Would You Make an Ideal Chef?
By M James
Here are 10 great reasons to become a chef
1. You Enjoy Food
Sounds obvious, but those who enjoy their food, and are creative in the kitchen can make a good chef.
2. You Enjoy Cooking
You might know what sort of foods you like, and what flavours and styles are your favourites, but can you cook them? If you can, then why not consider doing it for a living?
3. You Enjoy Learning
A chef is constantly learning, and can pick up tips from all sorts of people, whether relatives or celebrity chefs. How many of your family recipes could you produce? How do you create the classic dishes that are the staple of many restaurants?
4. You Strive for Perfection
Whilst certain celebrity chefs spend a great deal of time agonising over ingredient combinations, and creating unique fusions of flavours, the majority of chefs have to prepare and cook each meal quickly, and aren’t afforded this luxury. As restaurants usually need to be full, the customers need to get their meals quickly. This isn’t to say that there isn’t a need for fantastic attention to detail and to produce each dish to the best of your ability.
5. You Enjoy Having a Good Time
The catering industry is known for its hard work ethics. This doesn’t mean that those involved in catering don’t play hard too. It’s an exciting industry to be in, and can be very rewarding.
6. You Work Well Under Pressure
We’ve all seen chefs under pressure, whether in real life, or on TV. Whilst the majority of kitchen staff and restaurant workers work hard and have the best interests of the business at heart, the catering industry is no place for passengers, and those who don’t work well under pressure will not last long.
7. You Like to Try New Things
Being adventurous and trying new foods, or suggesting new combinations, or taking inspiration from other cultures or countries is important in the catering world. Although some successful restaurants stick to classic regional or local dishes, there is something to be said for a restaurant that can add some versatility to its menu.
8. You Are Committed to Customer Service
Great customer service is essential to almost every industry, and probably none more so than in the catering industry. The success or failure of a restaurant depends on attracting new customers, and ensuring that customers keep returning. Exceeding customer’s expectations will help to ensure that the restaurant is always busy. Whilst the waiting staff and the bar staff are visible, and often get the praise, it’s the chef who does the hard work
9. If You Want Job Security
Good chefs are always in demand, and with the right skills and experience, you can ensure that you are always employed, no matter how tough the economic climate.
10. If You Don’t Want a 9-5 Job
Chef jobs are very rarely 9-5, and often the hours are long and unsociable as people want to eat at meal times, not during office hours. Find yourself in the right chef job, and you will be working with a great bunch of people, providing excellent quality meals from fine ingredients to appreciative customers who keep coming back. What could be better?
Now you know whether you’ve got what it takes to be a chef, why not see what chef jobs are available locally, and find out if you have got what it takes?
If this has tempted you into looking at Chef Jobs, why not find out why you should Work For Revolution?
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Becoming a Chef - The Pros and Cons
We are immersed in the cachet of Chefdom.
I noticed that there are ads for various culinary academies everywhere on television, but what nobody wants to talk about is the real Pros and Cons of working in a honest-to-goodness-professional kitchen.
Pros:
1. It’s fun! Why? Because adrenalin is pouring through your system as you work, the same way as when you play sports or perform on the stage. Adrenalin is Nature’s own high!
From the minute your shift begins you are racing to get the job done. If you begin at 7:00am for an 11:00am opening, then the preparation has to be finished before the doors open. Once the orders start coming in, the race is on to get every order out within the time allotted. All good restaurants these days have computerized systems to measure your productivity, and racing the clock is fun.
2. It allows us to fulfill our innate need to nurture others, to show our love by feeding them.
Some of us just love to cook for others. I’m one of those people. I get such pleasure from preparing something, serving it, and watching the faces of the diners to see their appreciation. Just LOVE it!
3. There is usually work to be found in a commercial kitchen.
No matter how small the town, you can usually find work, thus, you will always have a livelihood.
Cons:
1. It’s the hardest job around.
Working in a professional kitchen is not for the weak of body or mind. The labor is intense and no matter what, you have to be able to lift and stretch, mop and clean. “CLEAN AS YOU GO” is the motto of all trained Culinarians, and that means every minute of every shift, every surface in your station.
