How to Start a Career as a Chef

If you have a genuine love for food, and for creating high quality meals for people, a career as a chef may be a good fit for you. However, you need to be prepared for hard work and long hours so it’s not an easy way to earn money.

This is why the first thing you need to know about becoming a chef is that you need to be dedicated if you want to succeed. Let’s look at some more advice that budding chefs need to know about.

What qualifications do you need?

The truth is that you do not actually need any qualifications in order to become a chef. However, they can be useful in certain circumstances.

A formal training allows you to get an understanding of different cuisines and cooking techniques. This knowledge is a good foundation on which to build your career.

Alternatively, you may find that working in a professional kitchen leads to you becoming a chef. Many young people have a job helping out in a kitchen and discover that they have a talent for cookery. Of course, this means that you have to pick up all the skills that you need within the pressure of a busy kitchen environment.

What can you expect from working in a commercial kitchen?

Any chef who works within a professional kitchen will tell you that it’s hard work. If you decide to begin a career as a chef, you will be expected to put in long hours. This is tiring and stressful, especially when service is busy.

Of course, the work can also be extremely rewarding. You get to create dishes that make people happy. In modern kitchens you may also get to wear a stylish uniform provided by a leader in chef uniforms, which is a bonus when compared with some of the more cumbersome traditional chef wear. In some restaurants your uniform will be provided for you; in others you have to provide it yourself.

All in all, most chefs enjoy the challenge and buzz of a commercial kitchen. Once you get your first job as a chef, you should be able to rise through the ranks in the kitchen if you have talent and determination.

Chef roles in a professional kitchen

The first role you are likely to have when you begin your career is that of a commis chef. This is the junior chef in the kitchen and it’s a role that is given to people who are still learning their trade.

The chef de partie is normally in charge of the commis chef. They are also responsible for running a certain part of the kitchen that deals with a particular element such as fish or vegetables.

The next most senior chef in the kitchen is the sous chef. They are the second in command in the kitchen and report directly to the head chef. It’s the head chef who runs the entire kitchen. This not only includes managing people but also liaising with suppliers and the management team of the restaurant. Head chefs also often create the menus for the restaurant.

These roles are what you should expect to encounter if you are up for the challenge of becoming a professional chef.