Chef to sommelier
A chef already meets 31% of what the sommelier role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.6/ 100
1 How much of what a sommelier is expected to do is already part of a chef’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the sommelier role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A sommelier role treats 5 of its required skills as things a chef already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist customers
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- maintain customer service
- order supplies
- train employees
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 5 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sommelier role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a chef background worth leading with.
- already held assist customers assisting and caring
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene assisting and caring
- already held maintain customer service communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held order supplies communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held train employees communication, collaboration and creativity
All 5 carried skills, including the 5 the sommelier role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn decant wines required
- still to learn prepare alcoholic beverages required
- still to learn select glassware for serving required
- still to learn serve wines required
- still to learn compile wine lists required
- still to learn recommend wines required
- still to learn upsell products required
- optional, not held apply foreign languages in hospitality optional
- still to learn sparkling wines required
- still to learn wine characteristics required
- still to learn check wine quality required
- still to learn organise wine cellar required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a sommelier role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 check wine quality practise this
- 02 compile wine lists practise this
- 03 decant wines practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 5 skills that carry over
- already held assist customers skill
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held order supplies skill
- already held train employees skill
1 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply foreign languages in hospitality optional
44 held skills the sommelier role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role check deliveries on receipt skill
- not needed by the target role compile cooking recipes skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on food waste prevention skill
- not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
- not needed by the target role cook dairy products skill
- not needed by the target role cook fish skill
- not needed by the target role cook meat dishes skill
- not needed by the target role cook pastry products skill
- not needed by the target role cook sauce products skill
- not needed by the target role cook seafood skill
- not needed by the target role cook vegetable products skill
- not needed by the target role create decorative food displays skill
- not needed by the target role design indicators for food waste reduction skill
- not needed by the target role develop food waste reduction strategies skill
- not needed by the target role ensure cleanliness of food preparation area skill
- not needed by the target role execute chilling processes to food products skill
- not needed by the target role food waste monitoring systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role handover the food preparation area skill
- not needed by the target role identify nutritional properties of food skill
- not needed by the target role instruct kitchen personnel skill
- not needed by the target role maintain kitchen equipment at correct temperature skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage waste skill
- not needed by the target role molecular gastronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform procurement processes skill
- not needed by the target role plan menus skill
- not needed by the target role plan shifts of employees skill
- not needed by the target role prepare canapés skill
- not needed by the target role prepare desserts skill
- not needed by the target role prepare flambeed dishes skill
- not needed by the target role prepare salad dressings skill
- not needed by the target role prepare sandwiches skill
- not needed by the target role set prices of menu items skill
- not needed by the target role store raw food materials skill
- not needed by the target role think creatively about food and beverages skill
- not needed by the target role types of whisks knowledge
- not needed by the target role use cooking techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use culinary finishing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use food cutting tools skill
4 further entries not listed here
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn sparkling wines required
- still to learn wine characteristics required
Other moves recorded from chef
Common questions about this move
Can a chef become a sommelier?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A chef already covers 31% of what a sommelier is expected to do: 5 skills carry over, 5 of which the sommelier role treats as required.
What skills does a chef need to become a sommelier?
11 required skills are missing, plus 1 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is check wine quality.
How hard is the move from chef to sommelier?
Its learning distance is 65.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.