At the end of the shift, a deep fat fryer full of hot oil has to be transported and dumped in the appropriate place, and YOU have to do it. The walls behind the fryers have to sparkle, as do the floors and counter tops.
Let’s say, for example, that you’re working the Pantry Station. All of the greens must be washed and prepared, along with all the dressings. If you’re lucky, your kitchen has a prep cook to help you. If you’re not, then it’s all up to you.
All of your garnishes have to be cut to spec, as well as all tomatoes, avocados, carrots and any other vegetables or meats that go on your salads. If you also handle desserts, then those have to be prepped as well.
And on top of everything else, productivity is measured. When the ticket comes out of the machine at your station, the clock starts ticking. When you place the order on the pass-through, you stamp the ticket. It is somebody’s job to take all the tickets and grade you on your times. The next day before your shift begins, there will be a meeting to reveal whether or not you came up to par on your speed. Whew!
2. You can cut and burn almost any part of your body.
No worries. The tips of your fingers you slice off grow back and your knees only get stronger from having to bend down to get things out of the reach-in refrigerators, and all burns heal.
3. The pay is universally LOW.
I worked at a wonderful, popular white-tablecloth restaurant in downtown Los Angeles for a year earning $8.00 an hour, but paying for parking, tools, and uniforms ate up most of my wages. I also worked at a famous boutique restaurant in Mendocino, CA for $7.50 and hour.
Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray: these are the stars in culinary spectrum, but the rest of us can never expect earnings like that, no matter how good we are at what we do. If you don’t write a cookbook or get on television, there is very little chance of your earning anything other than minimum wage, for all your skills.
Bottom line:
Being a chef is hard work, the hardest; but it was the most fun I ever had offstage. I still miss it.
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Eye To Eye With Katie Couric: Want To Be A Chef?
Think you want to be a chef? CBS’ Rita Braver spoke to some industry insiders about what it takes to make it in the kitchen. (CBSNews.com)
Susan Spicer on Becoming a Chef
Susan Spicer, of Bayona Restaurant, shares her thoughts on what it takes to 
become a chef.
Should You Become A Chef?
Becoming a chef is not a walk in the park. It is a challenging road and may not be for everyone. You should therefore have a basic understanding of what it takes to become a chef before you invest in an expensive education at top culinary arts schools. You should learn more about the requirements and process involved to become a chef.Do your friends and family compliment you on all of your creative dishes? Do people around you tell you that you should become a chef? Do you spend a lot of time in front of the TV watching cooking shows? When your co-workers ask you to make your famous chicken wings for the holiday party, do you jump at the chance? Well if this sounds like you, then you are certainly on your way, but becoming a chef is not always fun and games. You need to understand what a career in the hot kitchens is really like.
THE BENEFITS OF BEING A CHEF
You Are In The Spotlight
You Found a Career You Are Passionate About
What is better in life than being able to work at a career that you truly love? If you want to be a chef, you have to love what you do. You have to truly enjoy cooking and baking, if not, those long hours in the restaurant kitchens are going to seem like days. If cooking feels like a chore then it may not be the right career for you.
THE STRESSES OF BECOMING A CHEF
It’s Hard Work
Being a chef is a difficult job. You are standing on your feet for hours every day. There is no time to sit and rest, its too busy for that. You will develop all sorts of new aches and pains from lifting heavy bags and boxes.
You Will Have To Deal With an Unpleasant Working Environment
Be prepared to sweat. Working in a kitchen has been compared to working outside all day under a hot sun in 90 degree weather. You will constantly be working over an open flame and reaching into hot ovens.
Kitchens can be rather dirty. You will eventually have to deal with garbage and grease that accumulates in many kitchens.
Being a chef can be dangerous. You will probably be burned a number of times from the hot ovens, pots and pans, boiling liquids and hot oil. You will get cut. When things get busy and you have to work faster, your concentration diminishes and a sharp knife, food processor blade, blender, or broken glass can be lethal weapons.
