How to Become a Chef

Co-authored by Alex Hong and Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA

You might decide to become a chef because you enjoy cooking and like to experiment in the kitchen. While it’s a demanding career, it can also be very satisfying if it’s something you love. Start building the cooking skills you need to become a chef by practicing at home, getting a restaurant job, and getting feedback from others. Then, pursue training to be a chef, either at school or under the guidance of a mentor. Finally, get a job at a restaurant and work your way up to the role of chef.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

How to Develop Your Cooking Skills

1
Practice cooking at home to build your skills. Pick recipes that you find appealing, then make them yourself. As you get better at cooking, try recipes that include new skills that you haven’t yet tried. Don’t be afraid to experiment with recipes to make them your own.^{[1]
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- Play around with different types of cuisine to see what fits your style and taste. For example, you might make Italian food one night, Mexican food the next night, then your own twist on hamburgers.
Tip: When you get a job in a restaurant, you’ll need to cook really fast to keep up with customer demands. With practice, cooking quickly will become easier.
2
Experiment with food to create your own recipes. Part of the fun of being a chef is making your own special dishes. Once you’re familiar with common ingredients, start playing around with recipes to make them your own. Take risks so you can create something totally new!^{[2]
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- Start by making changes to an existing recipe to make something different. Then, try mixing ingredients without following a recipe.
- Some of your creations will be a success, while others might be inedible. This is normal, so don’t give up.
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3
Cook for other people to get feedback on your cooking. While it’s scary to open yourself up to criticism, feedback can help you grow as a chef. Make dishes for people as often as you can, then ask them what they liked or didn’t like about what you made. Incorporate the feedback that makes sense to you.^{[3]
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- If you can, serve your food to people who enjoy the type of cuisine you like to make. They’ll be able to provide a better opinion. For instance, let’s say you enjoy making Indian food. You’ll get better feedback from someone who enjoys Indian food.
4
Watch other chefs to learn their techniques. You can learn a lot from watching others. Watch cooking shows and online tutorials to see how other chefs work. Additionally, observe chefs or chefs-in-training who you know. Try to learn from the way they work. Read recipe books if you find them interesting - there have been chefs much longer than there's been internet so doing some research off line may open you to new ideas inspired by older ones.^{[4]
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- Don’t worry about copying the way someone does something. You want to have your own style; However, it helps to watch how they perform certain skills and how they get creative with ingredients.
5
Get a job at a restaurant to build your skills and resume. While it would be awesome to start out as a chef, it takes time to work your way up the career ladder. Start with a low-level restaurant job that will help you learn the skills you need. Apply for any restaurant jobs that you see advertised locally.^{[5]
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- Your first restaurant job probably won’t be prestigious, but everyone starts at the bottom. You’ll likely work as a line cook. This will help you learn the skills you need to move up the career ladder and eventually become a chef.
Tip: It's especially important to work in a restaurant if you don't plan to go to culinary school. Working in a kitchen will help you learn the skills you need to become a chef while also building your resume.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

How to Train to Be a Chef

1
Enroll in a culinary arts program for a comprehensive education. While attending a culinary school isn’t required for chefs, it may help you get a job. Most culinary programs offer a broad education in nutrition, sanitary food preparation techniques, butchery, pastry making, and other basic cooking knowledge. Research culinary programs, then apply to your top 3-5 choices.^{[6]
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- Programs are offered at trade or vocational schools, colleges, and culinary institutes. You may be able to earn a certificate in culinary arts from a trade or vocational school in 6-9 months. If you want an associate's degree in culinary arts from a community college, expect your program to take about 2 years. Additionally, you can earn a 4-year bachelor's degree in culinary arts from a college, university, or culinary institute.
- Look for a program that offers classes in business, management, and human resources if you think you might open up your own restaurant someday.
2
Train at home if you plan to be a self-taught chef. While going to a culinary school helps you learn the skills you need, you might choose to teach yourself what you need to know. Practice cooking in your own kitchen every day. Cook meals for your family or host events in your home to get more practice. Push yourself out of your comfort zone to help you learn the skills you need.^{[7]
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- Volunteer to cook for parties and events if people buy the ingredients for your recipes.
- Use online tutorials and cookbooks to learn new skills.
Tip: It might be hard to get a job if you’re self-taught. However, your food speaks for itself. If you’re a talented and creative chef, you’ll have a better chance of getting a job.
3
Find an internship at a restaurant to build your resume. While an internship isn’t very glamorous, it can open up doors to the job you want. Contact local restaurants to ask about available internships. If you can’t find one, ask a local chef or restaurant owner if they’d consider taking you on as a short-term intern. During this time, watch the chef, sous chef, and line cooks to learn new skills. Additionally, follow all of the instructions they give you exactly.^{[8]
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- Some culinary arts schools have relationships with local restaurants that offer internships for students.
- Your internship will likely be unpaid. However, treat it like a regular job so you can get a good reference when you apply for jobs.
4
Get a certification if you focus on a particular area. Typically, you don’t need any certifications to be a chef. However, you might choose to get one if you have a specialization that you plan to pursue. If you’ve trained in a particular area, take a certification test to help you strengthen your resume.^{[9]
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- For instance, you might get certified as a master pastry chef, a decorator, or a sous chef.
- If you have the required education and experience, you can take a certification test through the Research Chefs Association, the American Culinary Federation, the Culinary Institute of America, and the United States Personal Chef Association.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

