In this chapter, I will explore the various routes that you can take to gain work experience, when you are newly qualified. I have provided detailed tips and advice on ways that you can do this, and a sample cover letter that you can use when applying to establishments
Once you have finished your college course as a professional chef, you will need to start gaining work experience. If you have completed a NVQ Professional Chef Apprenticeship at work, then you will have already accomplished essential work experience.
Whilst taking your college course, you will have gained work experience at some excellent establishments. Provided your work experience was a success, you may be able to find a future job with one of these establishments once you have completed your course. The best way to make sure that this happens, is to work hard and leave a good impression. However, remember that there is no guarantee that they will offer you a job. Your catering college will have many excellent links with local and national establishments, so take away as many useful contacts as possible upon completion of the course.
A great way of gaining work experience is to write a cover letter to the establishments that you are interested in working for.
Chris’s Tip - Send as many letters as you can. You will not get a response from all of the establishments, but a high percentage of them will get back to you.
Sample cover letter template:
Your personal Detail’s…. Name, e-mail, mobile number,
Dear Sir/Madam,
I have recently graduated from a professional chef-training course at college here. Or (I am an experienced chef with xxxx years training)
I have dined at your restaurant several times and I am impressed with the quality of your food and your menus.
I have researched your establishment and found that it has an excellent following, and a great reputation in the local / national area.
I am looking to gain some valuable work experience and possibly full-time employment to follow, if and when the opportunity arises.
Having finished my professional chef course, I am now looking for the opportunity to work with a talented head chef, as part of a fantastic team. Your restaurant menu is extremely exciting, and I would love be part of the team delivering first rate food to customers.
I would be very grateful if you could consider me for this position,
Yours sincerely.
Detail a little about yourself and add a copy of your CV, even if your CV is short on experience. It is important for head chefs to have an idea of your personality.
In your cover letter, present an enthusiastic and passionate approach towards the establishment that you are writing to. Show your love for food, and your willingness to learn from the kitchen team.
You may find it difficult to get into your perfect establishment, so you will need to be persistent. It is a great advantage to be willing to travel at this point in your career, as the opportunities will be far greater.
When starting out as a newly qualified chef, you will need to start off as a commis chef. This applies even if you have finished a full-time professional chef course. While your starting salary will be fairly low, working with established chefs will provide you with the opportunity to rise quickly within the ranks of the kitchen. Once you’ve built up your credentials as a chef, a great number of doors will open up to you, in a wide variety of establishments. You’ll also have the opportunity to travel and work in overseas restaurants.
The amount of time that you spend as a commis chef can vary depending on the quality of the establishment that employs you, and on your own work ethic and ability. For example, if you have outstanding references and prove yourself in the kitchen, you could move on from the role within a matter of months. If not, you may have to work harder to prove your credentials to the restaurant.
One great tip for making a good impression on your employers, is to purchase your own high quality knives, and maintain your chef whites. This will show that you are a well prepared person, with consideration for the reputation of the restaurant, and good presentation. Being able to sharpen knives is also an advantage, so practice on blunt knives in your spare time.
When looking for job vacancies, there are a number of excellent places that you can look, including magazines, newspapers and of course, the Internet. Below I have listed some useful websites, where you could start looking for your first job as a commis chef:
Gumtree
A large search engine with many different categories, advertising a wide range of chef jobs.
Indeed
Varied job search engine with many up-to-date chef vacancies.
Hotel and caterer
Jobs specific to hospitality.
Becoming a chef
Informative training website for aspiring chefs.
Social media is a great way to improve your employability. It is a good idea to have your Facebook profile and other accounts set up in a way that indicates that you are a professional, enthusiastic and passionate chef. Keep any unprofessional posts to a minimum, and do not have them open to public view. Prior to an interview, employers like to check out your social media profile, so don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want your future employer to see. Remember that you need to sell yourself as a fantastic chef. Part of doing this involves projecting a professional image to the world.
Staging is an unpaid internship, where a cook or chef works in another chef’s kitchen, to learn and be exposed to new techniques and cuisines.
