Requirements for becoming a chef

If you are looking for a job where there are plenty of vacancies and plenty of job opportunities, then you may consider training to become a chef.

You will need to have a passion for food and an enjoyment of cooking and be enthusiastic about learning new skills. It is helpful if you have good “people” skills, are good at organising and can work well under pressure.

You will then need to make sure you have plenty of kitchen experience from washing up, to chopping vegetables, to baking and preparing meals. You can start to gain experience like this from helping out at home but you will then, ideally, need to take some kind of food preparation and cooking course. Most local further education colleges offer various kinds of catering course, part-time and full-time, from simple level 1 courses to more advanced ones and specialist ones, like becoming a patisserie chef or learning the art of cake decoration. You may also find details of catering apprenticeships from local colleges or employers and you could start your culinary education by taking an apprenticeship.

Catering and Hospitality

If you are looking for a job with plenty of vacancies and where you will be very much in demand, then consider training as a chef.

OK, the downside might be some unsocial hours and probably split shifts, but, if you want a job where you will never need to worry about being unemployed, then cooking in a restaurant or pub kitchen may be the answer. Nowadays, every high street in the country has a good choice of cafes, fast food restaurants and pubs and bars. Thirty years ago, when you spent the evening in the pub, you would be lucky if there was more then a packet of peanuts or pork scratchings on offer if you felt peckish. Now, just about every pub  offers a good choice of food, at lunchtimes and in the evenings. As a result, there is a real shortage of chefs and kitchen staff. So, if you have an interest in cooking and are not afraid of hard work and don’t mind working evenings and at weekends, then you could be guaranteed work for a very long time.