How to Become a Chef

Are you thinking about how to become a professional chef or how to become a chef with no experience? then in this article, we will discuss all your queries. Individuals in the chef career in India is a professional culinarian who handles all the activities related to the kitchen, from managing the staff to deciding the weekly menu and ensuring that food is of good quality, there are several hats that a chef wears, apart from wearing the chef cap. 

If you are thinking of opting for a chef job, then you must be aware that a chef holds the responsibility for running the kitchen smoothly so he or she looks after the logistics as well. Keeping the kitchen and the restaurant safe and clean is also one of the prime responsibilities of a cook. Individuals in pastry chef career work responsibilities also include supervision, planning the menu, keeping stock of all ingredients, managing the staff, and ensuring that the food which is served is of good quality and safe for consumption. 

Supervision

The role of a chef includes supervising the staff during food preparation and presentation. He or she provides instructions and guidance to staff. There are several activities happening inside a kitchen, hence it is important to supervise so that there is no confusion, which might lead to unwanted delays.

Planning the menu

The Chef roles and responsibilities include planning the menu and making sure everyone in the staff knows about the planned menu and prepares for it. The menu is what attracts people to a restaurant in the first place. Hence, it is important for a chef to plan the menu in such a way that it draws customers to the restaurant. The idea is to keep the menu exciting for the customers to try it out.

Keeping the record of ingredients

A Chef as a career, is required to keep a record of all the ingredients that the cook needed for preparation. They are responsible for ordering the ingredients for the kitchen and its cost estimation.

Staff management

The Chef makes sure to fulfil the staff requirements and manage the production schedules. In many hotels and restaurants, chefs are responsible for hiring the kitchen staff. Everyone is given a single task to do. This is done so that the kitchen runs smoothly and there are no delays. If all the activities are done efficiently then the food rolled out is also good and the customers are also happy, and a satisfied customer means a successful restaurant. 

Ensuring Food quality and taste

Chef ensures the food quality, and checks on the ingredients being used while preparing the dish. He or she also approves the taste of the dishes. He or she guides other staff members to add the restaurant’s or hotel’s signature style to dishes.

For someone who wants to pursue a career as a chef, it is important that he or she is aware of the various types of chef or chef career options, some of which we have mentioned below.

Commis Chef: The Commis Chef is a trainee who learns the tricks to master the skills. Commis chefs work closely with their seniors to learn the basics of food preparation. Individuals in a chef career in India chop vegetables, sharpen knives, fetch measuring cups and clean up the mess during the initial learning period.

Chef de Partie: Chef de Partie is a type of chef who specialises in the preparation of a particular type of food. They will only cook fish until they become specialised in it. Once they become specialised in it, then they move to another. Hence, they get trained for all types of food.

Sous Chef: The Sous Chef is the assistant to the Head Chef and is responsible for kitchen management. Sous Chef is also known as a senior chef. Individuals in the chef career in India are skilled in all aspects of food preparation. 

Executive Chef: The executive chef is in charge of the whole kitchen, whether it is planning the menu, food preparation, hiring or supervising kitchen staff.

Head Chef: A restaurant is known for its signature style. The head chef brings this signature style to the restaurant and supervises the staff to keep it in the dishes being served. The head chef is responsible for the success of the restaurant with his or her vision. 

Travelling Chef: A travelling chef is someone who owns a food truck or works in a food truck travelling to different locations, cities and different countries. Many students wish to be entrepreneurs after passing from culinary institutes and own their restaurants or roving food truck. Read further to know more about how to become an executive chef.

Chef workplaces include restaurants, hotels, private households, and other food service establishments. Self-employed chefs run their restaurants or catering businesses. These professional cooks look after the other aspects of the business, such as bills and salaries of employees as well and things do tend to become stressful. Kitchen chefs stand for long hours while working.  Working conditions for chefs may vary depending on his or her role and the size of the organisation. 

A small restaurant has a lesser number of chefs, whereas a hotel chain will have multiple chefs working in the kitchen and supervising it. Each culinarian is assigned specific responsibilities depending on his or her experience. Individuals in a chef career in India may often be required to work night shifts. Chefs do not get offs on holidays or weekends. On such days, the expected number of visitors is higher than usual days. A chef often requires to work overtime on weekends. 

Does Chef require travelling?

Likely

The travelling requirements of chefs vary depending on the organisation. A chef often visits spice markets to bring necessary spices wholesale. Individuals in the chef career path perform a quality check to ensure the ingredients are fresh or fit for cooking. Apart from this, the chef career comes up with the adventurous opportunity of turning into a travelling chef.  

Some chefs work on cruises and ships travelling across the seas. Chefs working on cruises and ships require to be more careful and follow all the rules and regulations on board. The paycheck of a chef working on a cruise or ship is higher as compared to those who work in regular restaurants or hotels. 

Employment Shifts

Full Time, Part Time

An individual pursuing a career as a chef does not have the luxury to work from home or on-call unless a chef becomes an entrepreneur and starts cooking and delivering food from home.  Most chefs work full-time including early mornings, late evenings, holidays and weekends. Their work schedule extends 40 hours a week. The travelling chef working on cruises or decks works seven days a week and 10 to 14 hours per day. The role of a culinarian requires working on public holidays as there are more visitors during that time.

Employment Nature

Contractual, Permanent

A chef career comes up with both types of employment opportunities contractual as well as permanent. Travelling chefs who work on cruises and decks are hired on a contractual basis while those who work with restaurant chains serve as permanent employees.

