There is a great deal that needs to be done in a kitchen environment and the next section will give you a full explanation of what to expect.

What do I have to do?

Being a chef is a very physical profession. You are required to remain on your feet almost constantly. Along with that, you must also be stirring, kneading, and chopping your foods.

Many times, you will have to do all of this while also having to ordering foods for hungry customers and critical customers.

A kitchen is almost scorching hot year round so you should be quite prepared for that. Even in the best conditioned areas, a kitchen is often as hot as 95 degrees or higher.

If that doesn’t sound like enough to do, try doing it while you are also maintaining all of the rest of the kitchen staff. Choosing to be a chef for a living is a very rewarding and time consuming job.

Now do you see why being able to multi-task is so important? The road to becoming a chef requires much training and hands on experience.

Here’s what you need to do to be a good chef.

A strong desire to be a chef is a good place to start. Having a good sense of smell, and taste will be necessary also. It would very difficult to prepare a good meal if you can’t decipher the differences from one spice to another; or if you do not know which spices go well together and which ones don’t.

Cooking is a lot different than being a chef is. If you are just cooking for yourself you have room for errors.

If you are cooking for a stranger, you will want to cook your food to perfection. Of course, you will also want to present the food in an enticing manner as well.

There are stages to becoming a chef. You have to start at the bottom, but becoming a chef is one of few occupations where you can get most of your training on the job. You do have to go to school and train as well, but much of the training is done in a working environment.

The Apprentice

It takes many years to become a chef, and much schooling to get to the position of head chef.