Saturday, April 24, 2010

Launching a Chef Career Takes Culinary School, Networking, and Passion For Cooking By Lisa Jenkins Platinum Quality Author

There are so many different - and good - reasons to pursue a chef career. Most pursue culinary jobs due to their love of food, and for the passion they have to create dishes for others. Some do it for the rush they get of working in a fast paced environment. They live for excitement and the exhilaration of making food quickly and brilliantly. Some do it for the social aspect. They love meeting and socializing with people who enjoy their food and enjoy making weddings and functions memorable. Whatever kind of chef you want to be, there are certain positions or chef jobs that you can find, which will be perfect for you.
There are chef jobs in the hospitality industry like being a hotel, catering or restaurant chef, and you can also find a more specific cooking position in retail, public sector, or privately for a wealthy family. Your journey in the industry can span many countries and food establishments, which will all give you a certain flair that you can add to your cooking style.
It's helpful for prospective chefs to acquire formal culinary training at a cooking school or hospitality college. Here you will be taught all the skills you need to be a brilliant master chef, sous, demi, or commis chef, and more. There are many things that you will need to learn if you want to become a culinary artist, including food preparation best practices, mastering common dishes and sauces, the hospitality industry as a whole, how restaurants are run, and more. Students are taught about kitchen etiquette, service, presentation, technique, and food combinations. Cooking jobs are not necessarily easy to get, and you will be competing with other equally talented chefs for the best positions. Hard work, creativity, and a strong resume pay off.
Once you have completed your degree or training, you can start looking for a job in the hospitality industry. Most chefs will begin by working in a small restaurant, pub or local catering company, as an assistant initially until they get more experience and confidence in cooking fabulous meals. Eventually, you will work your way up the ladder from commis chef to demi chef to the second in command, sous or chef de partie, and finally, right to the top of the ladder, heading your own kitchen. This position is also known as the chef manager in certain hotels and large restaurants. This top position takes a lot of hard work, management skills, and expert training.
A tip: if you want to get your cooking career started as soon as possible, you should find a hotel or restaurant chef, and ask to be an apprentice while you are studying. This will give you the more practical, hands on experience that you need, and help you to get a job once you have completed your training. If you want a more laid back lifestyle, you can also branch off and become a personal or private chef to a celebrity, or some wealthy families, which is a far less stressful career, and pays a very high salary.
Each and every cooking job in a hotel, restaurant, or catering company, has a unique style, unique food and a unique way of preparing it. While you have to figure out your own individual style and flair, so that you can stand out from the rest, you also have to learn to work as a team and with the kitchen staff as a unit, according to the specific food establishment's style. You also have to be a people person and create interesting menus with delicious meals that many people will enjoy and come back for, time and time again. A master chef or chef manager with a solid following of happy customers and will enjoy a great chef career.
Catering jobs can be tricky and you must also work together as a team making bulk meals for events, such as birthdays, weddings, corporate functions, anniversary parties, and more. Being a chef manager or master chef is not the easiest job in the world, as you have to create delightful menus, exquisite food, and manage the kitchen staff and the other staff. You are the leader and in charge of the entire kitchen and the way it operates.
Besides having an eye and nose for what ingredients go together perfectly, your top chef career will also entail working with many other people to get your food out on time. Lisa Jenkins is a career specialist and freelance writer for JobMonkey, a free knowledge library and job board for ambitious job seekers. Learn about cooking employment and helpful education in the culinary arts from Jenkins and her editorial team.

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