Work Place

Restaurants, Hotels, Offices, Catering Facilities, Schools, Hostels

A chef's working conditions may vary. Individuals in a chef career in India are also required to work in high temperatures among the machinery. Individuals in the chef career path have to work with various ingredients and take care of all the safety measures. Accidental burns and cuts are quite common while working in the kitchen. One needs to be quite alert to avoid such accidents. There are several characteristic requirements of a chef such as patience and time management are important for effective performance in the kitchen.

Presence in Geographical Area

Rural, Semi-urban, Urban

Individuals in the chef career path are in huge demand in urban areas. There are plenty of chef job opportunities in metro cities. The rural areas have the least opportunities for a chef career unless the area is a tourist spot. Cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, and Bangalore act as prominent food hubs and attract culinary professionals. These cities have huge chains of food industries. Therefore, it provides huge chef job opportunities. People from different parts of the country come to Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru for employment as these cities are corporate as well as financial hubs.

Time Pressure

Likely

A career as a chef is a high-pressure job as there are constant orders and new dishes need to roll out regularly. Chefs working on a permanent basis hardly face any time pressure. However, during holiday seasons and weekends, the production consumption increases hence they are likely to face time pressure in such situations. The working conditions of chefs may vary depending on hospitality organisations and their size. With a shortage of kitchen staff, facing such time pressure from visitors standing in queue for their food orders is common in restaurants.

Overtime Details

Chefs working as an employee in big hotels or restaurants do not face overtime issues. Individuals in a chef career in India who work in a small restaurant of his or her own are usually required to stay for long hours because of external work factors such as billing, cleaning, and supervising.

Weekly Hours of Work

Min 40 Hours

A chef's work hours may vary depending on roles and responsibilities. A career as a chef requires working on holidays and weekends. Work hours often get extended on weekends as compared to working weekdays in the chef career.

In order to become a Chef, you are required to possess several skill sets. We have mentioned below the required Chef skills for jobs for a Chef career in India. Here, we will discuss how to become a chef in India.

Physical Strength: Practically every occupation requires physical power. Although some desk jobs do not require too much physical activity, every professional still requires to be fit and healthy in order to successfully carry out their tasks. In any profession, mental health is also important, now that we are addressing a career as a chef, yes, it certainly takes physical and mental strength to stand for long hours. Chefs and cooks have to stand for hours. Individuals in the chef career path work under pressure and require more focus. A chef's job requires looking after each passing second as cooking requires time management.

Dexterity: Dexterity is an important aspect of a chef career. It helps the fingers and hands to accomplish tasks perfectly, such as writing, knitting, and cooking. Mental dexterity implies a smoothness of mind, or willingness to think outside the box, and rapidly and effortlessly grasp and convey something. 

Individuals in a chef career in India are required to be experts in using knives for cutting vegetables, slicing meat or fish, or any other ingredient. A chef job requires accuracy and speed to be quick in terms of measuring ingredients for the preparation of the dish.

Patience: As a chef, it takes a lot of time to get the best out of it. If somebody does not enjoy their occupation, it is also very difficult to cultivate endurance.  In any kitchen or restaurant, one could be a professional chef with specific talent and excellent practice. Those who work in the food service business know it can turn out to be so hectic. A chef job demands patience to be calm during the busiest rush hours. As it could spoil the whole dish and may get accidental cuts in panic. Chefs are also required to help the rest of the kitchen staff during rush hours

Communication Skill: In a professional kitchen, the cooks prepare a significant amount of food during meals. The work of a chef is very exhausting with potential risks like chopping on sharp utensils, flaming and stumbling on slippery kitchen floors. Communication is a vital factor to keep the kitchen functioning properly without raising risks. 

Individuals in a chef career in India are required to communicate effectively with the kitchen staff to avoid any kind of mismanagement. Chefs who run their restaurants also need to communicate with the customers to know the orders and take their feedback about the food and services

Attention to detail: Cooking can be defined as an art as well as a science. Almost every component and measurement should be accurate along with purchasing food items or trying to figure out how long it would take to prepare food because then they are all placed sequentially. 

A chef job requires him or her to possess detailed information like measurement methods, heat control, product quality, appearance, and much more, a chef needs to have an eye for details. Individuals in a chef career in India are required to pay attention to detail because even a pinch of extra salt may spoil the taste. A career as a chef requires being accurate and specific about measuring ingredients as per the number of dishes to be prepared. Read further to know about how to become a Chef in India. 

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We have mentioned below certifications that individuals may opt for who want to establish a career as Chef.

Junior Chef: A Junior Chef is a professional who works under the supervision of the Senior Chef and other senior professionals in the team. A Junior Chef sets up the kitchen with all the required items and studies each recipe and gathers the necessary ingredients.

Head Chef: A Senior Chef is a professional who is responsible for guiding and supervising the junior chefs and training them. A Head Chef delegates the tasks to the kitchen staff and cooks the food in a timely manner.  

Food that brings water to the taste buds has huge demand in every corner of the world. The cities with higher densities of population have more restaurants such as New Delhi and Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. There is huge competition in this field at the entry level. There is a demand for good chefs all over the world. Some of the top restaurants and hotels in the world have multicultural kitchen staff. A chef job is not restricted to just one region or country, it is spread across the world. Many people have dreamt of becoming a chef since their childhood. 

Over the past few years, there has been a huge exposure to international cuisines and a number of chefs have started specialising in certain kinds of food. Most chefs have their own signature dishes, some of which are popular all over the world. There is an 11 per cent expected job growth in the next decade for the chef career in the market. Pursuing a career as a chef is definitely worth it, as individuals not only tend to earn the big bucks but also names and fame across the world. Scroll down to read how to become a Chef in India. 

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