How to Work Your Way up to Chef

1
Apply for entry-level kitchen positions at local restaurants. When you’re starting your restaurant career, be open to any position that comes your way. Look for jobs in local restaurants, then send them your application, cover letter, and resume. Send out several applications at once to increase your chances of getting a job.^{[10]
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- You might start as a kitchen assistant or garde manger, which is the person who prepares appetizers, soups, and cold dishes. The next step up is line cook, then sous chef, which is the position directly under the head chef. Finally, you might become the head chef of a restaurant.
- If you've previously worked in a kitchen, you'll likely be able to get a better job than someone who's just starting out.
2
Network with other chefs and restaurant owners to build connections. Connections might help you move up the career ladder faster. Talk to other chefs, meet restaurant owners, and attend industry events to interact with others in your field. This will help you build relationships with people who might help your career.^{[11]
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- When you’re at an event with served food, ask to talk to the chef.
- Talk to the people you meet during training.
3
Move restaurants to build your skills and get better positions. Don’t expect to spend your entire career at the same restaurant. Instead, you’ll probably have to switch restaurants to continue your rise up the career ladder. Be on the constant lookout for new positions, and apply for jobs that will help you reach your goal of becoming a chef.^{[12]
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- For instance, if you’re currently working as a line cook, apply for sous chef jobs at other local restaurants.
Variation: You might decide to open your own restaurant. However, keep in mind that this requires you to have business skills.
4
Take a job as a sous chef to learn the skills to be a head chef. A sous chef works directly under a head chef, which helps you build your skills and your resume. Look for a job as a sous chef after you become a line cook. Plan to work in this position for at least 1-3 years before you rise up to a head chef position.^{[13]
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- Typically, you’ll already have the knowledge and skills necessary to be a chef when you take a sous chef position. However, you might not have the kitchen experience and level of expertise to be a head chef yet, which you’ll get as a sous chef.
5
Rise to the position of head chef when a position is available. After you've reached the position of sous chef, look for opportunities to become head chef. Keep track of restaurant openings and the career paths of the head chefs in your area. Network to meet potential job contacts who might help you get your own kitchen. When a job opens up, reach out to the restaurant owner or hiring manager and offer to show them your skills.^{[14]
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- It might take several years for you to become a head chef.
- Making friends in the restaurant industry is the best way to get your work noticed. Be nice to everyone you meet because you never know who could help you get to your ultimate goal of being a chef.

Sample Cover Letter

Sample Chef Cover Letter

Community Q&A

Question

How can I practice cooking as a teen at home?

Community Answer

Help at home and other places, such as volunteer charity kitchens. Even learning the simple, basic yet fundamental practices at home can contribute to the proper understanding and essential learning of cooking skills that will underpin your future. Learn to appreciate flavors, textures and a wide range of different foods, so that you will know what goes well with what. Read many cookbooks and the biographies of cooks and chefs to learn their many secrets.
Question

How can I become a successful chef?

Community Answer

First, you have to love cooking. Being a chef and not loving to cook is not easy. Doing something every day that you don't like is hard. Second, you have to learn a lot about cooking. Third, you have to move on with cooking, also known as learning new skills. Fourth, you should make yourself noticeable on the internet so that some other chef can hire you to work. Now the work begins!
Question

Are there any dangers I should probably know?

Community Answer

Yes. Never run in the kitchen, and always let know others if you're walking through behind them by saying, "behind you." Just be aware and communicate.

wikiHow Video: How to Become a Chef

Warnings

Use caution when handling knives because it’s easy to cut yourself.

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You’ll likely work long hours as a chef, which will probably include holidays and weekends. This might not be a big deal if you love your job, but it might be hard if you don’t enjoy working as a chef.

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