ChefBenDiaz

-A professional is defined as someone who takes pride in their profession threw practice and determination of one's craft. To be a professional culinarian one must first learn the foundations of their craft, ie: handling ingredients and equipment as well as benchmark techniques and standard recipes. Next, one must apply these basic foundational techniques and skills in order to advance their profession as well as their own culinary careers. Chef's take responsibility over foods and managing all operations of a kitchen, taking responsibility for the quality of the food and profitability of their respected establishment. Chef's are sometimes called artists, sometimes craftsman's, ans sometime managers. The one thing that all chefs have in common are their standards for high quality food and service. No matter what industry your in all professions are diverse; the culinary industry is no different. A true culinary professional is an artist, a visionary, a businessperson, a scientist, and among it all a chef is a cultural explorer. Acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in this industry is an endless lifelong journey. A Culinary professionals responsibility is fourfold; to him/her, to co-workers, to the industry, and to their guest. Professionalism means abusive language, harassment, ethnic slurs, and profanity do not have a place in a kitchen. A professional will take time to create courtesy, respect, discipline, and teamwork this is what builds self- esteem and pride among fellow culinarians. Culinary professionals are fully committed to providing excellent service; service implies more than bringing food to a paying customer. Every employee in the kitchen from the Executive Chef to the dishwasher, has a stake in keeping the customer happy. The key to success is open communication between the chef and staff, this is an important aspect of good service and a dedicated professional. Cooking is a verry well respected profession, just as doctors, lawyers, and teachers are professionals. The path to becoming a professional chef is long and weary, it involves formal education, certifications, continuing education, professional development, establishing a professional network and the will to want to learn and expand your understanding of even the basis of basic preparations. Today, there are more than 800 culinary schools in the US alone; these is great news for chefs because increasingly employers are looking for job applicants who have culinary degrees. Formal training is a great starting point for any professional chef, but it is not necessarily needed, if a chef is determined enough and strives to learn and better themselves then they are on the right path to being a professional, not just any professional a culinary professional.

By: Chef Ben Diaz, MCFE
ChefBenDiaz.com