Everyone has seen the great chefs of the world, with a successful career and creative minds.
Have you ever wondered what is it that makes them so successful in their profession? We know that they all have one thing in common which is their exceptional ability to cook. However, learning and mastering the skills to prepare great food is not enough. There is much more to it when it comes to finding success in the culinary world.
In the recent times, people interested in culinary arts aspire to become a chef. However, the industry comes with fierce competition and requires just more than passion and training to get you up there in the game.
So, let’s take a look at the five must-have traits that make a great chef.
1. Organizational Skills
A commercial kitchen demands careful planning and organizational skills to deliver quality work efficiently on time. Your organizational skills go beyond mise-en-place which is getting your ingredients, knives, pots, and ovens ready before you start cooking.
Once you begin to take leadership roles in the kitchen you will understand the systematized touches on all aspects of a chef’s role. Staffing effectively, easy flow of traffic to the kitchen during busy hours, menu management, waste management, purchase and so much more come on to a chef’s plate when managing a kitchen. To handle all of these, a chef has to possess some good organizational skills to work their way up the culinary ladder.
2. Desire to Learn
In any profession, the desire to learn makes you stronger and better with one skill at a time, no matter the stage of your career. This is especially true when it comes to being a creative professional of cooking and being a chef.
The difference between a good chef and a great chef is that the latter learns new things from every situation and people they interact with.They always keep themselves updated with new industry trends and constantly keep experimenting to upgrade their knowledge.
3. Physical & Mental Stamina
Working in a kitchen demands a lot of physical as well as mental strength. A chef should have the ability to keep going for long hours under high pressure on their feet, along with cuts, burns, and greasy sweats which are all part of this profession.
With high expectations, comes the odd working hours and one needs high resilience to stay focused and deliver the best. So, if you’re mentally prepared, you will manage to push through these physical discomforts.
4. Flexibility & Efficiency to Multi-task
Multi-tasking is one of the most important traits of a great chef.In the kitchen, you are expected to efficiently handle a wide array of tasks.It is only possible when you are used to multi-tasking from your training period.
Along with multitasking, a chef should also be flexible enough to be a good team player. In situations like staff shortage, you will have to don multiple hats and fill in several shoes to finish the work on time. In all, fora chef, no job is too mundane or low for his standards.
5. Creativity
There’s no doubt that a chef is a creative professional and creativity is what makes a chef.
Be it flavors or presentations, it is the creative aspect of cooking that attracts people to an eatery. It is not just about following what you have learned in culinary school but also about applying your own deliciously creative way to bring panache to a dish. Being creative in the kitchen helps you cope with challenging situations such as a lack of a particular ingredient, which a creatively talented chef will be able to efficiently cover it up.
If you think you have what it takes to be a successful culinary professional, then look up these attributes in yourself and be willing to nurture them further to help you reach that culinary greatness.
Everyone has seen the great chefs of the world, with a successful career and creative minds.
Have you ever wondered what is it that makes them so successful in their profession? We know that they all have one thing in common which is their exceptional ability to cook. However, learning and mastering the skills to prepare great food is not enough. There is much more to it when it comes to finding success in the culinary world.
In the recent times, people interested in culinary arts aspire to become a chef. However, the industry comes with fierce competition and requires just more than passion and training to get you up there in the game.
So, let’s take a look at the five must-have traits that make a great chef.
1. Organizational Skills
A commercial kitchen demands careful planning and organizational skills to deliver quality work efficiently on time. Your organizational skills go beyond mise-en-place which is getting your ingredients, knives, pots, and ovens ready before you start cooking.
Once you begin to take leadership roles in the kitchen you will understand the systematized touches on all aspects of a chef’s role. Staffing effectively, easy flow of traffic to the kitchen during busy hours, menu management, waste management, purchase and so much more come on to a chef’s plate when managing a kitchen. To handle all of these, a chef has to possess some good organizational skills to work their way up the culinary ladder.
2. Desire to Learn
In any profession, the desire to learn makes you stronger and better with one skill at a time, no matter the stage of your career. This is especially true when it comes to being a creative professional of cooking and being a chef.
The difference between a good chef and a great chef is that the latter learns new things from every situation and people they interact with.They always keep themselves updated with new industry trends and constantly keep experimenting to upgrade their knowledge.
3. Physical & Mental Stamina
Working in a kitchen demands a lot of physical as well as mental strength. A chef should have the ability to keep going for long hours under high pressure on their feet, along with cuts, burns, and greasy sweats which are all part of this profession.
With high expectations, comes the odd working hours and one needs high resilience to stay focused and deliver the best. So, if you’re mentally prepared, you will manage to push through these physical discomforts.
4. Flexibility & Efficiency to Multi-task
Multi-tasking is one of the most important traits of a great chef.In the kitchen, you are expected to efficiently handle a wide array of tasks.It is only possible when you are used to multi-tasking from your training period.
Along with multitasking, a chef should also be flexible enough to be a good team player. In situations like staff shortage, you will have to don multiple hats and fill in several shoes to finish the work on time. In all, fora chef, no job is too mundane or low for his standards.
5. Creativity
There’s no doubt that a chef is a creative professional and creativity is what makes a chef.
Be it flavors or presentations, it is the creative aspect of cooking that attracts people to an eatery. It is not just about following what you have learned in culinary school but also about applying your own deliciously creative way to bring panache to a dish. Being creative in the kitchen helps you cope with challenging situations such as a lack of a particular ingredient, which a creatively talented chef will be able to efficiently cover it up.
If you think you have what it takes to be a successful culinary professional, then look up these attributes in yourself and be willing to nurture them further to help you reach that culinary greatness.