all materials, water, raw materials and consumables, to be able to prevent defects and eliminate the consequences of its occurrence.
• Ideally, know all the rules for drawing up technical documentation.

All this is necessary in order to, if necessary, be able to master any modern technology that has been installed at your enterprise.

What skills should he have?

What else does this work involve? A food industry technologist must have the following skills:

• Work in any team, ability to find a common language with different people.
• Know all safety regulations at work and follow them unconditionally. This is all the more important because he (as we already indicated above) may have to be responsible for compliance with these rules by production workers.
• Ability to work with all types of technological equipment available in a particular production.

The individual qualities of the future specialist are no less important. To successfully work as an industrial food production technologist, it is important to have the following aptitudes:

• Have a passion for working with large amounts of information.
• Be able to concentrate on one issue and be as diligent as possible.
• Be not too squeamish, since when working you often have to deal with objects of living (and not very living) nature.
• A person must have pronounced mathematical abilities, since he has to count a lot and constantly.
• Have and want to work a lot with your hands. You can't do without this either.

About the working conditions of specialists

In some cases, technologists work alone, but more often they have to join fairly large teams. As a rule, the profession of food industry technologist involves working indoors. These are workshops of various plants, workshops, slaughterhouses, fish processing facilities, etc. They have to work while constantly on the move, often resorting to manual labor. The work of a technologist requires constant stress, not only physical, but also mental.

In their work, these specialists are often strictly limited by job descriptions and requirements of enterprise managers. It should be especially emphasized that this type of activity necessarily requires a medical record. According to current legislative norms, without this document no one even has the right to be inside the production workshops where the direct production of food products takes place.

Are there any medical restrictions for working in this specialty?

As you may have already noticed, technologists spend a lot of time on the move and often do manual labor. It is not surprising that some diseases can become an obstacle to obtaining a job. Before studying to become a food technologist, check with your doctor for the following problems:

• All pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.
• Diseases of the nervous system.
• Diseases of the cardiovascular system.
• Pathologies of the organs of hearing and vision.
• Immune system problems.
• Severe forms of food allergies, which can be life-threatening when exposed to food production.
• All types of contagious infectious and viral diseases.

If a person has at least some of these diseases, then the hard work of a technologist will inevitably lead to deterioration in health. In addition, in some cases, specialist diseases are simply dangerous for consumers of production products (tuberculosis, dysentery).

Where to get basic education?

Only a person who has received secondary specialized or higher education can work in their specialty. Upon graduation, he receives the profession of food industry technologist. What exams do you need to take for this? Typically, most educational institutions require the following:

• Mathematics.
• Russian language exam.
• Physics and/or chemistry.
• In some cases, computer science is required.

If you want to get a profession as a food industry technologist, where to study? In general, it is difficult to specifically answer this question, since in every more or less large city in our country there are specialized technical schools or universities. Of course, if you want to work in a particularly large production facility, you should choose an educational institution that is located in the local regional center. As a rule, it is much easier for their graduates to find higher-paying jobs. Here's how to get a job as a food industry technologist. Where to study for this purpose, you should find out specifically in your city.

What kind of objects can technologists work on?

If we talk about specific food industry facilities where a graduate can work after training, they are most in demand here:

• Enterprises for milk processing and production of dairy products.
• Slaughterhouses and workshops engaged in meat processing.
• All other factories and factories that are in one way or another connected with the production of food products.
• Catering establishments, including canteens, cafes, bars and restaurants.

This is why you need training to become a food industry technologist. It should be said that in many cases these specialists receive a decent salary. Finally, we have repeatedly mentioned their demand in the labor market, which is clearly important in our difficult times.

Are there opportunities for further career growth?

For some reason, it is generally accepted that technologists do not have much prospects for further career growth. Fortunately, this is far from the case. There are several ways to move on, not limited to running around the workshops. Firstly, there are many related areas in which you could put your efforts. So, in the same food industry there are vacancies for leading developers and engineers, and you can also become a director! Most often, people from this industry do not leave anywhere, preferring to receive the position of “food industry process engineer.” What exams will you have to take for this? Most likely, you will need to complete preparatory retraining courses for personnel, which are available at almost all more or less large enterprises.

