The Steps to Becoming a Chef by Canadian Recipes of the Great White North

The Steps to Becoming a Chef - The Hard Truth

So what do you do? Get an education first important step. Make sure it is a “certified” school. Go through the Culinary Arts Program (usually it takes three years) and take a weekend or night home business course.
The Culinary Arts Program will give you a good base to start. But, you are not ready yet!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

It is very important to get “On the Job Training”. The best place to go,for example: Banff Springs Hotel. In other words, head for the large hotel chains.
Don’t just accept them, check them out carefully:

1. Use the Internet to find more information about the “Hotel Chain” that you are interested in.
2.Ask questions and check out the “Executive Chef” on the Internet and check out his/her past performance.

3.Go as a customer and try the “Dining Room” – the question should be “Would you serve this food to your family with pride?”
4.Check out the back of the Hotel – Do you see cooks smoking at the back door? This is poor management: a “Red Flag”.
5.Ask the servers what they would not recommend and why?
6.Ask as many questions that you are concerned with.
7.Don’t be afraid to ask how much you are going to get paid and the position that is required of you.

Canadian Recipes of the Great White North

8.Is there a special contract? For example, Resort Hotels require that you stay a minimum of six months to one year. Why? Because they require someone that is committed to their career and they can’t afford to loose staff, like most cities are doing.
After three to five years at one of these type of “Resort Hotels” you should get enough training.

Remember, training for a chef is a long haul. So you better “Love” Cooking. I mean love it. Your commitment to this kind of career is extremely important to your “Foundation”.

A very good example is the growth of a “Tree”. If a tree is not well rooted, it will fall in the first wind.

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“You” are that tree – you must get the proper training, before you can further your career and raise your income.
Most chain Resort Hotels in Canada & United States will offer a standard training procedure:
Cook I
Cook II
Cook III
Chef de Partie
Sous Chef
Executive Chef
(Notice: No Station Cooks like in Europe)

Some chain Resort Hotels even have a position called “Junior Sous Chef”. After each position they are suppose to give you a raise. If they are a good Resort, your income should be very competitive.
Don’t “jump” the standard training procedure. Don’t let the hotel move you up from Cook I to Cook III for example. Learn all the positions and get the right training.

Time and the right training  is an important factor to become a good Executive Chef.

Make sure that the Hotel treats you with a proper attitude

A good Hotel will give, “Employee of the Month” a free room for the weekend and all meals for you and your family. A good executive chef will look after you. They will explain why you are doing something wrong and also praise you when you have accomplished a task. They should also let you know when you have improved.

After you have reached a “Sous Chef” and experienced in handling up to 3000 customers, then you are ready to become your own chef.

An Executive Chef is a title given by the resort, club and restaurant.

You have now reached three choices:

1.Become an Executive Chef with a chain resort hotel
2.Start up your own restaurant ( if you have a spare two million in your pocket – and that is just the beginning)
3.You become your own Personal Chef.

As a Personal Chef you can run your own business at a relatively low cost and over head. But, you must advertise by “word of mouth” and throughout the Advertising Market(that’s another blog).

I hope this gives you a good understanding of becoming a Chef in the Hospitality Industry. If you “Love Cooking” this career can be exciting.

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Career as a Chef by Canadian Recipes of the Great White North

Career as a Chef  by Canadian Recipes of the Great White North

First and most important rule in becoming a Chef - you must get the right training by a certified school. 

Unfortunately, there are too many cooks without the proper training or skills within the hospitality industry.

Look into programs that offer a Culinary Arts Program or apply for an apprenticeship program under the Canadian Government. In order to begin an apprenticeship program you must already be employed with a major hotel or restaurant. With the apprenticeship program is ideal for you if you require financial assistance. It takes up to three years of going to school eight weeks out of each year with the remainder time of working under a qualified chef.

