How to become a chef.

How To Go From A Beginner Who Likes To Cook All The Way To Head Chef Of Your Favorite Restaurant! Make that your restaurant. Everyone likes good food. But not everyone can cook. In fact, it takes a lot of practice to learn to make tasty dishes over and over again. There are culinary schools all over the world. Many colleges teach the culinary arts. And don't forget the trade schools. With all these options, do you know where to start? Let me break it down for you with one question. Do you like to cook? If your answer is yes... if you want to learn to prepare a delicious entree for your friends, family, customers, or more importantly, yourself... then I have news for you. You can make delicious food for a living! Just by becoming a chef! I'm going to tell you everything you need to know to make this dream possible. From when to start, where to get training, all the way to which specialty is right for you. And you can find it all inside this guide.

1. Introduction

   How to Become a Chef So you want to be a chef! The culinary arts are a great choice for a career. It helps if you have a previous interest in cooking. Most people that decide that they would like to explore the great field of the culinary arts already seem to have the pre-disposition for it. Of course, that is not always the case. Some chefs come into the profession later on in life. Of course, if you want to be at the top of your field, you should at least know...

2. What Is A Chef?

   What Is A Chef? A chef is a person that has studied for many years in the culinary arts to learn how to run a successful kitchen and properly prepare meals in a professional environment. There are quite a few places that a chef can choose to work in. Some of these include: · Restaurants · Hospitals · Hotels · Cruise ships · Rest Homes · Diners These aren’t all of the places that a chef can work in, but you...

3. Is it right for me?

   Is it right for me? Before you can decide whether or not you should become a chef, you should first consider the demands that are placed on a chef’s shoulder. It can be a very stressful situation for someone that doesn’t already know what it is like to be under such working conditions. A chef is responsible for many other staff members in the kitchen as well. You need to know what is going on around you at all times, and have great organizational skills to boot....

4. What do I have to do?

   What do I have to do? Being a chef is a very physical profession. You are required to remain on your feet almost constantly. Along with that, you must also be stirring, kneading, and chopping your foods. Many times, you will have to do all of this while also having to ordering foods for hungry customers and critical customers. A kitchen is almost scorching hot year round so you should be quite prepared for that. Even in the best conditioned areas, a kitchen is often as hot as 95...

5. The Apprentice

   It takes many years to become a chef, and much schooling to get to the position of head chef. Most chefs begin by becoming apprentices for a few years so that they can get the necessary experience of working in a kitchen. Being a chef often requires you to stand on your feet for hours at a time and you are rarely able to relax for very long. Most chefs start out helping out kitchen staff in urban restaurant environments because they are the most busy and offer a great deal of...

6. Choosing a specialty

   Most chefs have to first choose a specialty before going to culinary school so that they can specifically study that art in general. Each specific culinary specialty has their own level of study, and all have their own rewards to offer. To be a successful chef you need to know how to supervise a variety of kitchen staff, create a nice food display, know how to properly garnish a meal, plan menus, and order, stock and store food supplies. This may not sound like much, but try...

7. Commis

   A commis is an entry level position in the culinary industry. It is basically an apprenticeship position. You will have to do this at some point if you ever plan to run your own kitchen. For this, you will have to work under the line cook. In this position, you will be learning how to work effectively in a kitchen environment. You will also be learning how to prep, using your knife, and how to present a plate properly. In addition, you will learn exactly how stressful working...

8. Pastry Chef

   A pastry chef needs to know how to create baked goods, confections and specialty items. Pastry chefs generally specialize in deserts. This is a specialty that requires much creativity and a great sense of taste for deserts. If you chose to work in a hotel environment, you will likely have to report to an executive pastry chef. To be a good pastry chef you need to be able to manage people. It is a must. You must also be able to coordinate staffing with production requirements. You...

9. Saucier

   This is just as it appears. This chef specializes in making sauces, and sometimes meats that are cooked in sauces. This type of specialty is actually quite prestigious among the chefs out there. Since sauces are often the basis of French haute cuisine, the saucier chef is considered a very necessary person in the kitchen. The best trained saucier’s know that the five basis of all sauces rest behind the five mother sauces first. These sauces are: Espagnole (brown sauce): This...

10. Sous Chef

    The sous chef is the second in command after the executive chef. The word “sous” means “under.” That is exactly what you are in the kitchen. You are just under the executive chef; basically, a sous chef is the most important person in the kitchen. The sous chef is the person that keeps the kitchen running. The executive chef often gets the credit, but it is the sous chef that deserves it. The sous chef must be in charge of the specialty chefs, the chefs, cooks, and other kitchen...

11. Executive chef

    An executive is the person that is in charge of the sous chef. They are the head of the kitchen and supervise the goings on in the kitchen. The executive chef plans the menus, ensures that the food quality meets the establishment’s standards, estimates the food requirements, and may be involved in estimating the food and labor costs. The executive chef is also in charge of hiring kitchen staff. The executive chef also cooks food daily. In this position you can be very hands on,...

