Chop, Dice and Slice: Careers in the Culinary Arts
It used to be that to become a chef, a person learned on the job and worked their way up from preparation chef to assistant chef to head chef. But the rise of culinary programs means that the industry is more competitive and in addition to work experience, you need strong and exceptional skills to become a head chef.
To work your way up in a top restaurant you may have to pay your dues a food preparation worker. In this position you will prepare ingredients for complex dishes, slice and dice vegetables, prepare salads and strain soups. Once you’ve proven yourself, you may be in charged of a certain specialty such as pastry, poultry or soups and become an assistant sous chef and then work your way to sous chef, then head chef. A head chef takes charge of a single kitchen, creating recipes, ordering food, and managing the kitchen staff. The top position for a chef is as an executive chef, who manages several kitchens for a hotel or restaurant group. And with the growing food industry, the hard-working and exceptional chefs brand themselves and become celebrities (e.g. Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Alice Waters.)
If big city excitement is for you, work at one of the top restaurants in the country.
Gramercy Tavern (New York)
French Laundry (Yountville, CA)
Chez Panisse (Berkeley, CA)
Spago (Los Angeles)
Antoines (New Orleans)
Or you may want to consider other options such as hotels, restaurant chains, independent operations, personal chefs and self-employement.
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