“Staging” is similar to trialling in professional kitchens, trialling is an activity often used to assess the skills and training of a cooking job candidate. The hiring chef might assess the trial cook’s adaptive skills in the new kitchen, and how they interact with other staff in the restaurant.
When a culinary student or cook-in-training is seeking an internship, often the trial is the next step after the interview.
Master classes are a great way of learning new skills from top industry chefs; and there is enough variety that it’s possible to take a class in just about any area that you are interested. Courses cover a whole range of skills within the industry, so you can choose specifically to your requirements.
The length of courses can vary, from a two-hour lesson to an international five-day course, and prices will differ accordingly.
Take down as many phone numbers as you can and call around the different establishments asking for work experience or possible jobs. In some cases, you may be interviewed right there on the telephone, so be prepared with notes or a piece of paper that lists some potential answers. Practice reading and speaking out loud before the phone call, so that your answers seem natural, rather than rehearsed.
A sample role play video can be found at
Email addresses are easy to find on websites. If you are sending your application to organisations with a human resources department, you should address your letter or email to the HR department. You can send both your cover letter and CV by email too.
Another great way to gain work experience and possible job offers, is by going to the establishment and knocking on the door to speak to the chef. This is a bold move, but one that could potentially pay off. I would recommend this in smaller establishments (not larger hotels) with great food.
Remember that chefs are busy, and therefore it’s best to visit in the morning when delivery is being put away. Don’t knock during service times, and if you really want to make a good impression, then bring your knives and whites with you; as you might be put straight on a working trial!
Another good way to get hold of an application form is just to walk straight in and ask for one. You don’t even need to ask if the restaurant is hiring, fill one in anyway, and your application will be held on record until a job comes up.
If you are working in a group of hotels or restaurants, then it is possible to ask your head chef for work experience on the other company sites. This is a good way of moving up to higher quality venues within the group. When a job becomes available at the establishment, you will be the first in line for a career move, having already completed work experience within the establishment.
Remember that you will also need to take work experience on your days off, to show your enthusiasm and passion for the career. This will put you ahead of your colleagues, and increase your standing with the employer.
Examples of group hotels with great restaurants and medium to high end luxury facilities:
These hotel groups are of the highest quality and they have various levels of individual properties in their groups. These hotel groups are great hotels for career progression up to the highest level.
Hilton Hotels
A worldwide group of hotels, from four star hotels up to outstanding international five star hotels.
JW Marriot
An international brand of hotels from four star to international five star luxury hotels. A continuously expanding and improving group.
Menzies Hotels
A UK group of three star and four star hotels, with award winning five star restaurants.
Macdonald Hotels
A UK group of luxury hotels, from three star hotels to five star luxury.
Top tips for gaining experience and making a great first impression:
•Write a cover letter to establishments;
•Email establishments with your cover letter;
•Phone establishments, using a rehearsed script;
•Knock on the back door, walk in the front door;
•Have great quality knives and learn how to sharpen them;
•Have great quality chef whites;
•Have professional social media profiles;
•Be enthusiastic and passionate;
•Arrive early and don’t leave early;
•Don’t give up and be positive;
•Show a willingness to learn;
•You have to make a fantastic first impression;
•Fit in with the team and be sociable.
It’s important to keep yourself up-to-date with food trends and what is happening in the catering industry. To do this, you can buy magazines and study leading culinary websites. Start collecting books by chefs that you want to learn from, and practice some of the recipes given. This will help you to discover your own style, and may even lead you in a brand new culinary direction.
Enter competitions
There are many competitions for chefs throughout the UK, covering all age groups and experiences. Cooking competitions are an excellent way to gain experience. The benefits include:
•Showing off your talent. Many students feel that it’s difficult to express their talents in college due to course restrictions. By entering a competition, you can show off all of your skills;
•Connecting with the employers who are holding the competitions, to get yourself noticed;
•Building your CV. Winning a competition is a fantastic thing to put on your resume;
•Funding. By winning competitions that have cash prizes, you will be able to purchase equipment and further training, which will aid your personal development.
Useful websites for up to date chef competitions throughout the United Kingdom:
Chef Stagiaire awards
England has its own National Culinary team, which enters competitions at a junior and senior level.
