A lot of us always took for granted what a CHEF truly means. Some, well a lot of people nowadays belittle it, because according to them it’s for those who choose the easiest route. The easiest route to enter, to go on and to survive. But little did they know, everything is not always what they used to think of.
Being a chef is not all about cooking stuffs just to satisfy the needs of hunger, It is not all about making expensive dishes just for the sake of status and it is not all about wearing an apron and chef jacket to be called as a Chef.
EVERYTHING IS JUST TOO COMPLICATED.
Let’s start from the very first thing you need to have before entering this position up to the ones that will keep you last long in this field.
1. Diploma/Certificate. You can’t just be a chef right away once you decided it. One of their requirement is your background. If ever you don’t have any experience, a certificate and diploma in Culinary can do the thing for you.
To have this requirement, you won’t just take written exam, but you’ll also have practical exam. You need to pass both for you to be able to achieve passing grade so proper “practice and listening” is the key.
2. Experience. The next one that will determine your future is your experience in the field. The more years of experience you have, the higher position you’ll get.
Remember you can’t just cook if you won’t be an apprentice first. The truth is no one will be there to teach you because they’re just too busy, so all you need to do is to observe and learn from it as much as you can for the shortest period of time.
3. Don’t settle for one employer. One of the big mistakes of an employee is staying in one company for the rest of their lives. It’s either their waiting for promotion or maybe they’re just too loyal.
Most chefs that are in the field for so long, stays in a company maximum 2-3 years. And as they change their employer, their position and salary increases as well. It’s also a plus for you since employer nowadays don’t just look on how many years you’re already in the field, but also the company you had your experienced.
4. Your will to not give up. You can’t just be called as a chef if your colleagues won’t see you as one, and you can’t just enter in this industry if you don’t have the strength and courage to work in a place wherein everyone must be physically, mentally, and emotionally ready.
There’s no room for the weak ones out there because you’ll be standing and doing different stuffs for minimum of 10 hours. Weak hearts are not allowed because you’ll deal personally with cuts and burns every now and then so you need to get used to it. You’ll be surrounded by people with fire wherein they always looks angry (they are) so you need to be positive in every way.
5. Join Competitions. One of the things that will make yourself well establish, is if you join competitions. Not only you’ll represent your company or your school but it will make yourself well known to other competitors as well.
6. Establish connections. One of the most important things you need to consider is this. Be a good team mate so that they’ll acknowledge you as one the person they can recommend.
Sharing your dishes and recipes through social media can also help you to boost your self in this field. You can choose of different social media website that professionals are in, like Linkedin and Instagram.
7. Specialized a specific skill. In culinary it consist vast of cuisines that you can choose to specialized. If you love Japanese or Chinese cuisine, make it as your experience. If you love making salads, assigned yourself in Cold Section. If hot items os your identity then apply in hot or main kitchen.
The more years you spend in that specific section or cuisines will grant you a name as “SPECIALTY CHEFS” and their salary range is higher than average.
8. Learn management. Being a chef doesn’t only concern in kitchen stuffs, but as early as possible, take the initiative to learn food costing and other docs like transfer forms, C7 etc.
In every dish, they can only derived in its initial price if they calculate the cost of every ingredients of the dish.Looks easy? Nope and never. From 1 pinch of salt to 2tbs of olive oil, you need to calculate it by knowing its price and divide it per ml or grams. So imagine all of the ingredients you need to compute in just one dish.
9. Make them feel that you’re needed. Always take the initiative. Never tell that it’s not your job (It’s a BIG NO). Don’t compare what you’d learned because every chefs differs in the way they handle their dishes. One and two mistakes is enough, you need to learn fast and adapt to the environment. That’s the only cue for them to trust you.
And when that time comes, let your existence be known. Rather than waiting for orders of your senior, take the initiative to finish it. Asking the right questions is the key.
10. BE PROUD OF YOUR PROFESSION. The last one but the first thing you need to do. The question that they usually ask for beginners is “Why do you want to become a chef?”. So ask yourself first before starting. Are you really ready to embark in a journey that there’s no room for break down?