Everyone Can’t Be Emeril
Just because you got your degree at The Culinary Institute of America doesn’t mean you are going to land your own spot on the Food Network or get your own line of custom made cooking products and make millions of dollars. I am not trying to belittle that dream. If that is what you are shooting for, then by all means go for it, but in most cases cooks do not make a ton of money. So try not to get discouraged if you don’t make it big. The food industry is a busy world and is always in need of good chefs that love what they do and are willing to go the extra mile to prove it. Make that your number one goal above all things.
The Hours Aren’t Great
When you become a chef, be prepared to work very long hours, holidays and weekends. Many new chefs have abandoned their careers because they could not cope with spending so much time away from family and friends.
Final Words
I truly hope this article has helped you make a decision as to whether or not you want to become a chef. This article is not meant to discourage you. Many new chefs spend thousands of dollars on Culinary School, and when they finally get out into the real world, they realize they can’t stand the heat, and wind up quitting. That is an awful lot of time and money wasted, so make certain you are sure a chef is the right career for you. All the best and good luck.
How To Become A Chef
How To Become A Chef
By Alyssa Bentley
Good 
Culinary schools focus their students on learning through interaction with food. The best way to learn how to prepare food is to practice, hands on. After a student has completed their in-school training, they will move on to an apprenticeship, spending time in a kitchen doing the lower skilled kitchen duties. Culinary Students will need to learn under several different chefs to find what class of food they want to specialize in. In their classes, they should learn how to plan menus, determine serving and portion sizes, how to manage the cost of foods in quantity and reduction of food waste. Students must also learn restaurant sanitation and public health rules for proper handling of food.
A beginning chef can expect to make it to head chef position in 10 years, provided they are able to withstand the high stress and pressure that comes with the job.
Executive chefs often have restaurateur partners for financial reasons, but it’s good to take a few business courses if you intend to run your own restaurant. Executive chefs often spend more time with patrons and investors than in the kitchen.
There are many different job descriptions that must be filled in restaurant situations.
When entering the chef industry, you may end up as one of many line cooks in a kitchen. The different positions you could be expected to fill include a pastry chef, in charge of pastries and desserts, the pantry chef, in charge of cold-prepared foods such as salads, dressings, buffet items and sandwiches. Roast cooks handle roasted meats and gravies, as well as broiled meats or other items to order. He may also handle fried meat and fish.
The vegetable cook prepares vegetables, soups, starches and eggs, while the fish cook handles dishes involving fish and seafood. The sauce chef may handle the fish as well as sauces in some kitchens, as well as stews, hot hors d’oeuvres and sauteeing.
Other chefs you will need to be aware of include the Sous chef, or assistant to the executive chef. The person in this position is in charge of many of the organizational tasks involved in keeping a kitchen running smoothly. They keep records of purchases, needs and losses. They are often the organizers, making sure that food is crafted and sent out to the tables in a timely fashion so that all patrons get to eat at the same time.
The executive chef is in charge of everything that involves the kitchen, which includes the menu, personnel management and other business management aspects. There is also the Chef De Cuisine, who, depending on the kitchen, is sometimes in charge of the executive chef, sometimes equal to him, and sometimes directly under his authority, equivalent to a sous chef.
Things to remember
A few things to do to prepare yourself for entering the world of culinary excellence include taking a job in a restaurant, any job, even if it’s busing tables or washing dishes, just to give yourself experience and to help you get a feel for the physical needs of a career in the food industry. Holding a position in a restaurant will also give you a foot in the door. As you gain in experience and education, you can begin to work your way up the culinary ladder in a restaurant, starting with line chef, and working your way up to master chef.
Remember to research the culinary schools in your area and abroad, select your school and pursue it. If you are in high school still, speak with your guidance councilor about schools and careers in the culinary profession.
Alyssa is a creative writer for Mobile Penguins, http://www.mobilepenguins.com - a Website Advertising company out of Seattle. This article is researched and written for The Chef’s Emporium, chefsemporium.com. The Chef’s Emporium is a fantastic resource for culinary uniforms from the traditional white chef’s jacket and slacks to the more contemporary styles and colors.
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