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Date: 04/29/2026

Cooks, Private Household

Prepare meals in private homes. Includes personal chefs.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • 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.
    • Plan menus according to employers' needs and diet restrictions.
    • Direct the operation and organization of kitchens and all food-related activities, including the presentation and serving of food.
    • Travel with employers to vacation homes to provide meal preparation at those locations.
    • Plan and prepare food for parties, holiday meals, luncheons, special functions, and other social events.
    • Create and explore new cuisines.
    • Travel with employers to vacation homes to provide meal preparation at those locations.
    • Peel, wash, trim, and cook vegetables and meats, and bake breads and pastries.
    • Keep records pertaining to menus, finances, and other business-related issues.
    • Specialize in preparing fancy dishes or food for special diets.
    • Serve meals and snacks to employing families and their guests.
    • Cool, package, label, and freeze foods for later consumption and provide instructions for reheating.
    • Stock, organize, and clean kitchens and cooking utensils.
    • Shop for or order food and kitchen supplies and equipment.
    • Plan and prepare food for parties, holiday meals, luncheons, special functions, and other social events.

    Skills

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    3
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    Knowledge

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge 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.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge 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.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • US Annual Salary 44530/yr
    • US Typical Salary
    • US Hourly Wage 21.41/hr
    • US Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 410
    • Yearly Projected Openings 60

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Innovation
    • Integrity
    • Self-Control
    • Cooperation

    Tools

    • Anti cut gloves
    • Basters or basting brushes
    • Commercial use cutlery
    • Commercial use icing sets or bags
    • Domestic baking sheets
    • Domestic can or bottle openers
    • Domestic convectional ovens
    • Domestic cutting boards
    • Domestic dish washers
    • Domestic food processors
    • Domestic food scrapers
    • Domestic forks
    • Domestic frying pans
    • Domestic garlic press
    • Domestic graters
    • Domestic indoor electric grills
    • Domestic kitchen or diet scales
    • Domestic kitchen or food thermometers
    • Domestic kitchen spatulas
    • Domestic kitchen timers
    • Domestic kitchen tongs
    • Domestic kitchen wire whips
    • Domestic knife sharpeners
    • Domestic knives
    • Domestic mandolin
    • Domestic measuring cups
    • Domestic measuring spoons
    • Domestic melon or butter baller
    • Domestic microwave ovens
    • Domestic mixers
    • Domestic mixing bowls
    • Domestic muffin pans
    • Domestic rolling pins
    • Domestic saucepans
    • Domestic saute pans
    • Domestic serving utensils
    • Domestic spoons
    • Domestic stock pots
    • Domestic strainers or colanders
    • Domestic wooden spoons
    • Dough knife
    • Label making machines
    • Laser printers
    • Notebook computers
    • Pen or flash drive
    • Potato mashers
    • Rulers
    • Tablet computers
    • Vegetable peeler

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Internet browser software
    • Inventory management software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
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