There is an opportunity to retrain as a cook at a prestigious restaurant, a pastry chef, and knowledge in the same 1C (and without this program, anyway) will definitely not hurt you. As we said, some technologists prefer to become managers. Often you can get a second specialized education in the same place where you study to become a food industry technologist. The most enterprising students immediately receive two specialties, which greatly facilitates their future employment.

After that, they manage shifts and workshops. In principle, if you succeed in this field, you can get the education of the same manager, since management most often does not interfere with such aspirations of promising employees. That's what a food industry technologist is for! A technical school or university that trains such specialists will never be left without a constant influx of applicants.

Industry is one of the most developed sectors of the economy in Russia, which is responsible for the extraction of resources and processing of raw materials. This area of ​​the national economy is divided into many industries, which are also fragmented into highly specialized parts. Thus, mechanical engineering in the context of many industry subgroups that are responsible for a certain range of work. In general, industry is the most important factor in the development of the state. Our country is one of the top five leaders in manufacturing, so a graduate will never be left without work, having connected his life with industry.

Industry happens:

• food;
• fuel, electric power;
• mechanical engineering and metalworking;
• light;
• mining;
• coal, gas, oil;
• ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy;
• chemical;
• forest;
• woodworking

In other words, industry is our whole life.

Industry related professions

Specialties related to industry include both blue-collar professions that do not require higher education, as well as vacancies for engineers, biologists, chemists, economists, researchers, etc.

The stamp “white”, “blue”, “gray” collars in this case has no reason to classify or exclude a person from this sphere of the national economy. As discussed above, industry can include both highly skilled employees and service personnel.

Each industry sector in its entirety represents dozens of professions, hundreds of specialties, thousands of vacancies. Thus, light industry includes more than four hundred vacancies (there are seven types of apparatchiks alone), and mechanical engineering has even more!

Industry occupations: list

In the foreseeable future, some of the specialties of the national economy will become unclaimed. Human labor will be replaced by automated machines and robots, which are much more cost-effective, make fewer mistakes and can work almost around the clock. However, some professions are the exclusive prerogative of the human brain, and even the most advanced computer will not be able to solve some problems.

Among the professions of the “future” it is worth noting

• Engineers. At the moment, the industry is experiencing a shortage of competent and competent engineering workers. This is primarily due to low wages and the lack of prestige of the vacancy. The situation is changing for the better, and today engineers are standing out from the general mass of employees due to increased salaries, stable earnings, and respect from others.
• Nanotechnologies. Nanotechnologies are the most promising and funded areas of industry and science, where science fiction becomes reality.
• Chemists. Creating alternative resources that will soon run out is a federal task. Specialties in the chemical industry are in demand in all areas of production, and the number of required vacancies is steadily growing.

Food industry professions

This area includes specialties that require knowledge of product preparation technology, recipes and sequence.

The most common profession in the food industry is a process engineer. In addition to the basic provisions on the process of creating a product, he must constantly check the quality of the product and monitor compliance with sanitary and hygienic rules.

This industry also includes chefs, confectioners, bakers, boning operators, choppers and other professions involved in the creation of food products.

Light industry professions

Light industry is the production of consumer goods, in particular clothing and footwear.

This type of national economy includes, first of all, seamstresses and textile workers, cutters and shoe repairers, fashion designers and weavers. To work in the production of clothing or shoes, you do not need a higher education or five years of study. It is enough to graduate from technical school and come to the personnel department of a factory or factory.

Of course, the wages of light industry employees are far from ideal, but stability of payments and a full social package are a good guarantee of long-term cooperation.

Professions in the forestry and woodworking industries

These include: lumberjacks, furniture manufacturing specialists, machine operators, sawmills, engineers, mechanics.

