Who Wants To Be a Chef?

To make it as a chef, a passion for food is essential - but so is education and hands-on experience. The road to the top is often hard and bumpy, but if you get there the rewards can be exceptional.

Cooking is one thing; excelling at it is quite another matter.

For most people being a chef is simply about cooking food and that’s it. And not long ago a chef was just a chef. But today it’s about art, enjoyment and transporting your customers to a higher level. When they leave your restaurant you want them to say ‘life is beautiful’ – not just ‘I’m full to the brim’.

Cooking has never been so popular, with culinary arts classes for young people a growing trend around the world. More youngsters than ever see their future as professional chefs.

The glamorous world of the celebrity TV chef is one factor for this with tales of chefs like Jamie Oliver making a fortune — he’s reputed to be worth more than $50 million.

But it’s also about lifestyle. There’s more exposure on TV about cooking and even a 24-hour food channel in the US. With higher disposable incomes, people are eager to eat out more often, try new restaurants or new dishes at home. Today food is a hot topic among almost everyone.

There’s been an explosion of restaurants in the Philippines. Some have been tremendously successful. If you have the smarts and the capital or a backer, a restaurant can be a very lucrative business.

And Filipinos are gaining an international reputation as talented chefs. Fortunately for us there’s a growing demand for chefs around the world.

But first you have to learn the ropes and that takes time and dedication. I went to three culinary schools in New York and each one was an experience of its own. 

There were good times, but I also remember the freezing, early morning subway rides to Soho on the number 6 train, cold and soulless locker rooms, masses of homework, painful muscle aches, endless menu planning, dull knives — not to mention strict, temperamental and sometimes spiteful chefs.

The rigorous training programs included familiarization of ingredients, sanitation, meat, the essentials of cooking (methods of cooking), garde manger (cold kitchen), kitchen brigade, sauces, fish fabrication, plating....pastry and baking, kitchen simulation and, of course, international cuisine (Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Indian, Philippine and French).

In each of these schools in the Big Apple there was always an interesting mix of Asian, Latino, African and American students and we soon all became firm friends. We shared the ups and downs of life training to be a chef.

Drinks across the road after classes were a must and usually with our dirty linen bags in hand.  We all looked a bit like stockbrokers with our uniformed heavy black leather bags but minus the suits.

By day 50 we were all bread bakers and dessert chefs. Making ice cream was as easy as frying an egg. And soon, we were all wine experts.

But becoming a great chef — something to which most chefs aspire — is not just learning how to create a classic dish. It’s a lot more than that. Cooking is a form of creativity and expression. In food, we use our senses to create, in a way our own virtual reality.

But a successful chef has many responsibilities other than cooking – he or she has to be a diplomat, a manager and with the ability to delegate and organize. A top chef is also responsible for employee training, menu development, spoilage and waste control and budgeting. 

It’s tough and challenging work, but if you have the talent, the passion and the stamina it can be an immensely rewarding career.

A lot has to do with natural ability.  It’s a bit like playing golf, either you have it or you don’t. So, whether it’s Tiger Woods or Jamie Oliver, some become masters of their game.

 The writer is Richard Ynayan, the founding chef and director of the University of St. La Salle’s Institute for Culinary Arts in Bacolod.

The ICA, which opened in January, offers would-be chefs a 12-month certificate course covering six modules of lectures and hands-in training culminating in an internship in a hotel, restraint or cruise ship.

Chef Richard will provide StarLife readers with an interesting recipe in our subsequent Chef’s Corner issues.