If you have a passion for cooking, becoming a chef may be the right career for you.
Let your passion for food transform into a career as a chef. Being a chef can be a rewarding and exciting experience but training to become one can be challenging. However, all your training pays off when the guest compliments you on another delicious dish. While education in the classroom is important, first hand exposure as an apprentice and assistant is the first step towards your culinary goals.
Instructions
Instructions
1. Choose a culinary education program. Some educational routes you can take include two- or four-year college degrees, vocational school programs, culinary school or an apprentice program offered by some culinary institutes. Some restaurants and hotels also offer internship training programs in their kitchens.
2. Prepare food through practice. No matter what culinary education route you take, spend lots of time preparing and cooking food. Through repetition and being in the kitchen you will learn first hand the skills and techniques that will make you a successful chef.
3. Learn and apply the curriculum. Learn the different cooking styles and techniques as well as care and maintain a clean kitchen. Knowledge of cooking utensils, portion sizes, meal-course planning and ingredient selection are just some of the many skills you will need to learn in order to run a kitchen and restaurant.
4. Know the different positions of the culinary hierarchy. Like many career paths, the road to becoming a chef will take time and experience. Knowing where to begin is important to becoming a head chef. A sauce chef who prepares sauces and stews can be a good starting place as well as an assistant cook. The more you know about the roles of each position the better you will understand get there.
5. Train as an apprentice or assistant to a head chef. Since hotels and restaurants generally have a head chef to direct a staff of cooks, most chefs are willing to take on an apprentice. After training as an apprentice, you may be promoted to a station cook and possibly a station chef.
6. Be able to handle pressure and stress on the job. A head chef's responsibility to provide the best quality food to his guest can put a lot of pressure on him and his staff. As part of the training staff, you will need to learn to make no mistakes under pressure and work with a sense of urgency to meet strict deadlines. If you are able to handle the pressure of the job, you will be ready to become a chef.
Tags: head chef, able handle, able handle pressure, apprentice assistant, becoming chef, culinary education