Yes, You can become a CHEF of class in the USA!

Become a chef of class (image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos)

In my family, everybody can cook, except for me! My mother and my brother seem to have a natural knack for it. When I say “natural,” I mean that they have the heart for it and the innate desire to cook food with love and much gusto for our family. My father, younger brother and sister seem to just have developed it either through constant exposure to my mother’s excellent cooking style or out of necessity (like when we’re left to fend for ourselves and they take over the kitchen throne.) My older brother didn’t pursue a culinary career although he took one short course and a numerous pantry job experiences. My desire to know how to become a chef was enflamed because my younger brother would want to be one, and I would like to help him discover how to become a CHEF.

     Top chefs, popular or not, admit that becoming a chef is not all glitz and glamour, it’s not that easy. Behind those prepared delectable dishes is a different world, a tough world with a tough job. Here is what they say to help you discern if you have what it take to become a CHEF of high caliber.

Make Sure that it’s really what you wanna do

     If you have passion for it, you knew it. No words are enough how you feel when you are in the kitchen or preparing food for others. If you have further doubts, continue reading on to know if you have what it takes to become a chef.

Do your Research and Know the Trade

Have the Correct Skills

     Upon research and interview, we learned the skills you should have with you on becoming a good chef:

Ø  CHEFS have highly refined and inventive sense of taste. One thing a chef is responsible for is coming up with new and exotic dishes. Sometimes, a chef may make a mistake but in a snap and with his or her inventiveness in the sense of taste, he or she can easily rectify it.

Ø  CHEFS are multitaskers. This is to keep things running smoothly in a hot, crowded and noisy kitchen. The work is fast-paced and a missed to detail can result in time lost and food wasted, not to mention an unhappy customer.

Ø  CHEFS are Creative. A culinary website says, “Creativity is necessary if you want to stand out as a chef. Often a meal is made all the more interesting by the way it is presented on the plate. A great sense of creativity can help with this and also with finding new ways to prepare old dishes.”

“When the average person goes to a fine restaurant, rarely do they consider the amount of work that goes into the preparation of a meal. A good chef is good at making everything look easy and keep things running smoothly. It takes a great deal of creativity to give everything the appearance of being unaffected.”

Ø  CHEFS are fast decision makers. As a chef, you are going to have to monitor everything that's being prepared and still keep up with your various other duties. To do this, you really will need to be a fast decision maker.

Ø  CHEFS have excellent Management Skills. This will be necessary in dealing with the staff’s problems. Not to mention time management and demand as chefs are on their feet for hours at a time, often working evening weekends and holidays.

Know the demanding Responsibilitues

     Chefs create the menu items. And often prices them, too. Chefs are responsible for proper hygiene handling, Purchasing, Accounting, Marketing Strategy, Food Science and much much more.

     Now, if you’re decided, here are the things you should do to become a chef:

Go to School and Get Educated.

     Education is indeed important if you want to become a chef in the United States. Johnson & Wales University and The Culinary Schools of America are two of the premier culinary schools in the country. There is an equivalent huge price to pay though.

     Fret not, you may still settle for lesser known culinary schools. The money you have to shell out may just be a tenth of those premiere schools, but they still manage to produce good chefs in the country. We strongly suggest that you consider programs accredited by the American Culinary Federation. Try to find out more about the nearest affordable vocational-technical schools or regulated community college in your area.

      As an additional information, in the U.S. degrees are essential, but it is not the worldwide norm. For example, In Canada it is very rare for a chef to have a degree - although most have diploma.

      Lastly, cne experienced Chef  says that, “culinary degrees are not required to be a chef as much as common sense and a good work ethic.”

Get a related job

     To help you on your journey to become a chef, you need to get related kitchen jobs to help you familiarize yourself with the trade of the demanding, busy and often-crowded kitchen world. Be a dishwasher, buzzer, helper, a boy. Most of the skills, especially the management skills will be experienced firsthand in getting related jobs.    

Add Value to your career
     As you gain experience as a chef, and you are climbing that kitchen ladder, your skills and responsibilities are adding up to. It is also necessary to add value to your chosen career. Continue to get trade certification.
     One top chef states, “The only real way that you can become a good chef is to put a great deal of effort into improving yourself; not only as a cook, but as a person as well. To do this, you must study the craft.”

     In the end, top chefs have common message, it’s a combination of your culinary skills and hardwork that will make you stand out and become the BEST CHEF that you are.

     I hope that this blog article have helped you decide whether to become a chef of not.

     The next time I write something about being a chef or something about food, I hope that my brother is already a top chef himself.