Chef Report
Introduction
Chefs are culinary experts who specialize in preparing and cooking a wide variety of dishes. They are skilled in creating delicious meals by combining various ingredients, flavors, and cooking techniques. Chefs work in a range of environments, from fine dining restaurants to catering companies, hotels, and private homes.
They may also specialize in different types of cuisine, such as French, Italian, Asian, and more. Chefs may hold different levels of training and experience, from line cooks to executive chefs. Chefs play a crucial role in shaping the food industry, influencing food trends, and providing culinary experiences that delight diners around the world. In this report, I’Il will go over what is a chef, the Qualifications you need, and some competencies and qualities to be a good chef.
What does being a Chef involve doing?
One of the most important aspects of being a chef is creating and developing recipes as well as creating menus. Chefs must have a deep understanding of different ingredients and cooking techniques, as well as an ability to combine them in creative and innovative ways. This often involves extensive experimentation and testing to achieve the desired flavor, texture, and presentation of a dish as well as having the creativity to come up with these dishes. Creating menus involves selecting ingredients, creating recipes, and developing a cohesive meal plan that will satisfy customers' taste preferences.
A chef also does food preparation. This involves selecting ingredients, preparing them for cooking, and cooking them to perfection. The chef must be skilled in a variety of cooking techniques, including grilling, sautéing, baking, and frying. The chef must also be able to handle multiple orders at once and ensure that all dishes are prepared and served in a timely manner.
Sadly as a chef, you will have to work long and tiring hours having to stand up on your feet for a long period of time. Being a chef is a physically demanding job and you need to be getting a lot of sleep in this career, this may vary depending on the type of establishment they work in. Some chefs work in high-end restaurants, where they are responsible for creating intricate, multi-course menus and overseeing a team of cooks. Other chefs may work in smaller, more casual settings, such as cafes or diners, where they are responsible for preparing simpler dishes that can be served quickly.
Another challenge chefs face is a high-pressure work environment with tight deadlines and demanding customers. Chefs must be able to work efficiently and quickly while maintaining high-quality standards. If you ever become a head chef, they are often responsible for managing a team of cooks and kitchen staff. This requires excellent leadership and communication skills, as well as the ability to delegate tasks and manage conflicts so that's also a lot of pressure as well
It is a physically demanding job and you're going to be on your feet for very long hours. The hours are very unsociable but the reward for that is there is a high demand for chefs so your ability to get this job in the industry is quite high. If you are very passionate about this idea you will get a lot of rewards for it. Even though the challenges are difficult, you will get a lot of opportunities to do things. You will be able to travel the world, you can get a job anywhere if you are a chef and everybody eats. It’s the type of job where there are a lot of challenges but tons of rewards, so if you like to travel it's a good opportunity.
What qualifications do I need to become a Chef?
In New Zealand, there is no specific set of qualifications required to become a chef. However, it is recommended that aspiring chefs complete a culinary arts or cookery course at a recognized institution. There are various options for culinary arts courses in New Zealand, ranging from certificate-level courses to diplomas and degrees. Some of the many Schools that give these achievements are listed below
Auckland University of Technology
Manukau Institute of Technology
New Zealand School of Food and Wine
Otago Polytechnic
Southern Institute of Technology
The qualifications you can receive Is a full time New Zealand certificate in hospitality in level 3 and 4, you can also receive a certificate in cookery at Level 3 and 4
Home economics (food and nutrition) and NCEA Level 1 numeracy and literacy credits are also useful to become a chef and an apprenticeship. Training as a kitchen assistant or kitchen hand staging (internships in chefs' kitchens to learn their techniques and cuisine), any career involving the cooking of food for others, industry knowledge, catering experience, and bakery work are just some useful experiences to have.
In addition to completing a culinary arts course, chefs in New Zealand are typically required to hold a food safety certificate and a valid work visa if they are not a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident. Many chefs also gain experience through apprenticeships or on-the-job training, and training usually lasts for 1-3 years but that depends where you study.
Fig.1 These 2 graphs side by side show different jobs by yearly salary and years of training on average. These graphs show that the more your job gets paid, the longer training experience, and for example, there are many jobs that pay significantly more than that of a chef. In this graph a Judge can make well over $360,000 per year, while a chef makes an average of around $52,000 per year.
What skills and knowledge do I need to gain through those qualifications?
