Thinking of becoming a personal chef in the future?

Question

I am a self-taught chef and I am increasing my skills everyday. In the future I was thinking about becoming a personal chef....any thoughts?

Answer 1

Start cooking for friends parties - or have a kick off party at your house for potential clients. take a class or two for skills you might not have.

Answer 2

My cousin started out this way. She was cleaning houses and they'd ask her to have something ready by the time they got home. Then they'd tell friends and neighbors, more people asked for her to just cook for dinner parties, and she ended up owning a very popular restaurant for over 15 years.

It's all about the networking.

Answer 3

Should you decide to be a chef, personal or otherwise, read on.

The ideal way is to start as a kitchen helper and work your way up. Real life has more to offer than in school. Having a diploma does not mean you can cook; it means you understand the information about cooking.

(Some of the best chefs studied at schools equivalent to a technical college. Some rely on marketing and connections to take them further.)

A good chef is usually open minded, experience, flexible and creative. It is an advantage to know market trends on what other restaurants are serving; to be successful, you need to be ahead of everyone else some of the time but not all the time to avoid burn out.

As an example of open mindedness and tenacity, some chefs have an experience mix of French, Japanese and Italian cuisine. Three to five years in each field in depth would suffice.

Bad tempers and quick to flare are traits of poor people skills when chefs are tasked with teaching and managing their helpers. The prima dona chefs portrayed on mass media often do not have a sustainable holistic lifestyle.

To obtain recognition, there are many chef clubs in most countries. Chaine des Rotiseurs, a French fine dining club is a well known international club. One becomes a member by appointment through another member. It is a recommendation only club for people who have made great achievements in cooking.

If you have a merit in your present field of specialisation, you could start by looking into these clubs in your country. This may in turn put you in good standing. Having a sponsor may assist in moving into the right restaurants for experience.

An executive chef’s job scopes required oversight on absolutely everything that has to do with restaurant operation: from staffing, costing, menu planning, product development, training, cleanliness to food quality. Typical tasks may include:

– Plan menus and work out food and labour costs together with the head chef.
– Plan staff rosters and supervise the activities of cooks and assistants.
– Discuss food preparation issues with managers, dietitians and other staff members.
– Select and train staff.
– Explain and enforce hygiene regulations.
– Demonstrate techniques to cooks and advise on cooking procedures.
– Prepare and cook food, divide food portions, add gravies, sauces and garnishes.
– Order food, kitchen supplies and equipment.

Work hours:
A normal staff gets an eight hour day. Chefs work ten to fourteen hours a day, six days a week. In the F&B industry, working weekends and public holidays are a given. Depending on workload, off days are between one to three weekdays, with one being the norm. Do not be surprised during festive seasons that working through two weeks without any breaks may occur.

Risks of being a chef:
– Sued from upset customers.
– Short term: Dangers in the kitchen as you are dealing with potentially slippery floors, sharp implements like slicing machines, heat, gas, open burning, oil. Small cuts and burns are very common.
– Long term: Cancer and loss of hearing due to exposure to an unhealthy and noisy environment. Heart disease and dental problems as a chef has to taste a lot of food. Contracting Asthma from poorly ventilated kitchens.
– Recipes self taught and are learnt as you go on. Some environments are protectionistic: Avoid these places and move on if you still do not learn anything new. When to move on is subjective to each culture.

The perquisites of a chef:
– Meet a lot of people.
– Travel the world on cruise ships.
– Possible housing, travel and miscellaneous allowance when working overseas.
– Very low pay as a beginner, which increases as one progresses.

Useful basic requirements:
– High level of personal cleanliness.
– Enjoy cooking.
– Able to organize efficient work schedules.
– Good communication skills.
– Punctuality.
– Flexibility to perform shift work. More regular hours when emploi as personal chef.
– Work under pressure and stay calm in difficult situations. ( Look at the some of the celebrity chefs and commoner garden chefs fighting and quitting flat out. )

Progression begins with:
– Kitchen Helper (1 year);
– Commis Chef (3>2>1);
– Demi Chef (2 years);
– Chef de Partie (2 years);
– Sous Chef (5 years);
– Executive Chef of Chef de Cuisine.

Final word:
Any successful chef, personal or otherwise, must know that they want to be a chef.

It is a service line; it is an “unselfish job” for “selfish” people: Customers can be picky and demanding. Money incentives alone will not tie you through; do it because you love being a chef.

Answer 4

ask yourself:

what kind of personal chef do you want to be?

what kind of marketing are you plannning to do to get your clients?

are you able to prepare what ever you clients want?

do you have the equipments to execute these dishs/menus?

are you ok in goin' to strangers homes?

what kind of fee are you goin to use?
are you able to take all kind of payments?

what are you strengths and you weakness?

are you familiar with the personal chef community?

evaluate yourself, learn and prepare

-maika

Answer 5

to be a personal chef
u might need creditials

Answer 6

Go for it. If It's your dreams, just go for it!