Changes in Professionalism: The Case of Estonian Chefs

Abstract

Abstract:The changes that have taken place in professional life have led to changes both in the occupations and social positions of practitioners. In this article, the authors analyse the implications of occupational changes on professionalisation and professional learning, using chefs in Estonia as an example. The article aims to interpret the theoretical framework of professionalism by exploring the beliefs and opinions of chefs and the assessments of their work. The methodological approach is qualitative, relying on semi-structured interviews with outstanding chefs and experts in the field of food science in Estonia. Based on this analysis, we conclude that the chefs are still experts in their field of cooking but new managerial and leadership roles have become more significant. We argue that professionalisation can lead to hybrid professionalism of chefs, which involves communication with the public, reliance on practical knowledge, nonformal learning and reflexive control over their work.

“We are service people, and we stay until the job is done”: enactments of professionalism in restaurants

“…Lastly, the informants' emphasis on customer orientation corresponds with proposals of professionalism in the hospitality sector in earlier research (Gustafsson & Jonsson, 2004;Hussey et al, 2011;Lee, 2014;Mack, 2012;Mulder, 2014;Roosipöld & Loogma, 2014). Contrary to those findings about what matters in restaurant professionalism, however, we did not detect among informants any reflective properties, such as a code of ethics and self-awareness or outwardly directed characteristics, such as an ability to communicate with the public as parts of how they conceived professionalism.…”

“…Furthermore, as renowned chefs have stated in interviews, acquiring communication skills as leaders (e.g. head chefs) and public figures and becoming managerial were means to enhance professional reputation and were essential to professional development (Roosipöld & Loogma, 2014). In the restaurant industry, professional competence is considered to be a generic, integrated, and internalised capability to deliver sustainable, effective performance based on knowledge, skills, and attitudes (Mulder, 2014).…”

Tourism jobs in demand: Where the best contracts and high salaries go at online offers

“…The particularities of this occupation partially contribute to its scarcity, and make our results understandable. Research has highlighted these particular traits, including the diverse, complex and growing range of their skills, the complicated adjustments between the educational and productive systems for their development, the tensions between their traditional craft status versus pressure towards professionalization, the difficulties for its standardization (which affects certification), while requiring autonomy and self-regulation, among others ( Roosipõld & Loogma, 2014 ; Tongchaiprasit & Ariyabuddhiphongs, 2016 ; Zopiatis, 2010 ). In recent decades, the social prestige of this occupation has improved ( Pizam, 2016 ).…”

Chefs' competencies: a stakeholder's perspective

“…Mac Con Iomaire and Allen (2016, p. 188) state that “research on chefs is under-represented in the hospitality literature”. Theoretical knowledge on creating and building knowledge on chefs' occupation are weak (Roosipold and Loogma, 2014). Competencies models have been proposed due to Katz's (1955) initial study on managerial competencies.…”

“…Mac Con Iomaire and Allen (2016, p.188) state that "research on chefs is under-represented in the hospitality literature". Theoretical knowledge on creating and building knowledge on chefs' occupation are weak (Roosipold and Loogma, 2014 Competencies models have been proposed since Katz's (1955) initial study on managerial competencies. He proposed three categories namely technical, human and conceptual competencies; this model was expanded by Sandwith (1993), nevertheless these focused on business rather than hospitality and culinary arts management.…”