Introduction
When talking about chefs, it's all too common to hear misrepresentation about what it takes to be a good one.
Chefs are often sold short as being nothing more than their raw cooking skills and their ability to follow recipes and serve up dish after dish, but as any chef, culinary employee or aspiring chef would tell you, there is a lot more to it than that!
In this article, we’ll discuss the skills required to be considered a good chef, with the goal of helping you understand all the different aspects of the job. If you’re pursuing a career in the culinary industry, hopefully this will give you a more refined understanding of the kind of skills you might need to pick up.
If that’s not the case, then we hope that you’ll at least leave with a greater appreciation for the chefs of the world, who work tirelessly to put delicious food on our plate.
Before we dive into our main talking points, let’s clear up one of the most irritating conflations that often gets made in the food industry. That is, the difference between a simple cook and a professional chef. A cook refers to anyone who is following a recipe to prepare food.
While one of the responsibilities of a chef is to be a cook, they are also responsible for a great many other responsibilities, which set them apart from other workers in the same business.
Cooking Skills
The most obvious skill possessed by a chef is their ability to turn ingredients into a dish, however, being able to follow a recipe is not enough to be deemed a good chef.
Chefs need to have an acute understanding of the entire process concerning a piece of food, from its origin as a raw ingredient, right the way up to its presentation on the plate.
A good chef is able to break away from written recipes and freely use their culinary techniques. Along with their knowledge of food chemistry and flavour/texture combinations, in order to create original or adapted dishes which pair with each other and enhance the consumer's experience.
Presentation is also key. It’s one thing to cook food that tastes good, but in the competitive culinary business, customers will first be drawn by what they see, before they even take a bite.
The visuals of food often decide how much a customer is willing to spend on it. This is what enables fancy restaurants to sell some of the same products as cheaper places and make much more while doing so. It’s all thanks to the presentation skills of the chef and his staff.
Leadership
Chefs are not only expected to be the best cooks in their establishment, but also to be leaders and be capable of organizing the rest of the staff so that the restaurant can quickly deliver food to their customers without compromising on quality.
Let's take a look at some of the key leadership skills a chef needs:
| Chef Skill | Application |
|---|---|
| Communication | Chefs need strong communication skills, since they will need to be in constant communication with the rest of the kitchen employees. |
| Instruction | As the curator of the dishes and the culinary leader in the workplace, chefs need to be able to instruct their colleagues on how to prepare and present dishes. |
| Organization and management | Chefs are also in charge of the organization of the kitchen and are effectively managers at the same time. They help run the business and have a hand in the allocation of work schedules, opening and closing times etc… |
| Time Management | Chefs are often the most busy people in a kitchen. It's crucial that chefs have an excellent grasp of time management, since they will usually be in charge of not only their own activity, but also the activity of the other employees. |
Creativity and Ingenuity
Chefs are responsible for curating the menu of the restaurant which they oversee. This means that whatever you see on the menu of a restaurant has been put there by the chef, and they are the ones who designed the dish including its presentation, flavour, texture ingredients and presentation.
Doing this requires some comparable creative skills to that of an artist or a designer. They need to be able to think from multiple perspectives and put themselves in the shoes of their customers to understand the culinary experience from the user's point of view.
A good example of how important this skill is, is the idea that as a chef, you might need to create a dish using flavours or ingredients that you don’t even enjoy yourself. Doing so requires a high level of empathy and separated thinking.
Another minor skill that falls under this umbrella is the ability to handle criticism. Ultimately, when it comes to critics and reviews from customers and peers, the chef is the one in the crosshairs.
An egotistical or arrogant chef who assumes he is always right is not likely to be a good one, since being an adaptable person is key to making amendments and changes to make your dishes appeal to the broadest range of customers possible.
Creativity is especially key when it comes to standing out in a very competitive industry. Using new techniques and presentation methods is extremely important in order to attract new customers.
This also means that chefs need to be prepared to take risks, which encapsulates the other skills we mentioned before.
Problem-Solving Skills
One way of thinking about life as a chef in a busy restaurant is that you are a problem solver… A food ‘engineer’ so to speak. While some days might be a walk in the park, it’s overwhelmingly probable that circumstances will change and problems or challenges will arise.
All sorts of difficulties and emergencies can arise from just about every aspect of the culinary business. Let’s take a look at some example problems and how a chef might deal with them.
Some culinary certifications can help you with these skills.
Ingredient Shortage
Sometimes a chef will not have access to an important ingredient due to an issue from the supplier, usually availability or a quality issue.
To deal with this, chefs need to be able to quickly assess the businesses inventory, communicate effectively with multiple suppliers and organize replacement ingredients and potentially refunds if the supplier is paid in advance.
This is a very common occurrence in high-end restaurants, which have exacting standards on the ingredients they are allowed to use in their recipes.
Equipment Breakdown or Failure
In the event of an essential piece of equipment breaking down, a chef's ability to improvise will come into its own.
Chefs will not only have to organize a swift replacement for the inoperable equipment, they will also need to use their detailed knowledge of culinary techniques to come up with another way of making the dish using the remaining resources.
Management becomes very important in these situations because the duration of cooking and the tasks required might change, so a chef will need to adapt to this and delegate responsibilities to their cooks accordingly.
Staff Shortage
If someone doesn’t come into work for whatever reason, it is the responsibility of the chef to make sure that the kitchen is still able to operate at an efficient rate without them.
This can be achieved through use of instructive skills and management skills. Chefs should take the time to teach various techniques and jobs to their staff, so that their bases will be covered if someone isn’t able to do their usual job. There are different kind of chefs in a kitchen.
Special Dietary Requirements and Requests
It’s extremely frowned upon to refuse service to a customer who has unique needs or dietary requirements. This situation is a true test of the chef's improvisational skills.
Chefs will need to find solutions to the special requests of customers and adapt their recipes on the fly in order to accommodate their guests.
It’s imperative that chefs know their way around food substitutions and flavour profiles like the back of their hand in order to deliver a similar experience to every customer.
Events and Celebrations
Many cultures have their own festivals and events that are associated with eating certain foods and spending time together. As a result, restaurants and therefore the chefs in charge of them must be prepared to rustle up new and interesting menus to serve guests during these times of festivity.
Many establishments do not follow the same menu every year and actually come up with entirely new menus each time the celebration comes around.
As with everything we’ve mentioned before, the majority of this responsibility falls on the chef, who must oversee and approve the process of making these new dishes.
Afterword
Thank you for reading this article about the skills required to be a good chef. If you want to learn more about the culinary industry or about the profession of chefs, make sure to check out our other articles here on the Superprof blog.
While you’re here, why not check out Superprofs premier service, which is designed to get curious minds like yours in touch with hand-picked educators in order to expedite your study/learning experience.
We hope to see you again soon!
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