How to become a perofessional chef?

[C. Wallace]

I am a student of culinary art. I want to become a professional & successful chef. What are the requirements.

[Ace_King]

Well, I know one requirement. That is, you need to be a good cook. Do you have that step down yet?

[Ace_King]

Besides being a good cook my friend, what are your overall excepations in that career? Like, do you want to own your own restaruant business? Do you want to earn a degree in some sort of chef discipline

[OpenRoot]

I agree with the poster above. DH is an Executive Chef and has no formal training - it was all about being an apprentice under someone great. The tides are changing now though, and most places want to see an AS in culinary before newbies even get a chance to cook for the interviewer. If your goal is to work for a corporate company or hotel, finish the culinary degree and get a few years experience in the type of cuisine you specialize in. If you want to be a chef-owner and you dont have much experience, youll definitely want to take some business classes along with your culinary ones. Unless youre in a huge chain with lots of employees, chefs need to have a solid handle on the business aspects - at least 60% of DHs time at work is spent working food costs, inventory, labor, controllables and flow through. Good luck with your degree and career!

[OE800_85]

Culinary school isn't necessary but it really opens doors. I know several chefs here in Shanghai, they're all classically trained. They may not necessarily use the same skills they learnt, but it gave them opportunities. I totally agree with OpenRoot on the "apprentice under someone great" comment. That's the real ticket. Keep in mind, as a chef, even when you make it, life won't be so grand. You won't be rolling in cash (the salary is quite mediocre to poor, even for successful chefs), you'll have trouble with social life (never off when others are off), and also you'll have to deal with a lot of other BS you never expected (profit margins on dishes, less freedom on creating a menu, something like that). If you want to be a chef, you'd better LOVE cooking. If you don't really really love it, then this is not a good career.

[cookderosa]

I would argue that culinary school is necessary. It isn't necessary to learn cooking, it's necessary to support a family. Anyone can become a cook, and most people can become a restaurant chef- those jobs are unstable and anyone with more than 10 years experience will tell you that you it's a hard way to earn a living. Everyone has a culinary degree now. The world has changed. It's not the 80's anymore. My CIA degree in 1990 made me a rock star in my small town community. Those days are over. In the same breath, don't expect a culinary degree to springboard you into anything other than an entry level line cook. It's a funny industry, because it's still all about what you can do, but with the explosion of food network and every community college in the USA offering a "culinary degree" you just can't become an apprentice anymore and expect to land a secure/high paying job. You need to do both. Also, consider ACF certification.

Know that 20 years ago, it was rare to hold an associate degree in culinary arts. 10 years ago it was rare to hold a bachelors degree in anything if you were a chef. Not the case anymore. Culinary Institute of America (hubby and I both grads) have both associate and bachelor degrees but heavily push the bachelor degree track now for both culinary and baking/pastry, and hubby currently teaches for Johnson & Wales, who is ELIMINATING the associate degree program for culinary entirely in the next 2 years. Where will we be 10 years from now? Think long term.