For more information about the English National Culinary Team and further competitions go to: www.britishculinaryfederation.co.uk
Craft guild of chefs
How do you build up your CV?
You need to constantly build upon your CV to keep moving up the ladder as a chef. You can move up in the quality of restaurant you are working in to keep the quality of your CV improving. Moving up in level of chef is a great way to build up your CV, going from a commis and gaining a promotion to a chef de partie will look great on your CV, showing you are committed in your professional development.
You will need to work hard to keep building your CV and always be prepared to make your next move up. Have a time frame to reach your goals and work hard to achieve them, persevere and keep moving forward.
Gaining extra qualifications to build up your CV is great and shows enthusiasm, passion and commitment for your on-going development.
Modern skills for young chefs
In the modern world there are a lot of new skills you can add to your artillery, in order to put yourself ahead of the competition. Using these skills, you can ensure that you are in the best position to be offered a great job, with a top salary.
While modern skills are very important, you will still need a wide range of traditional skills, which are equally as essential. These include:
•Planning;
•Ordering;
•Cooking;
•Time management.
Be competent at using your computer as a modern kitchen tool
Excel spreadsheets are great for recipe costing, checking menu profits and organisation of the stocktake. You will also be able to Keep your recipes on a modern software system.
Learn how to manage large quantities using modern equipment
Equipment needing specific training/experience will include:
•Combi-ovens, brat pans and large mixers;
•Sous vide, water-baths;
•Vacuum packing machines.
Many of these types of equipment will have electronic controls that you will need to be trained on before using.
Learn how a business works
Learn about how food production can impact the profit picture, without only concentrating on menu costs. Make sure you understand any budget that you are given as you will be a central part of the profit & loss statement.
You should also understand how sales and expenses make up the total profit picture. It’s recommended to ask to have food cost percentages prepared weekly for your study.
Have a clear understanding of menu marketing
When developing a menu, you need to ensure that the menu is profitable as well as making sure that it looks and tastes good. You can maximise profit through the menu’s layout and pricing. A good idea is to keep a portfolio of your own menus, and also collect other menus that you admire.
Develop your own healthy recipes
The rise in diabetes and other food related diseases, indicates that we are living in an increasingly unhealthy world. Therefore, it is imperative that your menu incorporates recipes which do not rely heavily on sugar, fat and salt, but still taste great. A great way to use this to your advantage is to develop recipes that are specific to certain illnesses. Many ingredients have specific medicinal properties, and this can be very appealing to customers.
Pastry experience
Many chefs do not have enough training in pastry making, which includes areas such as desserts and bread making. Sweets and breads are an essential part of modern professional kitchen, and therefore building up your experience in this area will give you an edge.
Be an expert in food safety
The modern kitchen has many up - to - date, tight rules involving HACCP and health and safety. You can build up your skills in this area by taking extra short courses, some of which can be completed online.
Gain the knowledge yourself and have the ability to train others in safe working practices.
Intelligently training the waiting staff
Most waiting staff do not have a great idea of the product. The more you teach them about the ingredients, flavours and the methods of cooking, the better they will work for you in communicating with the customers.
Continuously improve your people skills
Leadership ability can make a huge difference to whether your team is working in an efficient, calm manner, or rushing around panicking.
Build up your experience and skills in:
•Effective teamwork;
•Different personality types;
•Anger management;
•Negotiation and delegation;
•Having effective meetings.
In the modern professional kitchen you will need to be able to work with everyone; no matter what their age, race, sexual orientation or gender.
Learn how to effectively communicate with the senior management
This is also known as managing upwards. You need to work out the best way to make your case to senior management; for more equipment, staff changes, different working hours or even a pay increase.
To do this effectively you will need to:
•Prepare written notes;
•Make an appointment;
•Be prepared to talk about the costs involved and how to sell the benefits of your requests.
Learn how to manage and reduce utility costs
Implementing energy and water saving measures is increasingly important within the hospitality industry as a whole. In the professional kitchen you will need to learn how to control monetary and environmental costs for:
•Kitchen equipment operation;
•Washing equipment;
•The use of chemicals;
•The use of hot water;
•The use of extractor fan systems.