Honey Lemon Cheese Cake with blueberry Coulis 

In my time of training, the executive chefs come from England, France, Germany and Italy. Their European training was very harsh and demeaning to a young cook starting off. A good example of this would be Chef Ramsey's Show : Hell's Kitchen. But, don't get scared yet - Hell's Kitchen is just a show. Mind you that is exactly the way it was for me when I was being trained in the kitchen by European Chefs - We called them: The Old Way after Star Trek Series...the Old Ones, ( you had to watch star trek to understand this)

Now, unfortunately in Canada there are no standards that restrict a smaller restaurant from hiring certified chefs, simply because they can't afford to pay a chef making $30,000 per year ( yeah - were not talking money here). But I do understand the overhead costs of a small restaurant - its hard for them to make a living. But, what they don't understand,( which Las Vegas Hotels now understand) is that, when you bring in a qualified chef with over five years of experience - he will draw in more customers - bringing you a higher net profit in the end.


So - in the end, all they are looking for is a pulse, which means a lack of trained people in the hospitality industry. So each restaurant or corporation will hire Managers to control the budget.
Another name for this is “Cost Control”. The Manager is guaranteed a bonus at the end of the year, if they keep the labour and food cost in line. 

What happens ? 

You get some Managers that are on a “power trip” and push their weight around. And some of them don’t even have training in the Hospitality Industry at all. 

They received their “Business Training” – which usually is a one year course.
This kind of attitude sets themselves up for cooks that have either no training or received their cooking methods from the street. 

Now - don't get me wrong.

 There are qualified Food & Beverage Managers that really do care about the Executive Chef they hire. They are professionals. They will go through a long process of finding an Executive Chef with a good reputation, excellent cooking and management skills, good menu planning that will suit their clients and are certified red seal chefs. Preferably with culinary medals and awards. It is also a good idea to belong to the C.F.C.C ( now know as : in 1963-1982 the organization was called the Canadian Federation of Chefs de Cuisine. When the importance and role of the professional cook was recognized, the name was changed to Canadian Federation of Chefs & Cooks : http://ccfcc.ca/en/ ) 

Canadian Recipes of the Great White North was with the CFCC for over 15 years and a member of the board of directors as Membership Director. But, then the CFCC came too expensive for me to continue. Most hotels and private golf clubs will pay for your yearly membership - just make sure you add this into the conditions of your contract. 


The CFCC is trying their best to improve the education of journeyman cooks :
Restaurants, hotels, private clubs, food chains and large corporations see the Membership in the Canadian Culinary Federation is available to any and all persons who actively seek and involve their career paths as a Cook Apprentice, Journeyman Cook, Professional Chef/Cook or Culinary Professional.

With Employment lines coming and going through a revolving door on a steady basis. Jobs may be available, but the training is not always there. Just be sure you ask if they have a certified red seal chef that is able to sponsor you in your apprenticeship program. The Apprenticeship Program of Alberta requires that the Executive Chef in charge sign the necessary papers with a copy of their journeyman papers and number on file. If the chef can't or will not do an apprenticeship program for you; this is a red flag.

So - here is the main problem with North America Chefs in relationship to European Chefs:

First of all everyone likes to use the word “Chef” ,but very few are actual certified journeyman cooks. You don't really become a Chef until you are appointed as one with a Hotel or Large Restaurant chain. And to make it worse yet - it's the attitude of the main public: “Oh - your just a cook”.
Where as in Europe the training as a Chef starts after the ninth grade. Most are brought into a well known hotel and basically trained with just food and board. It may of change lately, but this is the way it was 20 years ago. They may receive an income now. After a long training period of five years the cook will go through all the stages:
Cook I
Cook II
Cook III
Station Cooks - meat station/ garde manger station/ fish station/ vegetable station/ bakers station
Chef de Partie
Jr. Sous Chef
Sous Chef
Executive Sous Chef
Executive Chef

It use to be in Europe that a “Chef” was well paid and just as important as a Doctor. On TV you find the “miracle” Chefs that are making around $250,000.00 per year. And the Celebrity Chefs make from two million to eight million a year.
But, the reality of being a Chef is a lot lower than you see on TV. Most Chef’s make between $30,000 to $45,000 per year.


In reality, it's a long haul to become a Certified Red Seal Chef. You must really really love cooking and able to work long hours. This is the reality, and just maybe one day you will become a Celebrity Chef with your own TV Show like Chef Ramsey.

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I hope this gives you a good understanding of becoming a Chef in the Hospitality Industry. If you “Love Cooking” this career can be exciting.

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