Start Your Chef Career with the Best Education

So, you are thinking of following a chef career. Maybe one of the many food programmes on television inspired you or perhaps your love for preparing food is so overwhelming that you are willing to spend 30 to 40 hours a week in a restaurant or hotel kitchen, working under constant pressure.

If you want to work in the top restaurant kitchens of the world, your first step should be to find a reputable culinary school where you can train under guidance from top chefs.

Typical Characteristics of a Chef

You must be detail-oriented, hard-working and hygienic. In addition, you will be well-organised, creative and should have a keen interest in preparing mouth-watering, delicious foods. Since you will have to watch the temperature, remember the orders, plate, clean your workstation and coordinate with other chefs to ensure that all the food for a particular table’s order will be ready at the same time, you should also be able to multi-task. If you plan on following a chef career, expect a lot of pressure and long hours of work. This means that you will need lot of endurance.

Main Tasks

Depending on your speciality field, your position in the kitchen, the size of the culinary establishment and your experience, you will have to handle a variety of tasks. You may be the only chef on duty in a small restaurant or patisserie, or work as part of a large team in a 5 star hotel kitchen.

Once you reach the position of head chef or chef de cuisine, you will be in charge of the entire kitchen and will have responsibilities, such as preparing and presenting food according to the expected standard of the hotel or restaurant patrons. You will have to ensure prompt serving of food, oversee the preparation process, ensure that quality and hygiene standards are met, monitor the portion sizes, take stock and ensure that the kitchen safety rules are obeyed.

You will not, however, start out as head chef and will enter as the commis chef in your internship and learn about every workstation in the kitchen. The next level is the chef de partie or station chef, where you will manage your particular area within the kitchen. From here, you will progress to the position of sous chef and will be in charge of the kitchen when the chef de cuisine isn’t there. Once you reach chef de cuisine level, you can expect to gain added responsibilities, such as menu planning, financial planning and stock control.

Work Hours

As mentioned earlier, a chef works long hours. If you are a patisserie chef, you may sometimes start your workday even before the crack of dawn and only walk out of the kitchen late at night. Depending on where you work and what role you fulfil in the kitchen, you can expect medium to long hours of work, and often throughout the weekends.

Income Potential

A commis chef does not earn a lot, but once you reach section chef, sous chef and head chef positions, you will earn quite a substantial salary, especially when working in top 5 star culinary establishments.

Entry Requirements

If you want to kick-start your chef career, choose your education carefully. Culinary schools, such as Prue Leith Chefs Academy, will provide you with top-quality training and because of our international reputation of excellence; you will be able to work in some of the finest restaurants in the world.

Indeed, even our training restaurant is so superb that it has developed an excellent standing in the culinary world. You will train in a modern and well-equipped environment, and will learn cuisine styles. You will gain a well-rounded education and with students from Prue Leith in high demand, you will be able to use our job board to find your dream job.