Becoming a chef and landing a great chef job will be no mean feat if you do not have the right qualifications and experience under your belt. The culinary industry is very competitive and requires dedication and determination to make it from prep cook to head chef. You will advance up the ranks further and faster you have a formal qualification behind you but you will still have to start with the peeling of the potatoes before you can plan the menu!
There is a pecking order to any kitchen and when you embark on your journey to become a chef you need to know where you start and where you could end up. The first step in the process is as a prep cook. Prep cooks prepare food ingredients for meal preparation. They may wash, peel, slice, cut or chop vegetables and other ingredients. Next up is a line cook. Line cooks may be responsible for some of the prep cook’s duties but in addition to these they will prepare broths or simple sauces. Specialised chefs are cooks who have gained significant restaurant experience and posses developed expertise in a particular area of food preparation.
The sous chef or deputy chef is second in command to the restaurant’s head chef. Sous chefs are often in charge of the minute-to-minute affairs in the kitchen while the head chef is attending to administrative affairs. Three years of hands-on experience is generally required before assuming the role of sous chef. The crème de la crème of the kitchen is the head chef. The head chef, or chef de cuisine, occupies the top role in a professional kitchen and must have at least seven years of experience before becoming in charge of the kitchen.
The Prue Leith Chefs Academy offers you the highest professional training in the culinary industry enabling you to pursue a career as a chef anywhere in the world. With a diploma from this highly regarded cooking institution, the culinary world is your oyster. Contact us to find out about becoming a chef.