When you try to gain qualifications to become a chef, you acquire a wide range of skills and knowledge through education and practical experience. Chef qualifications can provide a comprehensive foundation for a career in culinary arts.
Competencies
Definitely one major of expertise that a chef should acquire is cooking techniques. They should be well-versed in the preparation of various cuisines, cooking methods, and culinary terminologies. This includes knowledge of basic cooking techniques such as grilling, and roasting, as well as advanced techniques. Moreover, they should have a deep understanding of how to use and maintain kitchen equipment such as ovens, stoves, and refrigerators.
a chef should have excellent communication and leadership skills to manage a team of kitchen staff effectively. They should be able to delegate tasks, motivate staff, and maintain a positive and productive work environment. This requires strong interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, and problem-solving abilities. An example of you using communication in the kitchen is you most likely be working with other people in the kitchen or working in a team, it's going to be unusual for you to be working as a solo chef. You also have to communicate with the waiters and other staff.
Last competency that is important to have is to be a really meticulous with cleanliness, be a very sanitary person and have to be very observant with health and safety, and keep everything in a pristine condition and you have to think that every meal you cook is going to a customer and we want to make sure that the food is good and ready to serve out.
Qualities
Some qualities that are important to have during your chef career is Time Management. In a fast paced kitchen environment, time management is crucial. A good chef must be able to prioritize tasks, multitask efficiently, and work quickly and efficiently under pressure. You learn time management at school because you must hand in work on time and be able to manage things in your own time as well.
Being a hard worker is also learned when in school because you have to try your best to get good results during tests, assessments, and important exams. Being a hardworking chef is essential for success in the culinary industry. It can help make sure that orders are prepared and served quickly and efficiently, that dishes are of high quality, and that the chef can handle the physical demands and high-pressure situations that come with the job.
Lastly is being dedicated to the business. A good chef is dedicated to their craft and is always looking for ways to improve their skills and create new and exciting dishes. There is a lot of pressure in the kitchen and getting something wrong could really mess everything up.
What are the different pathways to becoming a chef?
My expert Mr. Colin said that the closest and most obvious one to go to is Toi-Ohomai, they have a course and the guy that runs it is one of the best chefs in the country. The chef who runs it, particularly doing pastries and baking but they also do a bunch of other courses he said. Toi Ohomia is probably the best option for me if I want to get into the arts and a bunch of people also go to the navy to learn how
(Fig.2, picture of the possible pathways of a chef. The red and orange pathway at the top shows you possible promotions you can see when you are doing hospitality and catering, the bottom orange represents different degrees and levels you can get in most universities that offer these.)
to cook as well as the armed forces and they do stuff through there. Toi Ohomia is a good starter because it is close by and gives you a good start but it gives you low qualifications.
The best option is to work through a fast food restaurant and build it up from there to become a Sous chef and keep working from there, you might start as the dish boy but as you get up, you work your way through the chain, get a bit more experience, and people start teaching you how to do stuff.
Mr colin also said during the interview that you will receive a good foundation to become a chef if you get a qualification. You may get some establishments around the world that might be interested in what experience you have over qualifications. You get to know others who are interested in this type of career and you will get job opportunities coming your way in a training institute. So you will go out and do training experience as part of your course and will get these opportunities to see what it's like in real life to go work in these places before you accept the job. So it's well worth it to have the qualifications and experience is really good as well so a combination between the two will be a really good thing to have.
Some tertiary schools in New Zealand only give low qualifications, some schools for example, Auckland university. They give out the highest degree of qualifications in culinary arts, such as the example picture on the top.
Career plan:
What deliberate acts do I need to do in Year 10?
As shown on my career plan, I want to achieve great this year by trying to receive an aggregate or diligence award like I did last year as a year 9 but I have to remember, becoming a chef takes time and hard work, but with dedication and passion, you can achieve your goals. I'm going to try to receive CL5 on at least most of my subjects or higher and also try to get a first aid certificate.
So I'm going to try to focus on my work and make sure to keep my grades up in all of my subjects. A solid understanding of these subjects can help you in the kitchen and I might as well start cooking at home. I'm going to start practicing my cooking skills by preparing meals at home. Try new recipes, experiment with flavors, and get comfortable in the kitchen.
