Want To Become A Chef?

Still unemployed and thinking of opportunities to make a decent living? Why not become a chef? The job pays well, and you get the chance to see the world, too. If you're dreaming of those goodies to give yourself and your family, jumpstart your career move now.

Make that Cooking Interest Lucrative

A diploma can't always give you a job at once. Sometimes college graduates have to earn a living by dishwashing in local restaurants. But opportunities do come along if you're not choosy. Heard of the dishwasher who is now a sushi Chef? Great success story, indeed. But before the dishwasher could clamber out of the sink, she had to wash thousands of cutleries before she handled a sushi knife.

Now if you're still looking at your college diploma in between cooking up a storm for your family friends, think again. You're just a minute step away from a lucrative career. Take up the chef's apron and hat, and make your cooking hobby earn you the bucks to live decently. Before you run to the nearest chef's academy, however, be ready to undergo rigorous training and late hours.

But after all the sacrifices, slicing, dicing, and baking you'll be on your way. Every restaurant in the block need talented chefs. Beyond the borders, chefs are revered and paid handsomely. Want to know what goes into the whole pot? Here are the qualifications:

* Acute sense of taste and smell
* Love food
* Have the talent to make food combination - textures and flavors
* Love to innovate or experiment
* Good memory
* Ready for back-bending hours

You can't make it if you can't smell the difference between lamb and beef that's cooked to perfection, or if you can't memorize the basic recipe for butter cake. Heck, you cannot juggle a cookbook and the mixer in one go. If you dread long working hours, then becoming a chef may not be a pleasant prospect.

The key to success is loving what you do. Without that, you'll have to keep adoring your college diploma. Not that a college diploma is not worth all your efforts. But with today's sheer number of college graduates, what can you do to start earning at once?

Where to Get a Chef's Degree

If you still have the stamina for another three years of schooling, you can get good training at reputable institutions. But if you think you can't stomach more long years of labor, then you can also specialize in some cooking courses. Look up cooking institutions run by hotel chains in the locality that offer a wide range of specializations. If you still want to go back to school, you'll have to take a three-year course on hotel management. You can even get a crack at learning exotic menus in India, France, and Thailand. Of course, that will require monetary investment. Better evaluate the options carefully, think of your goals, and how you can fit them in your plans.

To gain admission, you have to get a required minimum of aggregate marks in the vicinity of 60%. You'll have to take a two-hour exam, which will be followed by an interview to check out your personality and aptitude for the course.

As early as March, start looking around for exam schedules usually held in April or May in readiness for the formal sessions that start on July. Since there are a limited number of applicants accepted, get going early. The more years you study, the higher your chef rank. Sounds promising enough?