Employment in restaurants is expected to grow rapidly. Increasing demand for restaurants that offer table service and varied menus, particularly more expensive restaurants that offer more exotic foods, will require highly skilled cooks and chefs. Employment of institutional chefs and cooks will increase about as fast as average because their employment is concentrated in the educational sector. However, the number of elderly people is expected to result in a rapid increase in kitchen jobs associated with nursing homes, residential care facilities, and other health care institutions. Wages of chefs, cooks, and other kitchen workers vary depending on the part of the country and, especially, the type of establishment in which they work.
Wages generally are highest in elegant restaurants and hotels.
Some employers provide uniforms and free meals, but Federal law permits employers to deduct from wages the cost, or fair value, of any meals or lodging provided, and some employers exercise this right. In some large hotels and restaurants, kitchen workers belong to unions. The principal unions are the Hotel employees and Restaurant Employees International Union and the Service Employees International Union, both AFL-CIO affiliates. Related Occupations Chefs, cooks, and other kitchen workers handle and prepare food. Workers who perform similar tasks include butchers and meatcutters, cannery workers, and industrial bakers.