A quality I'm going to need is passion. I show passion during school work that I'm trying to complete and training for a sport that I am currently trialing for. Passion can be a powerful motivator. Overall, passion can be a positive force for students, as it can help them stay motivated, learn more effectively, and pursue their interests with enthusiasm.
1 competency I think will help me succeed in year 10 is collaboration. Collaboration can be beneficial for students in a number of ways, collaboration can help students develop a range of skills and competencies that are essential for academic success and future career opportunities and collaboration is a common thing we do in inquiry class so it will be useful and I’ll also be using it in current sports I’m doing for the school.
What deliberate acts do I need to do in senior school?
As I head into the senior year of my schooling life, I'm leaving my inquiry class and getting a feel of what mainstream is like, what I'm going to do is try work at a restaurant or a fast food chain so I can get experience for myself and I have to show that you I’m enthusiastic about my desire to be a chef and help out a lot in the kitchen.
When I'm getting to the time when in years 12 and 13, TBC offers cooking courses, I'm going to take advantage of them. This will give me a basic understanding of cooking techniques and help me develop my skills in the kitchen. The course I'm going to take is the hospitality and catering course and the culinary arts course which is a year 13 course and that’s a good way to get started. There is also food for flatting and a barista course so you get a certificate to become a barista. I also have to think about being a chef is one of those jobs that require qualifications but people won't hire you just because of your qualifications, they are gonna hire you because of your experience as well. Becoming a chef requires dedication and hard work. By taking deliberate steps during senior school, I can set myself on the path to a rewarding career in the culinary arts.
A quality that stands out to me that will help me get through my life at senior school is commitment. Trying to stand out and show that I'm there and ready to work, also working in my own time, trying to practice and work hard, and trying to get work experience in cafes and fast food restaurants by applying for any open positions. Having a really good university reference with all my current achievements and experiences from the commitment I put in. Commitment is beneficial in many aspects of life, commitment is important for academic success and personal growth. It shows dedication, responsibility, and discipline.
Finally, a competency that helps me not just through life and senior school but beyond into the future is self-management. I say this because self-management is essential for success in school because they help students to take responsibility for their own learning and behavior. When students are able to manage themselves effectively, they can stay focused and motivated. An example is focusing on my own self-improvement, working by myself, and learning new things in any subject. I'll also use self-management to study and focus on my assessments getting completed. self-management skills are essential for success in school. They help students to become more independent, responsible, and effective learners.
What deliberate acts should I do between now and the time that I start my chosen career of being a chef to set me apart from other applicants?
Becoming a successful chef requires a combination of skills, knowledge, and experience. An act I should take that's useful to do in school is work experience in a restaurant. It shows that I've had prior experience in a job that involves working and being in the kitchen as well as knowing my way around one. Some experience is working in the kitchen at home getting a feel of it and creating or trying new recipes so you can know what ingredients are used for and how they are used
Another act I should take is doing courses or just doing culinary arts at school. The courses you can take at year 13 also give you a feel about how a chefs work environment is like. It gives you basic knowledge of cooking skills and how to use different types of equipment. This gives you an early head start since you have taken these courses. Mrs peddle my other expert told me that these are available courses you can do at TBC which would give me a good start.
Lastly is focusing on your grades, getting work completed and studying in your own time trying to get the best grades as you possibly can, this gives the employer of how hard of a worker you are and can do things on time which makes you a reliable person for the job. By taking these deliberate acts, I can set myself apart from other applicants and position myself as a strong candidate for a career as a chef.
Conclusion
In conclusion, being a chef is a challenging yet rewarding profession that requires passion, creativity, and hard work. It demands not only technical skills but also an understanding of different cultures, flavors, and ingredients.
The role of a chef extends beyond the kitchen, as they must also manage staff, maintain hygiene and safety standards, and keep up with the latest food trends. Despite the long hours, pressure, and physical demands, being a chef offers the opportunity to express oneself through food, bring joy to others, and make a positive impact on the community. Whether it is working in a restaurant, running a catering business, or becoming a food influencer, the possibilities for chefs are endless. Aspiring chefs should be prepared to invest time, effort, and resources into their education and training, as well as to cultivate a strong work ethic, communication skills, and creativity. With dedication and perseverance, being a chef can be a fulfilling and exciting career path.
Bibliography
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Experts that helped me:
Mr Colin
Head of future pathways at TBC
Mr.s Peddle
Retired chef, currently teaching culinary arts at TBC