Life as a Chef!

If you are already a chef, you know what it took to get there and how hectic your day and nights can be. If you are not a chef, and want to be one, be prepared for work, work, and more work.

You think I have it hard as a writer, think again. I get to sit behind a computer all day and type in thousands and thousands of words. No sitting for a chef! A chef is on their feet all day and most of the night.

During school, you get to sit, as some of the courses are classroom taught, but most are done right there in the kitchen, with hands on demonstrations and lessons. Trust me, its no piece of cake…no pun intended for those wishing to be a pastry chef. As well as classroom and kitchen work, there is an externship to be completed before you can graduate.

Before you graduate too, you need to know what kind of chef you want to be. You can specialize in being the pastry chef, the executive chef, the sous chef, an expeditor, Chef de Partie, or even the head chef. Lots of choices, so you may want to start out a little lower on the chain and work your way up. If you are really good, go for the gold.

Once in the work-a-day world, you will be faced with lots of challenges. Depending on your position, you may be required to purchase fresh ingredients on a daily basis. A lot of restaurants do this to ensure that the dishes that are prepared are made with the freshest ingredients possible. You will be responsible for such things as cooking and plating dishes. It’s up to you to make sure the dish looks it’s best before being put in front of a customer. If the food doesn’t look appetizing, you customers probably won’t be back and you want your customers back and to spread the word that you serve some of the best dishes in town.

So if you want to be a chef, plan on working hard, but also plan on reaping in the wonderful rewards of seeing the happy and satisfied faces and well as the reviews of your customers and peers.