How To Become A Chef Through Culinary Trade School

How to Become a Chef

Were you born a chef? If that's the way you feel, then it's time to get the credentials and experience to make that dream a reality. As a chef, you're more than a cook. You're an artist, creating culinary delights that impress customers and keep them craving more. To become a chef, you need more than innate ability and some home cooking experience. Culinary arts require a level of knowledge and expertise that you hone over time. But you can start with training in a culinary arts program and then build your skills in a professional kitchen before you work in an actual restaurant.

What Does a Chef Do?

As a chef, you're responsible for much more than cooking. You plan menus, create new dishes, and keep the kitchen running well. You source quality ingredients and maintain the safety of food and workstations. When inventory runs low, you place orders with vendors who can supply produce, meat, and seafood, or supplies like dishes, utensils, napkins, and straws. And there are different responsibilities depending on your title and role. As a head chef, you oversee the whole kitchen, including the staff. As a sous chef, you're second in command. And as a prep cook or a line cook, you support the bigger picture of restaurant dining. Prep cooks prepare the ingredients for recipes, while the line cook uses those ingredients to create menu items.

A Chef's Path to a Commercial Kitchen

Your path to becoming a chef in a commercial kitchen can vary, but you generally need a combination of education, hands-on experience, and progression through various kitchen roles. But even before you start with culinary training, you can learn a lot about cooking by cooking! Experiment with recipes, cook for family and friends, and immerse yourself in the culinary arts. Read books, watch videos, take online courses and workshops. Do whatever you can to soak up the ingredients of a chef's life. And if you're serious about becoming a chef, start with a respected training program.

Enroll in a Culinary Arts Training Program

A culinary arts training program will teach you foundational knowledge about the art and science of food and cooking. You learn about food safety and sanitation and the building blocks of nutrition. You develop your baking and pastry-making skills, and you learn how to properly prepare and cook different types of meats and seafood. You learn classical and modern food preparation. You learn about cooking techniques and explore culinary worlds from regions like the Mediterranean, Asia, South America and Europe. You also find out about the ins and outs of a contemporary professional kitchen and what it takes to run a restaurant, including how to create a crave worthy menu. As you search for a culinary program, be sure to consider what your training has to offer by asking important questions:

• Will you be taught by culinary professionals with years of experience?
• Does the program offer a comprehensive curriculum covering cuisines from all around the world?
• Will you learn about menu planning and nutrition?
• Will you be taught about restaurant operations?
• Is there instruction on industry professionalism?
• Will there be an opportunity for an externship?

Gain Experience in a Professional Kitchen

Once you have training, you need some hands-on experience. Most of your classes will take place in a prep kitchen on campus, but the curriculum should also include an externship at a local restaurant so you can put your culinary skills to practice. The externship is a capstone that offers you the chance to enhance your skills under the guidance of real chefs and restaurant personnel with years of experience. You learn to manage time, problem solve, and work as part of a team. You might also earn an hourly wage, making your externship an experience that you can add to your resume.

Earn an Industry Certification

When you graduate from your culinary arts program, you receive a certificate that verifies your completion of the program. But you can also earn additional certifications from industry organizations. The National Restaurant Association offers ServSafe certifications in a number of different areas including food handling, alcohol, food safety, and the workplace. The American Culinary Federation also offers certifications for different jobs including soups chef and pastry baker. They also offer certifications for culinary students in the fundamentals of cooking and pastry making. An industry certification can help you stand out from other candidates during the job search and proves to employers that you have the skills to do the job.

Build Your Culinary Arts Network

Even before you begin your culinary training, you can begin making culinary connections. Do you have a favorite restaurant? A great spot with great food where you like to eat and hang out? Get to know the people who work there. From the front to the back of the house, there are a lot of places to connect with workers in the industry. Talk to the owners, meet the chef, and ask lots of questions. Show an interest in others and they'll show an interest in you. And when it comes time to finding your first job, people will remember you. They may be able to connect you to others in the industry, point you to job openings, or even hire you themselves!

Start Your Culinary Job Search

You can begin your job search on job sites like ZipRecruiter and Indeed, but you might find better results through a culinary job board. Sites like Poached Jobs and Sirvo are specific to the industry and can help you search for a variety of chef positions in your area. Qwick is another site that helps you connect with employers in the hospitality businesses. And be sure to tap into your network. Peers, friends, and former instructors may know of available positions where you might be a good. Consider creating a LinkedIn profile. You can connect with people there and also use the platforms job search features. Check it out every day or set it up to alert you when there's a match to your skills. As you conduct your job search, be open to work in a variety of settings. You could work for a restaurant, but you might also find work at a hotel, casino, theme park, or on a cruise ship.

Culinary Skills Are in Demand

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of chefs will increase faster than the average over the next decade¹. In some states, chefs are in especially high demand. For example, Connecticut has among the highest concentrations of chefs and head cooks in the country². And as the demand for higher quality, healthier food continues to grow, so will the need for chefs to create and prepare those dishes. As a chef, your skills may be needed in high-end restaurants, casual dining establishments, and everything in between.

Are you ready to take your passion for cooking from the home kitchen to a commercial kitchen? Contact Lincoln Technical Institute today. Through Lincoln Culinary Institute, we offer Culinary Arts training that can prepare you for work as a sous chef, professional baker, line cook, or prep cook. Our program is taught by instructors who have years of experience in the food industry, and our curriculum includes an externship that can help you develop as a professional cook. Fill out the form to learn more.

¹ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Chefs and Head Cooks, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/chefs-and-head-cooks.htm (visited August 29, 2024).

² Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes351011.htm#st, Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024, Retrieved on 5/31/2024.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.