Live Life Team
With the rise to fame of so many TV chefs, the attraction of being a chef is growing, and more and more young people are interested in taking this up as a career. However, don’t be fooled by the TV glitz and glam; being a chef is hard work and involves long hours, although it can be very rewarding if you enjoy cooking and creating new dishes.
The chances are you will have to start as a kitchen hand, and will perform duties such as washing dishes, peeling vegetables and maybe serving at tables, but eventually the head chef will show you how to perform new tasks and gradually your skills will grow. Hygiene is also of vital importance, and if you go into a kitchen they will send you on a Basic Hygiene course as part of your early training.
Becoming a chef is another vocational type course, so you need to make sure that you are picking Food Technology as one of your GCSE options. Perhaps consider going onto college to study a BTEC in cooking or restaurant studies, meaning that when you start work you will be at a higher level.
As a chef you will have to get used to working odd and long hours to start with; you may find you are required for breakfast then back in again to prepare dinners. Chefs tend to wear ‘whites’, which are loose trousers and a tunic style top.
