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Lets talk about becoming a professional in any trade. This starts with a code of professional ethics. These are rules and standards governing the conduct of the members of any profession. This starts with the moral choices made by the individual professional in the daily operations of business. Every day a professional Chef must take the position seriously and direct the staff to do the same.
Teamwork; the importance of teamwork must be applied every day throughout your career. Think of teamwork like a football team, every player must do their part for the team to advance. The most important person on the team is the team itself. Without one of the players, lets say a dishwasher, the whole team is affected. Treat everyone, as you would like to be treated and instill teamwork in your staff everyday. With experience, you will be able to walk into a restaurant and see if they have a winning team.
Sanitation & Personal Hygiene; these two subjects will require more in depth details. The customers expect healthy and wholesome foods and the law requires it. It is up to the Chef to have a thorough understanding of how to operate a kitchen safely to reduce the risk of food borne illness. The most important factor to remember is proper hand washing. This begins when entering the building and should be instilled into your staff - wash you hands after every task! Foodservice workers should never work when they are sick or feeling ill to prevent customers and other staff from getting sick. We will review many more sanitation topics soon.
Good Service should be the standard not the exception! It begins with providing good food, properly and safely cooked, well seasoned and presented in a pleasing style. A Chefs job is making sure the customer is happy and will return to your establishment.
Judgment; Every day a professional cook must consider their actions at work in every possible situation. This requires not only good judgment but also quick reactions as things start to get busy. It will take you a lifetime of experience to perfect your judgment in every situation. Lets take for example cooking "Veal Oscar". It is a traditional dish made with veal cutlet, asparagus, hollandaise and crabmeat. There are many variations but the most important thing is preparing an excellent Veal Oscar that the customer will devour and return for more.
You must use judgment in purchasing the meat, preparation steps, sauteing the meat, cooking the asparagus and of course making a great hollandaise then assembling it all into a masterpiece. I have made this dish over 2000 times! Using my judgment, I can prepare this dish fit for a king. Once you have prepared it a thousand times then you too will be able to prepare it for the king! Always remember, there is a lot to learn in every position! If our restaurant were serving Veal Oscar on the menu today, it would be one dish out of a hundred that you would need to master.
Responsibility, it should always start at the top. Every Chef should set a good example for their staff to follow. Be responsible for your actions and help to train others to do the same. Employees must make the guests feel welcome to be dining in the establishment and that only happens when everyone on the team is responsible. Every staff member should feel they are part of the team to help increase productivity. This will help reduce absenteeism and increase productivity. Eventually the word will travel and guests and employees will feel welcome to return to your foodservice operation.
Looking the part of a professional Chef requires you to dress appropriately. The Chef uniform helps to inspire history, romance and curiosity from all who see you. If you are well presented then so is your foodservice operation.
Customers do not want to see anyone in a kitchen who is not properly dressed for their role.
Every Chef and Foodservice Professional that we know avoids dining at those places!
A well dressed Chef and restaurant staff usually means better sanitation standards and great food!
Remember this always; Presentation is everything! Do you have our Chef knife Holster? Order one today and you will be more organized! Buy the best Chef knives, knife cases and cutting boards that you can afford, this is in investment, and you will use them daily.
The video below shows how to sharpen your knives using whetstones.
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If you have specific Culinary Arts questions, please email one of our Certified Chefs...E-mail us here...
     
    
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