Chef, how much money can I make in the kitchen? How do you deal with a difficult boss? How can I get promoted?

Ask me and I will do my best to help you find a solution. Once a month I am going to answer your questions here in my blog.

If your question gets selected and published then you will receive a FREE copy of my eBook “Slamming It Out! How I got Shit done in 5 Star Kitchens”.

Drop me your question here now: [email protected]

See ya in my next blog!

Suhar P. 19, from Jakarta asked:

“Chef, most of my free time I spend in my mother’s kitchen. I really like to cook and to experiment with all these different ingredients. I want to become a professional chef. Is it necessary to visit a culinary school or can I just go ahead and apply at any restaurant or hotel?”

Excellent question Suhar,
thanks!

In most countries you can
find culinary schools or culinary institutes. You enroll in their program, pay
a fee and then you join the training program. The problem is, do you have the
money to pay for that school?

This will be the main obstacle on your way to become a professional chef. Yet, visiting a culinary school is one way and certainly a good way. I highly recommend it. Here you will learn all the necessary basics and techniques you need in order to get a sound knowledge of what it takes to become a professional chef. The setting is professional and so are the teachers and instructors.

The second option is to apply
at any restaurant or hotel of your choice and start from scratch without any
experience. This way is tougher and harder because you start with nothing but
your hopefully best intentions. The good thing is that you are being thrown
into the cold water straight away. You need to learn to swim fast. You are
learning by doing every single day in a real kitchen environment. This is a
huge advantage over a culinary school. In school you train recipes and
techniques in a classroom style setting. In a real kitchen you don’t have time
to sit down, otherwise the chef will kick your ass