Once you have decided on a career as a chef you have various routes into the catering industry.
Some start as Kitchen Porters and work their way up. Others start apprenticeships in Pubs, Restaurants, Hotels, Contract Caterers or the ever expanding care industry.
Another option is a college course that can be one or two years.
Whilst you are commencing your training you can undertake some online training courses which may not be covered in your college course, but will enhance your CV and count towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD). These courses are reasonably priced and available from CPD online college.
Things you will need
Student Knife set
A student knife set usually consists of 7 items:
- 20cm or 26cm cooks knife
- 8cm paring knife
- boning knife
- fileting knife
- potato peeler
- palette knife
- sharpening steel
It is my personal feeling that the set should also contain 2 serrated knives: a round tipped 10cm tomato knife and a 26cm pastry/sandwich knife.
The 8fdd5a89609c6e053294e08a21af8bff is one of the most popular and versatile knives in use.
(Bread should be cut with a serrated blade)
Uniform
- Chef Trousers – 2 pairs
- Chef Jacket – 2
- Chef Hats – 2
- Bib Aprons – 3
- Safety shoes
Plus 3 Heavy Duty Oven Cloths.
Other equipment or useful things to have
Other useful pieces of equipment are a Kevlar glove and arm guard(level 5 cut resistant) that will protect your non knife hand and lower arm (an extra large or large disposable vinyl glove can be worn over the kevlar glove to help stop cross contamination.).
A digital thermometer is also useful to determine whether food has been properly cooked, and provide evidence if required.
College will be able to advise you on the best cookery books for your course
All of the above items can be purchased from Amazon on this link.
Check the related searches at the bottom of the Amazon page this will give you access to more chef’s equipment. Victorinox Fibrox handled knives are a good quality starter set.
If you decide that a full time college course is the right way forward for you towards the end of your course it’s time to start thinking about your future career, a good source of jobs is Caterer.com who have national vacancies in many different aspects of the Hospitality and Catering industry. Cornwall Hospitality also has links to recruitment agencies and employers.
If you would like more information on this please contact paul@cornwallhospitality.co.uk
Some Safety Tips
- Always keep your knives sharp.
- Never try to catch a falling knife.
- When carrying knives, the points must face downwards.
- Use the correct knife for the correct purpose.
- Never put knives in the sink, especially in dirty washing up water.
- Never boil water in a microwave (search Delayed Eruptive Boiling)
- Never clean or empty a hot fryer – see CAIS 17 from the Health and Safety Executive.
