Children's Web Magazine

Do you fancy being the next Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay? Before you answer a word of warning a career as a chef is not a piece of cake (sorry!). It involves long hours and is scientific as well as artistic. Cooking is not only fun it is also a great skill to have. I used to love doing it at school and I think it is just as an important a subject to learn as Maths and English. After leaving school I went onto to do a cookery course. Although I never used it to earn a living from I knew it would always be useful and enjoyable, which it has been. To become a chef you have to start as a commis chef, from here you gradually go onto a sous chef and finally head chef. The commis chef is there to learn and will do all the rather ordinary mundane jobs to start off. The sous chef will have a lot of kitchen experience and therefore be able to take charge if needed to. The head chef has overall responsibility he is in charge of everyone. He will make sure the food is good enough to go out after all it is the chef's reputation at stake.
There are certain qualities you need to be a chef you need to work quickly and smoothly, work under pressure, work as a team have a love for cooking and food. You also need to be creative, organised and tell people what they are required to do finally you will need to work within a budget. Having the right amount of food at the right cost is vital. Nobody wants too much of one ingredient and too little of another. You could also be wasting food and money. Health and safety is another aspect you will be required to know about, there are strict hygiene rules you must obey.
So if you have a passion for food and cooking, don't mind long hours, working evenings and weekends, don't mind working in a hot kitchen on end and fancy combining some science with a bit of art. Then this could be the career for you and there are various courses on offer to get you started.

© Children's Web Magazine 2006