Welcome, this webpage is maintain by the author. It's an excellent resource for anyone interested in a culinary career or for someone already working in a professional kitchen...22 years in the making! you get tips, hints and advice on how to make the most of a culinary career. The perfect place for cooks or future cooks!

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Talk about work!
If you just got out of school, I want to let in on a trade secret that will save you lots of headaches.

"When you are at work, talk about work stuff"

Many reasons come to mind;
One, the chef will always be happier if you talk about work instead of your exploit from last night, trust me!

Two, if you talk about work you will learn a lot of stuff that other wise may take you many years to find out. Your colleagues may or may not have gone to the same school as you, but either way they have learn stuff that you have not and vise-a-versa, so exchange ideas about food and you will go to bed less stupid!

Three, you will get promoted to chef-de-party much faster if you come out as mature and serious cook instead of someone who just care about life after work.

If you have doubt, please try it at your next job, you will see very quickly that chefs in general don't like the chatty type of cooks, unless it about making the team better.

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Creating cooks with initiative!
If you empower your team to take decisions, they will stay working for you for you much longer and also perform much better.

Employees who are trusted to take decisions will develop initiative skills that will ultimately help the team at the end. Most people will feel great and uplifted in a position where the chef or manager encourage this behavior.

You can learn lots of skills in a culinary school, but one of the best skills you can have, is to have the confidence to take decisions in a fast pace environment. The head chef is usually a master in that domain, so the fastest you own that skill, the best are your chance to go up in hierarchy.



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The Importance of Follow up!
It's one of the most powerful tool in any kitchen, yet many chefs are really bad at it... Full Story

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A few pointers for you to consider before showing up for a job interview!
Dress clean and simple. Don't go crazy, but please don't show up with all your nose rings! You can put them back on after your interview and/or after you get hired.

Know what job you want, as the employer may ask you and if you don't know what job you want, it does not look very professional.

Take notes if necessary.

Prepare a few questions to ask at the end of the interview.

You don't need to talk about money on the first interview, but you should know how much money you want in case your potential next employer asks you.

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An easy way for cooks to get a pay raise!
The best way to get your chef to give you a raise is very simple. Wash his car, do the inventory and give him your Visa!

No really, the number one thing is simply to make the head chef's workload lighter! So what I mean is you do your work first, and very well please... Then find some extra time in your day to do one thing that your chef could use help with. If your chef finds out that you do more than your share to help the team, you will get noticed, and money should follow.

If you have a series of supervisors between you and the head chef, the same principal applies. Take on some of your supervisor's work load and make the supervisor look good in front of the head chef.

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Talking about money during an interview!
Know how much money you need and want, but you don't need to talk about money on the first interview.

If the employer asks you about money, you have two choices. The first one is to say "Knowing your company, I am sure that you will offer me a competitive wage based on my qualifications and experience". Your second choice is to say "If I do decide to take the position you seek to fill, I would like the salary to be X or Y..."

It is very OK to ask if you could think about it overnight. It will allow you to talk with your wife or husband or partner.

** Remember, benefits add up to money too!

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How to achieve your Goals
Last year I set myself a goal, and I actually followed up with it! Full Story

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How to choose the right career for you
Before you start on any career path you should do the following, Do many hours of research to see if there is a future in that field. Full Story

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Deal with issues with coworkers
NEVER deal with a hot situation right away, wait until things are calm before starting to talk. So, it's OK to say "can we talk about this later?" Full Story

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How to become a better cook
Learning is the key... Find a place to work where they will let you learn lots. It's easy, the more you know the better you become. A) If something amazing is happening at work and you are off, ask your employer if you can come anyway and be there to learn. It's not working for free; it's more like going to a seminar. Full Story

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Find a mentor
It is a very good move to find a mentor that you can learn from - someone that has a few years more than you and that can be available to answer some questions. Full Story

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Qualities of a Cook
All successful cooks have many qualities or commonalities, but the two things that come out the most are their dedication to improve their culinary skills and the tenacity to stay the course even in highly stressful situations. Full Story



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