Road to the chef

Qualities of a Cook

Before you become a Chef, you will be a cook until you can take charge of the whole kitchen. The cook is the person who works for the Chef. 

All successful cooks have many qualities or commonalities, but the two things that come out the most are their dedication to improve their culinary skills and the tenacity to stay the course even in highly stressful situations. 

People skills are one very important asset in your toolbox as a cook. You will have to sell yourself to employers, customers and coworkers for the rest of your career. A person that is social, open minded, giving and out going is often a good candidate for a culinary career. It is absolutely crucial to be able to say you screwed up when you do, because you will screw up, trust me. 

Knife skills are extremely important because you won't be able to go very fast unless you know how to use your knives. When I left school and for the next few years, every time I would start a new job, I would always slash one of my fingers on my first day and have to look for a Band-Aid.

Speed of execution is going to be your second best quality. Just get things done and move on to the next thing - employers will love that attitude.

A word of advice: If you ever end up with a huge mise-en-place list, a cranky Chef, and not so much time, the best place to gain time is on the kitchen floor, not on your cutting board. What I mean by that is, once you are already cutting as fast as you can, it's pretty hard to go even faster without chopping one of your fingers off. So between jobs, you can walk faster to get the food from the fridge for example, and/or always carry food back once you go pick something up. Don't work harder, work smarter!

A sense of humor will come in handy for the cook when the Chef starts laughing at you because you forgot the basic ingredients of a classic Mornay sauce. At the beginning of your career, you will be laughed at a lot, so grow a thick skin and learn to laugh at yourself. Everyone makes mistakes - just learn from them.

Initiative is a great quality to have in the kitchen. If you can foresee problems, you will always be ahead of your competition. Don't be shy to make a decision; employers should support you, as long as you don't burn the building down. Making decisions is something that you get good at once you practice, so be the decision maker every time you can.

Flexibility, and I don't mean to be able to touch your toes! The ability to adapt to your team's needs at any specific time is priceless. From the grill to the pastry station, or from the saucier to the dishwasher, be the one to save the day, and you should have a prosperous career.

Listening and concentration skills will be very important. If you concentrate on your work, and listen to what is happening around you, you will really be able to help your team score big. For example, I use to work at this small restaurant, and I knew that the Chef de Partie in charge was my ticket to a promotion. So, I would make sure that during service time he never had to wait for my stuff. I was on vegetables, and I was always ready a split second before he needed me. I got my promotion and eventually got his job. A word of advice: keep your private life outside of work. It should help your concentration and performance. It's pretty simple, while at work you talk about work, and while at the pub you talk about whatever you want!

Punctuality is important, because the customers will not wait for you to show up. Your job's future will be very much dependant on you showing up on time. 

Being a quick learner is a must. Without it you cannot advance fast enough to keep ahead of your coworkers' progress. Don't be shy to say you don't know something, and make sure to tell everyone you want to learn it right now!

Qualities of a Chef

The Chef gets to wear the tall hat and give directions to the cooks. Ultimately, though, the buck stops at the Chef!

Leadership qualities are going to be necessary to advance your career. It is an extremely important quality to be able to lead, even in a tough situation. Once you are the girl in charge at the front of the pack, every eye will be looking at you, so you will have to be composed, or at the very least look calm.

Diplomacy is a key factor in any Chef's toolbox. The art of firing someone politely is priceless. It's like being able to find a way to tell a customer that the reason his main course did not taste like lobster is because it was crabmeat, not lobster! 
I've got to tell this, it's a great example. It's the winter of 1987 in Montreal, the evening was just about over, we have just fed the last table, and so like every night, I send one of my cooks home. She leaves and comes back inside a few minutes later to tell us that one of the cars in our parking lot is running, but no one was inside. I thought that she was playing a joke on me because I made her do the Orange Tart on the menu where you need to zest 30 oranges and make a confit out of it. No, she was right, there was an empty car running outside. My partner and I play the rock-paper-scissors game and I lost, so a few minutes later in the half empty dining room..."Excuse me sir, your Jaguar is still running outside". His answer is, "Yes I know! I don't like to get in a cold car, so I left it running!" And suddenly the dining room looked much more full to me - every table around heard him talking and I felt very stupid. It was one of those Chef days where diplomacy was useful, but I still looked stupid.

People skills are also a must for any Chef. Everyday you will be put in situations where your ability to use your social skills will be tested. Keeping an open mind and having the right attitude is going to get you out of trouble throughout your whole career. For example, the ability to listen to an employee's serious family issues is extremely important, even if it does not interest you at all. This is how you will gain the trusts and respect of your team members. Reading your team skills and knowing how to talk to people so they get the job done is a must in a Chef position.

A sense of humor for the Chef is also a must, especially when your cooks forget the basic ingredients of a classic Mornay sauce. If you lose it instead of laughing at them, it won't make your cooks learn the ingredients faster. Laughing is the second best stress relief on the planet.

Work Experience should be acquired before taking on too many responsibilities. Even if responsibility is thrown at you, I strongly suggest that you work at 3-5 different stations in 3-5 different establishments before taking on to much responsibility. Think of it like a good wine that needs to sit for while before achieving peek stage... as you get more experience, you are becoming a more complete Chef.

Creativity is the part that makes you want to be a Chef, so just use it! Read and stay in touch with the trends, find your groove and perfect it during your first 10 years in the kitchen. Go out and see what others are doing - it will open your eyes to the world and make you a better Chef. Shop at open markets every time you can, it's very inspiring...

Techniques will get you out of a jam more than once. Learn your trade, be all that you can be and join the front of the pack. There is nothing worse than a Chef who only knows one way of doing something. 

Business sense is a funny one, because you can function without it as a cook, but as a Chef you need it to see financial trouble before it happens. If you ever have your own business, make sure that you know about every dollar spent. 

A word of advice: The garbage will be your worst enemy, so make sure you don't over feed your worst enemy. Wastage greatly affects direct profit. Keep an eye on your cooks that throw away $3 of food on every shift, as it adds up to $1000 of dollars at the end of the year. Learn about the business world through examples, courses and books; trust me it will pay off at the end, in dollars. 

Resource: thechefinstead.c