Chef
chef
As a chef, you can work in restaurants, pubs, hotel restaurants, cruise ships, the Armed Forces and in contract catering. Responsibilities and job titles can vary depending on your specific role, the type of cuisine you produce and the nature of where you work.
Due to the time and pressure demands of the job, a level of personal and professional commitment will be needed in order for you to learn, develop and succeed.
You can work at the following levels:
commis (junior) chef
chef de partie
sous chef
head chef.
Typical starting salaries for commis chefs are between £12,000 and £16,000.
More experienced chefs, such as sous chefs, earn between £20,000 and £30,000.
Head chefs can expect higher salaries of £25,000 to £55,000+.
Qualifications
You don't need a degree to become a chef. However, an HND, foundation degree or degree in professional cookery or culinary arts will help you to gain knowledge and essential skills.
Many related degrees contain a placement, giving you valuable real-life industry experience of working in a professional kitchen. Some restaurants prefer to recruit professional cookery or culinary arts students and graduates because of their familiarity with cooking techniques and food handling methods.
A graduate scheme could broaden your awareness of the industry and give you a different perspective, which would be a worthwhile insight for any budding chef. Though schemes, where you'd be working as a chef, are unusual, there are employers that offer schemes in nutrition and food development.
Entry requirements vary. Many graduate schemes will consider applicants with a good standard degree (usually a 2:1) from a range of degree courses, including professional cookery or culinary arts.
<Taken from Prospects 2024>
Apprenticeships
You could get into this career by doing an apprenticeship. There are several available for this role, including:
Production Chef or Commis Chef Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
Chef de Partie Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
Senior Culinary Chef Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
These take between 1 and 2 years to complete.
You can also train to be a chef by doing an apprenticeship in the armed forces:
Army
Royal Air Force
Royal Navy
See links below for more information:
https://www.e4s.co.uk/jobs/5-chef-apprenticeships.htm
https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/commis-chef-v1-2
https://careerfinder.ucas.com/jobs/hospitality-and-travel/apprenticeship/
https://royalacademyofculinaryarts.org.uk/
https://www.inspirolearning.co.uk/apprenticeship-vacancies/
Although all Apprentice chefs will cover the same units and learn the same skills at Level 2, your experience whilst training will differ, depending on the type of kitchen you are working in. It could be commis chef jobs in a small kitchen or a kitchen with many staff, preparing food for hundreds of covers. You could also be working in a restaurant that specialises in a particular cuisine such as Italian, French or classic British dishes.
As you progress to Level 3 Chef Apprenticeships, you will be able to choose which route you want to take your career in. You will already be a capable commis chef and will have a good idea of where you think your strengths might lie. Your choice of pathway as an Apprentice chef could depend on your place of employment where you are already doing chef jobs or, if the kitchen you are currently working in can’t offer you a role to suit you, you might opt to move on to another kitchen where you can work in a particular field.
University
You could study for a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in:
culinary arts
professional cookery
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
https://www.ucas.com/explore/courses?soc=5434&filterBy=all
College
One way into the job is to take a college course, like a Level 3 Diploma in Professional Cookery or Level 4 Diploma in Professional Culinary Arts.
You could take a college course to get into this industry. Courses include:
hospitality and catering
professional cookery
culinary skills
a T Level in Catering
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
1 or 2 A levels, a level 3 diploma or relevant experience for a level 4 or level 5 course
Employers
Job opportunities can be found in:
chain restaurants
Michelin-starred and AA Rosette-awarded restaurants
pubs and gastropubs
educational settings (schools, colleges, universities)
the NHS
the armed forces
contract catering
cruise ships
hotel or bar restaurants.
career Videos
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