12. Garde Manger

    The garde Manger chef is a specialized cook that is responsible for cold food presentations. The cold foods included in this specialization are salads, pates, canapes, and hors d’ouevres. You will also be responsible for all of the cold sauces like vinaigrettes, dressings, pickles, aspics, chutneys, and relishes. You are also responsible for buffet table settings for large gatherings such as corporate events i.e., ice sculptures etc....

13. Personal Chef

    A personal chef is a chef that prefers to work in a family setting. This type of chef generally works in the employer’s home and prepares meals for the family. In this position, you are basically responsible for all aspects of the meal including the ordering of the food. It is a relatively rare specialty that is reserved for those that really enjoy bringing families together for meal time. For this type of work, you will have to check about allergies, personal likes and...

14. Gourmet Chef

    The gourmet chef specializes in specialty cuisine, often foreign dishes. This type of chef is generally very skilled in foreign delicacies and what is often seen as “fancy foods”. A gourmet chef generally works in upper class establishments or for those that can afford the expensive dishes that prepared. As a gourmet chef, you will need to know even the often ignored things such as wines so as to better complement your cuisine. Gourmet chefs are often schooled overseas locations,...

15. Qualifications & Advancement

    Qualifications & Advancement Once you have started at a beginning level as a cook or apprentice, you will want to move ahead and into an assistant cook position. This doesn’t sound like much, but it will be necessary when looking to advance to an executive chef level. You must train and go to school for a few years to be able to work your way into a fine restaurant or a head chef position. You will also need a few years of experience. That is why many people begin to...

16. What about the money?

    What about the money? There is plenty of money to be made in the culinary industry. Of course, much of this depends on the area, and the type of establishment that you work in. Naturally a busier area will bring in pretty good money. The best places to work in are expensive hotels and restaurants. Here is a quick breakdown of the money that you can make that depends on your position. Head chefs and cooks: You can make anywhere from $7.39-$22.77 hourly to start. To be more...

17.  How do I Start?

    How do I Start? As I stated before, you must go to school if you are hoping to be head chef or executive chef. There are many avenues that you could chose when deciding where or how you would like to get your training. It really just depends on what kind of credentials you are hoping to get. There are a few places that you can go to get your training. You can choose Colleges or universities, trade or vocational schools and an apprenticeship. To become an executive chef that...

18. Accredited Colleges, Universities & Culinary Academies

    Accredited Colleges, Universities & Culinary Academies Going to a 2-4 year college in order to become a certified chef is the best place to start if you are hoping to be accredited nationwide. College courses offer you are more rounded view of the culinary industry and give you much of the skills that you will need in order to excel at your field. Employers at finer restaurants are more eager to hire an accredited chef that has a college degree in the field than a...

19. Trade or Vocational Schools

    A trade school offers you the chance to get you accredited in a shorter time period than colleges can. You will still learn much about the culinary industry but your classes are condensed so as to suit a certain time frame. Trade schools are becoming more and more popular among those that wish to begin a career as quickly as possible, but there are pros and cons to choosing a trade school as your means to getting your credentials. Let’s take a quick look at them. Pros...

20. On-Site Training

    On-site training is basically when an employer trains you to be a chef in their establishment. The best thing about this type of training is that you generally get paid to do it. The down side to this is that you are only trained to work for them and you are not accredited. This means that you are not a certified chef. You will not be recognized in the field as a chef either. Another bad point to this type of training is that if you lose your job, you are back where you started....

21. Online Training

    These days, just about every profession on the market has courses that you can take online. Some of the courses claim to make you accredited, but be very careful and research it thoroughly before parting with any money. Some of these courses can be as cheap as $19.99, which is an obvious bargain. Of course you must consider that the courses can’t really be of any use. You simply can’t use an online course manual to learn how to be a chef. You don’t get the obvious benefits of hands...

22. What Equipment do I need?

    What Equipment do I need? As in every area of life, you need to have the right equipment when you are trying to become a chef. Most schools require that you purchase your own tools and equipment. Have you ever heard the old saying “A movie star is only as good as his next movie”? The same is true if you are a chef. A chef is only as good as his next dish. The best way to start you on the road to making great cuisine is by using the right tools and always having them handy. You...

23. I’m Interested! What Next?

    I’m Interested! What Next? Getting started in your quest to become a chef isn’t as hard as you might think. The first thing that you need to do is research. You should: · Research any schools in your area that train chefs · See that the tuition is affordable · Ensure that there is financial aid available if you need it · Determine what transportation you will need · Find out how much it will cost to commute. You will...

24. Summary

    By now, you should know all that you need to know in order to make the culinary industry your chosen profession. In this guide you have learned: What it takes to be a chef What type of training you need What the working conditions are like What equipment that you will need The different specialties there are as a chef What you will study in college or university How much money you can expect to pay for tuition How much money you can make as a chef Why...

25. Resources

    Online resources http://www.cooking-schools.us http://www.educationdirect.com http://www.ichef.com http://www.chefassociation.com http://www.personalchefnetwork.com http://www.culinaryed.com http://www.culinarybusiness.com http://www.yourcollegelife.com/Articles/4.php Books The Professional Chef (Author: The Culinary Institute of America) Professional Chef’s Knife Kit (Author: The Culinary Institute of America) The professional Pastry Chef: The...