Any specialty that is related to wood processing can easily fall into the forest industry category.

Chemical Industry Professions

Represented by the following list of specialties: chemist, technologist, biotechnologist, petrochemist, laboratory assistant.

Specialties: cooking, food technology

Specialization in types of public catering (bistros, city cafes and restaurants, corporate services, restaurants and bars on transport, roadside catering establishments, sanatorium-resort catering establishments, children's institutions, clinical institutions, etc.)

Required education (level of education, type of educational institution):

Initial professional (pastry chef, culinary specialist) – professional lyceums and colleges teaching in these specialties, as well as catering colleges and service sector colleges

secondary vocational catering colleges and service colleges

Specific abilities necessary for successful mastery of the profession:

Not required, but it is important to love to eat deliciously, cook, imagine and treat other people with your dishes.

Core subjects of the school curriculum and additional education:

Housekeeping*, technology, life safety, Russian language and literature, biology, cooking*

Nature and content of the work:

Industrial. Work in catering establishments: preparing various dishes.

Obvious advantages

It is a noble cause to feed people. Always full, just like your family members are well-fed. Stability of income, just enough to find a job. A real prospect of opening your own catering business.

"Pitfalls", obvious disadvantages

The work is physically difficult, all the time near a hot stove. The need to update your medical record every year. Risk of gaining weight and obesity and associated heart problems. In addition, constant cooking takes away the taste for this skill and turns the art of cooking into a routine.

Possible occupational diseases: vegetative-vascular dystonia, respiratory diseases, allergies, obesity, cardiovascular diseases - the risk is moderate.

Salary range (in rubles per month)

In Moscow and the Moscow region: 20,000 – 50,000 (usually 25,000)

In large regional centers: 10,000 – 20,000 (usually 15,000)

In the outback of Russia: 4000 – 10,000 (usually 6000)

In order for the waiter to have something to serve, a chef must work in a restaurant or cafe. There are, however, mini-cafes in the world that have waiters but no cooks. That is, waiters serve customers ready-made dishes delivered from another establishment, having preheated them. In general, if you want to “taste” work in public catering, it is better to master two professions at once - a waiter and a cook. It’s more interesting and reliable this way. And it’s easier to open your own cafe when the main parts of the business are well known to you.

By the way, about business. You are in vain smiling skeptically (this is me for those who do not believe in the possibility of opening their own business without large investments). A national program for the support and development of small businesses in so-called business incubators has already come into effect. It is aimed at “growing” entrepreneurs in socially significant areas and is aimed specifically at those who want to open their own small and important business for society, but do not have capital. So, catering establishments, especially mini-cafes in residential areas of cities or in promising villages, especially cafes serving families with children (without selling alcohol) are included in the list of priority business areas within the framework of this program.

It is clear that this kind of business belongs to a low-profit area - it will simply provide a stable income without much profit, that is, in this kind of private cafe you can earn a living, but there will be no noticeable profits to travel, say, to Courchevel , this business will not give. And therefore, a simple energetic catering specialist with an entrepreneurial spirit, who took such a cafe under the state program, has nothing to fear from attacks by the mafia and racketeering: these creatures are no longer interested in such establishments. But you will be able to arrange everything there as your professional imagination dictates, and you will only obey the agreement signed with the local administration (working hours, price level, minimum assortment). And you can set your own salary depending on the success of the self-supporting enterprise.

If you are not eager to run a company initially, but love to create delicious food for people, then the profession of a cook can still captivate you – in itself. After all, this is, by and large, a creative profession, although no one classifies it as creativity (and in vain, by the way). Isn’t it creativity to invent new recipes for dishes, come up with edible decorations and new seasonings for them? I myself, during the certification of cooks at sanatorium institutions in Russia, saw what miracles the masters of this delicious craft created - even interesting figures were cut out of banal radishes, and grapes were laid out on dishes for dessert in such a way that it was even a pity to eat them.

