Becoming a chef...

Caleb,

I think the answer above about required education is pretty thorough. Keep in mind, though, a formal education is not absolutely necessary to start in the culinary world. I started culinary school, attended for a year, then started my own business. I worked as a personal chef while in school and catered parties on the side. I'm now working as a private chef for a professional athlete, making a salary in the upper 5-figure range.

I'll try to address your other questions based on my experience, but keep in mind that everyone's experience is going to be different.

How much schooling is needed to become a chef? Technically, none. You can start working in a restaurant as soon as you're old enough to be legally employed in your state and work your way from the bottom up. Find an executive chef or restaurant owner you admire and make contact with them, letting them know you're willing to work hard and earn their trust and gain experience needed to become a chef. Most cities require at minimum a Food Handler's License, which you can obtain online, and you'll eventually need additional certifications as you gain more responsibilities in the kitchen. Taking some basic classes, such as knife skills, safety & sanitation, etc are extremely beneficial. If you plan on starting your own business, some basic business courses might be useful, but aren't absolutely necessary if you're learning from a successful business owner.

How does this occupation affect your life? Everything, including your occupation, affects your life in some way. The key is how you let your professional life affect your personal life, whether for good or bad. It can consume your life if you let it, just like any other occupation. You have to work to maintain a healthy work-life balance, if that's what you want, but you have to do that with everything else as well. Restaurants will require early/late hours, working on holidays and also weekends, so flexibility is a must. Owning a catering business can be even more demanding, because most events occur on evenings, weekends and holidays.

There are personal/private chef jobs that can provide a little more time off, but it depends on the family/families you work for. You will be more likely to be able to set your own hours in a position like this, though. In my situation, since I work for a professional athlete, I only work during the regular season and playoffs, and only when my client is in town. I usually get 1-2 days a week off, but can sometimes be off for up to 3 months during the off-season. The down-side is that I'm on call and when my client is in town, I may have to cook as late as 1-2 in the morning, and then get up and go back to make breakfast as early as 4-5am, and then sleep during the day before going back to make dinner in the evening. Other families I've worked for offer more predictable, and stable hours but don't pay as well unless you work for a wealthy family.

Dangerous aspects of the job? There's always danger of injury in the kitchen, and you have to be careful and use common sense, like you would anywhere else. Burns, cuts and feet/back/elbow injuries are the most common.

Is the job stressful? It can be, but so can any other job. Tight deadlines, last-minute schedule changes, unexpected guests/equipment failure, co-workers failing to show up for work, etc. are all important factors to consider. The most important thing is how you handle the stress and that you are able to deal with it in a healthy way.

Is finding a good paying job as a chef hard to do? It can be, but if you're open to lower paying jobs that might lead to a higher paying job in the future, and are willing to learn from leaders in the industry and absorb as much information and experience as you can, your chances are much better than average. Keep an eye out for unique opportunities that may lead to something wonderful. Always do your best at everything you do because you never know who's watching you to see if you might be the right fit for your dream job. I was minding my own business as a caterer and a personal chef when my current employer's agent contacted me. His client, an NBA star was looking for a private chef and they found my website online, along with raving reviews from former and current clients. They had me cook an "audition" meal for him, and he hired me on the spot. The rest is history.

If you have family, how much family time do you get? That depends on you. A career as a chef can be very demanding, but it can be balanced with family life. You have to decide what's most important to you, and make a conscious effort to create that balance for yourself. No one else can do it for you. When considering a job, take your priorities into consideration and decide whether or not that job will fit with your lifestyle. If you have to make compromises, you are the only one who can decide whether or not they're worth it.

I know this was lengthy, but I hope it helps and addressed most of your questions. Feel free to reach out if you need more info or have other questions.

All the best,
Chef Sallie Lardy

Hi Caleb,

In general, there are 4 levels of chefs’ education that can be tackled in different ways:

• 
  

  Certificate and Diploma programs are one-year vocational tracks that impart the kitchen basics and move you to immediate work as a line cook or other kitchen staffer.

  
  


• 
  

  Associate’s Degrees provide the most common educational path for Culinary Arts professionals. They are two-year cooking programs that also require core competency in English, math and communication.

  
  


• 
  

  Bachelor’s Degrees are four-year degrees issued by universities and standalone cooking schools. Culinary arts and Dietetics provide popular Bachelor’s curriculums.

  
  


• 
  

  Master’s level study in the Culinary Arts is handled by the best-known culinary schools, in the form of intensive apprenticeships with master chefs.

  
  

Think About These Four Things If You’re a Job-Hunting Chef

• 
  

  Don’t be job-picky. You can try to avoid working at McDonald’s or other fast food job market for chefsestablishments of course, but if you are offered a chance to take a dishwashing or prep job in a fine restaurant don’t thumb your nose at it, you could be missing out on a career opportunity. Many celebrity chefs started just this way—at the bottom, but in the right place. You can certainly work your way up in most restaurants.

  
  


• 
  

  Expect poor pay at first. Working as a cook, dishwasher, even busboy/girl is not a traditionally high-paying job and hopefully that wasn’t what drove you to choose a career as chef. If you’re a career-changer hopefully you’ve made plans to be drastically underpaid for a while. (But it does get better as your experiences grow!)

  
  


• 
  

  Learn whatever you can from your sous and executive chefs. If possible take jobs in restaurants that are well known for training new chefs. You may have to do some research on a particular chef or restaurant for this strategy to be most effective.

  
  


• 
  

  Take advantage of all opportunities. Imagine all the environments in which a chef or cook works and consider them all a possibility: high volume restaurants, regional bistros and cafes, corporate kitchens, catering, private chefs, institutions like hospitals, medical centers, and schools, fine restaurants, and hotels and resorts.

  
  

Determine How Much You Earn
Salaries, in most cases, are not arbitrarily derived. A host of factors influence your ability to earn in a kitchen, including:

• Location


• Type of dining establishment


• Experience


• Education


• Specific responsibilities


• General economic conditions


• Size of property

As a Culinary Arts graduate, don’t be afraid to think outside the box, when seeking employment. The hospitality and food service industries serve a wide variety of gastronomic functions. Modern chefs and cooks work at:

• Fine dining restaurantschef salaries


• Resorts


• Schools


• Hospitals


• Spas


• Catering companies


• Corporate facilities


• Cruise lines


• Fast food restaurants


• Personal chef companies

You cand read more in: http://www.culinaryschools.org/career-info/

Have a great journey!