News · 19 October 2026
Chef job outlook 2035: 7% growth, 25,200 openings a year
New federal projections put chefs and head cooks among the faster-growing jobs to 2035, and restaurants were still hiring in September. The catch is the road to the chef's title, which is long. Here's where a first year of culinary training fits in.
The chef job outlook to 2035 is good. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 7% growth for chefs and head cooks from 2025 to 2035 (220,300 jobs to 234,700) and about 25,200 openings a year.[1] That's about twice the 3.5% growth BLS expects for all jobs over the same decade.[3]
The new projections came out on August 27, 2026.[3] Five weeks later, the monthly jobs report showed restaurants still hiring, if slowly.[4] Maybe you're a high-school student wondering whether culinary is a good career, or a parent with the same question. Here's what the numbers say, and what they leave out.
What does BLS project for chefs and cooks?
Chefs and head cooks run the kitchen: they're in charge of the food prepared each day in restaurants and anywhere else meals are served.[1] BLS projects them separately from the cooks who work in their kitchens:[1][2][3]
| Occupation | Jobs in 2025 | Projected for 2035 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chefs and head cooks | 220,300 | 234,700 | +7% |
| Cooks, all types | 2,705,800 | 2,889,000 | +7% |
| Restaurant cooks | 1,417,500 | 1,588,800 | +12% |
| Institution and cafeteria cooks | 454,000 | 466,600 | +3% |
| Fast-food cooks | 640,500 | 644,100 | +1% |
| Short-order cooks | 138,700 | 131,500 | -5% |
| All occupations | 170.3 million | 176.2 million | +3.5% |
The growth is in restaurant kitchens. Restaurant cooks lead at 12%, while short-order jobs shrink and fast-food cooking barely moves.[2] Why more chefs? BLS points to rising incomes, more places to eat out, and businesses that hire experienced chefs to keep the food good.[1]
One detail matters more than the growth rate: most of those 25,200 openings a year aren't new jobs. Many will open up when chefs move to other occupations or leave the workforce, for example to retire.[1] The same goes for cooks, who have about 393,200 openings a year.[2]
Are restaurants hiring right now?
Yes, at a modest pace. Eating and drinking places added 10,800 jobs in September 2026 and had about 12.4 million jobs, in preliminary, seasonally adjusted figures.[4] Over the first nine months of the year they added nearly 50,000 jobs, and in September restaurant employment stood 108,000 above its February 2020 level.[5]
Full-service restaurants are the exception. In August 2026 they were still 174,000 jobs, or 3%, short of their pre-pandemic level, even after adding 88,000 over the previous twelve months.[5] The National Restaurant Association expects modest growth to hold for the next several months.[5]
How long does it take to become a chef?
Longer than many expect. BLS lists a high-school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education, plus five years or more of work experience in a related job.[1] Many chefs start as line cooks and spend years in kitchens before they're promoted.[1]
A degree isn't always required, but many future chefs take programs at community colleges, technical schools, culinary schools and four-year colleges.[1] Students in those programs spend most of their time in kitchens, and most programs require commercial-kitchen experience through an internship or apprenticeship.[1] Of all chefs and head cooks, 64% work in restaurants and other food services and drinking places, and 8% in hotels and other traveler accommodation.[1]
Is culinary a good career? What this means for you
Going by the numbers, demand is steady and the openings are real: every year, kitchens have to replace chefs as well as add them. The hard part is the timeline. No school hands you a chef's title. You still have to put in those years, and the job still means early mornings, late evenings, weekends and holidays.[1]
Training changes where you start those years and what you bring to them. If you're graduating from a US high school, you'd start at the Swiss Culinary Academy by BHMS in Lucerne in Year 1, the Diploma in Culinary Arts. You need to be at least 17 and hold a high-school diploma or equivalent.[6] You spend six months studying, with hands-on kitchen hours, then six months in a paid internship.[7] So the commercial-kitchen experience BLS talks about isn't something you arrange on the side. It's the second half of your first year.
That first year ends with a qualification of its own, the Diploma in Culinary Arts, worth 60 ECTS credits.[6] You can stop there, or carry on to the Higher Diploma in Year 2 and the BA in Culinary Arts in Year 3, a dual degree with Robert Gordon University in the UK.[6] The American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission (ACFEFAC) accredits our culinary programs.[7]
Two limits are worth keeping in mind. The BLS figures describe the US job market. They don't rank schools, and they don't say which training employers prefer. A ten-year projection also isn't a promise, and the monthly numbers swing along the way: restaurants lost jobs in June and July 2026, then added them back in August and September.[5]
Your next step: this site lists three start dates: November 16, 2026, February 22, 2027 and August 16, 2027.[7] If you graduate in May or June 2027, August 16, 2027 is the first of them after graduation. You'll find what the first year covers on the Diploma in Culinary Arts page, and what chefs earn in our chef salary guide.