Of course, many people stay in this profession who cook much worse at work than at home. There are cooks who cook, as they say, without a soul, and do not leave the culinary profession. Work for them is simply making money. There are quite a few of today's chefs and outspoken lovers of having a snack at the expense of the establishment, including taking food home. Apparently, this “fashion” dates back to the times of the USSR, when in most regions basic protein products (meat and butter, good canned food and stewed meat, condensed milk) were in acute shortage, but catering establishments received them regularly and, working as they say, with meat, it was quite possible to buy it for yourself at the state price and “pinch off” it from visitors’ dinners. The authorities deliberately underestimated the salaries of cooks even in reputable Moscow restaurants, but turned a blind eye to such a delay in the deficit among customers.

Nevertheless, the tradition of delicious food in canteens and cafes in Russia is little by little being revived. It is becoming increasingly rare among new chefs to find people who are openly indifferent to the very art of cooking. Maybe simply because now there is no point in steaming every day at the stove in an apron in order to extract a deficit. But intensifying the process of fighting for the client also plays a positive role here. It is really going on, despite the fact that, according to independent experts in the service sector, there are still not enough catering establishments open (that is, open daily for everyone without exception) in the country. On the one hand, for those who go to study to become chefs, this is good: this area of ​​business will develop, and the need for personnel in it will only grow. On the other hand, today there is still some shortage of jobs for cooks, especially inexperienced ones. However, chefs today are increasingly being invited by companies that are far from catering. There is nothing surprising in this: modern business has reached a stage of development when it can afford and considers it prestigious to take care of the health of its employees, regardless of what field they work in. Many enterprises stop outsourcing lunches for employees and open their own buffets and corporate service cafes in their offices. A cook in such a department of a company (for example, construction or retail trade, etc.) has to feed the same people every day, so his skill and attitude to work are assessed much more strictly than in a cafe operating on the street. Try to cook poorly once, God forbid someone gets a stomach ache or a headache from the food - they may reduce their salary and generally show you the door. However, adapting to the tastes of the same clients is always easier than when they are always different.

In addition, working for the same team, the chef does not need to think about profitability. In an ordinary commercial cafe, even if you are just a cook and receive a fixed salary from the owner, you are still somehow affected by the question “whether the costs of running the cafe are worth it.” Because if they don’t pay off, the owner will close the establishment sooner or later. In a corporate catering department, as a rule, no such goal is set at all - to recoup costs, since the company most often pays the cook a fixed salary, and includes the costs of food and utilities in the overall costs of ensuring the operation of the enterprise.

In short, working exclusively for a specific team is calmer and more reliable. But, on the other hand, in a corporate catering department there are no opportunities for professional growth - you will always be a cook by position. However, who now works in one place all their life? I came to such a catering unit, gained practice and went ahead - in search of an open restaurant. You can go to the railway, to the Marine Fleet, to sanatorium institutions. Ordinary cooks often grow into chefs, restaurant directors and owners of their own businesses in the field of tasty and healthy food. But it’s probably not worth working as a cook in fast food establishments. Yes, there are no cooks there in the traditional sense - only technologists. All recipes are approved constantly, the dishes are prepared by automatic machines - it’s boring and does not require any creativity.

If you love to cook something from your heart according to your own recipe for your parents, grandparents, friends, etc., then you have an obvious interest in cooking. However, you should take a balanced approach to choosing this profession. It’s one thing to periodically invent something in the kitchen at home for a few people close to you; it’s quite another thing to peel potatoes, chop cabbage and carrots day after day (even with the help of industrial food processors) for a large flow of visitors. Moreover, management does not always treat your own fantasies favorably; more often it demands strict adherence to the approved recipe. And you need to understand that the work of a cook is not only hot, but also physically tiring. Salaries in this area have always been mediocre, and today, although they are growing, they still hardly correspond to the labor costs of a specialist. However, it will never be a bad idea to master this profession. So don’t think too much if you’re drawn to this tasty area. And Bon Appetit!