Do you enjoy cooking? Do you love it when other people taste your food? Do you live for fast-paced environments where you are pumped with adrenaline? The modern day chef lives an incredibly exciting, and stressful, life. They are charged with producing food, often customized to order, at a rapid rate with no room for error.
You cannot “accidentally” undercook chicken, overcook scallops, or break a chocolate sauce. Everything done in the culinary arts must be precise and accurate. For many individuals, they believe the challenge of creating culinary masterpieces to be their purpose in life. If you find fulfillment in cooking, perhaps it is time to consider culinary school.
You Live On Adrenaline
In any food business, edibles must be created incredibly quickly and accurately. All of the pressure to fulfill orders in a timely manner can create an incredibly stressful environment. In order to thrive in both culinary school and with a job in the food industry, you must be able to work well under pressure. Those who let their adrenaline take over and get them pumped should do well in the culinary arts.
Hands-On Workplace
Another requirement for burgeoning chefs is that they enjoy working with their hands. You must be skilled and capable, with a steady hand, to master many of the tricks necessary in culinary arts. From whipping cream by hand to placing an elaborate chocolate bird nest on a plate, your hands must be steady and prepared.
You Crave Adventure
While you may not think adventure and culinary arts go hand-in-hand, they actually mesh perfectly. Chefs have a literal world of possibility open to them as they perfect their craft, and their future careers could land them anywhere around the world.
Many chefs begin their journey to culinary greatness with a passion for a specific style or flavor of food. This can lead to them being tied to a certain geographic location, but it is always possible to pick up and move. Chefs can work on cruise ships and travel around the world, or find a high-rated restaurant in a new city.
The farm to table movement has definitely generated more of a “homebase” requirement for cooking, but there are still plenty of options. For example, a chef can easily move to a new city or location and look for what is fresh and local. Just as a Southern chef may have locally sourced pork and vegetables, a Japanese chef may have access to unbelievably fresh seafood and rice.
To Sum Up
Becoming a chef can open countless doors and possibilities. You must be a high-energy, creative individual, who thrives on adventure, and enjoys working with their hands for this profession to be enjoyable. And for those who can’t stand the idea of being tied down, the culinary arts should offer opportunities around the globe.
Originally posted on April 23, 2016 @ 9:12 am
