Chef Skills – Creating Memorable Food
When hiring chefs in advanced cooking positions for upscale restaurants or hotels, employers usually prefer applicants who have training after high school; those who have chefs skills such as food handling, sanitation procedures, nutrition and basic cooking methods, such as baking, broiling, and grilling; and they want advanced cooking techniques for banquets, buffets, parties and cuisines.
A growing number of chefs have gained their skills from training programs at professional culinary institutes and although curricula may vary, students learn chef skills by spending most of their time in kitchens learning to prepare meals by practicing cooking skills as well as learning good knife techniques and proper use and care of kitchen equipment, and while some work in hotels and restaurants, others prepare food for people in places such as hospitals and universities. Before the food is served, chefs check each plate to make sure the portions of food are the right size. Other chefs skills include -
- menu planning
- tasting and smelling the food, adding herbs and spices to improve flovours
- purchasing and inventory methods
To achieve the level of skills required of an executive chef in a fine restaurant, many years of training and experience are necessary and besides culinary skills, there are others that are necessary to becoming a chef such as flexibility, good communication and organization as well as professionalism, understanding that the hours are long and realizing that you will work on holidays and weekends; demanding uncompromising excellence and adherence to standards.
Because they have acquired such outstanding chefs skills, a number of chefs advance to executive chef positions or supervisory or management positions, particularly in hotels, clubs, and larger, more elegant restaurants.
In order to develop the skills needed to pursue a career as a chef, one needs to enroll in a culinary arts course in a recognized institute, and Prue Leith Chefs Academy has a fully equipped demonstration kitchen as well as an award winning restaurant on site where chefs skills are honed to perfection.
