Germany's chefs' association confirmed what the Bundesagentur für Arbeit found: kitchens are genuinely short on trained cooks, and it shows in the national shortage data two years running.
| Duration | 3 years |
| Pay | Regional Gastgewerbe/DEHOGA tariffs — varies by state |
| Shortage occupation | Yes — added 2023, confirmed again for 2025 |
| Entry requirement | No legal minimum; Hauptschulabschluss typical in practice |
Training covers food science and hygiene standards, menu and cost calculation, basic commercial knowledge, nutrition, and increasingly sustainability practice alongside the practical kitchen skills. Employers range from independent restaurants to large-scale Gemeinschaftsverpflegung — staff canteens and institutional kitchens — which tend to offer more predictable hours than a restaurant service shift.
Cooks are named explicitly in the Bundesagentur für Arbeit’s own top-10 shortage list alongside nurses, professional drivers, and childcare workers. Of the hospitality trades in this guide, this is the one with the clearest, most current official shortage backing — hotel and restaurant service roles specifically weren’t confirmed on the same list.