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Chefs prepare, cook and present food in hotels, bars and restaurants.
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts
As a chef, you would:
You may need to wear a uniform.
You could work at a restaurant, in an NHS or private hospital, at a school, at a college or on a cruise ship.
Your working environment may be hot, humid and physically demanding.
You can get into this job through:
You can study for a higher education qualification in:
You'll usually need:
You could take a college course to get into this industry. Courses include:
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
You could get into this career by doing an apprenticeship. There are several available for this role, including:
These take between 1 and 2 years to complete.
You can also train to be a chef by doing an apprenticeship in the armed forces:Army; Royal Air Force; Royal Navy
You'll usually need:
You could start work as a kitchen assistant or trainee commis chef in a restaurant or catering company and work your way up while learning on the job.
You'll need a food safety certificate as a chef. Training courses last 1 to 2 days and are widely available through local authorities, colleges and private training providers.
You can find out more about how to become a chef from Caterer.com.
With experience you could progress from being a commis chef, preparing and cooking dishes, to sous chef, supervising staff and running a kitchen when the head chef is away.
As a head chef, you could train to move into restaurant or hospitality management. If you work for a chain, you may be responsible for managing several sites.
You could also set up a catering business or open your own restaurant.