Anyone who wants to become a professional chef probably needs to view
an historic TV show, the 1955-1956 season Honeymooners show about "The Chef
of the Future." In it, Ralph Kramden, the underachieving bus driver with
dreams, decides he can strike it rich by going on late-night TV and selling
the "Handy Housewife Helper." This is a piece of kitchen equipment with a
bottle opener, corkscrew, scissor sharpener, can open, fish scaler, potato
peeler and apple corer, cheese grater and lots more, most non-culinary, all
rolled into one. But if you can't laugh at Jackie Gleason dressed up in a
chef's toque and scrambling everything except the eggs, perhaps
professional cooking isn't your path. ("Handy Housewife Helper")
If it is, though, the road to becoming a professional chef offers
five different lanes. Choosing one that's your speed is the first step.
1. Learning by doing. One extremely inexpensive way to become a
professional chef is to find a job working in a restaurant. (Culinary-
institutes Web site) While most people think of waiting table as entry
level' restaurant jobs, it is also possible to be hired as a salad prep
worker or for another kitchen position in which you will gain some cooking
skills, and, if you're talented, you may be trained further by the chefs
working there. The good thing about this path is that no only is it free,
you'll earn some money while you learn.
There are two main job titles that you might investigate to try out
this path to becoming a professional chef. One is prep cook.' In
general, prep cooks do not apply heat to food, but instead peel potatoes,
mince garlic, dice onions. In small kitchens, it is sometimes the prep cook
who prepares parts of specific dishes. Those who show initiative and
talent are generally moved up to a bigger job. (Culinary-institutes Web
A second lane, one with an interesting name, i...