Step 1: Research Professional Chef's Duties and Education
A master at the medium of food, a professional chef prepares dishes that comfort, energize and inspire while nourishing patrons' stomachs and pleasing their palates. A professional chef creates menus, prepares food and manages kitchen employees. Professional chefs typically have a great sense of smell and taste, a high level of creativity and a flair for experimentation to ensure their menus are successful. Some professional chefs work their way up to this position after starting out as entry-level restaurant workers; however, it is more typical these days for a professional chef to have formal training through an apprenticeship or a program offered by a culinary institute or college.
Step 2: Prepare During High School
Take relevant high school classes, such as computers, English, mathematics, business, food handling and safety along with cooking, if available. Check to see if your community has chef-training programs. To obtain experience in the industry, try to get a job in a restaurant.
Step 3: Route 1: Work Your Way Up
One way to become a professional chef is to start at the bottom of the career path and work your way up. You can start in the kitchen as a dishwasher or bus person. You may be able to get a job as a chef's assistant if you have prior restaurant experience. Your first cooking job will usually consist of cleaning, peeling, gutting, chopping and filling a variety of foods at a very fast pace with great accuracy. Next, you will be responsible for preparing soups, appetizers and salads. The next step is the line cook, where you prepare items based on food type and or the type of cooking, such as grill cook or sauté cook.
Second to the executive chef is the sous chef, who continues working on the line but has the added responsibility of supervising other kitchen employees. The top of the professional chef ladder is the executive chef. As an executive chef, you will manage the entire kitchen, design the menu, create and test ingredients and recipes and order all of the stock for the kitchen. It may take you several years to work your way up to the top.
Step 4: Route 2: Finish an Apprenticeship
Enter an apprenticeship program accredited by the American Culinary Federation Foundation Accrediting Commission (www.acfchefs.org). Most apprenticeships are either 2- or 3-year on-the-job, full-time training programs, and apprentices must complete at least 12 courses in subjects that are culinary-related. Apprentices are paid and can earn an optional culinary arts associate degree. The American Culinary Federation's (ACF's) website has all requirement details and locations of programs.
Step 5: Route 3: Complete Formal Training
Trade and vocational schools offer basic culinary training. Community colleges, culinary institutions and private cooking schools offer 2- or 4-year programs in culinary arts or hospitality. Students in these programs may train to work in upscale or fine-dining restaurants and may learn a number of training specialties. In a professional chef training program, you'll likely take basic classes in safety and sanitation, culinary arts fundamentals and nutrition, as well as specialty classes in subjects like:
Food presentation
Soups and sauces
Spices
Meats and butchery
Vegetarian cuisine
Garde-manger
Baking and pastry
International dishes
Italian cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine
Asian cuisine
ACF offers a number of certifications, such as culinary educator, personal chef or pastry professional. Certification may help a chef to advance or obtain a higher salary.
