There are a lot of misconceptions and “myths” floating around about the culinary industry, but what is the truth behind these and should you listen to everything you hear about becoming a chef?
- ‘You Need To Go To Culinary School To Learn To Cook’
A lot of people do believe that in order to be a successful chef you need to go to a culinary school and some people even think the more expensive the school, the better chef you’ll be.
This just is not true! Many great chefs didn’t attend a culinary school, like Charlie Trotter or Jamie Oliver; they worked their way up the ranks getting as much experience as they could and improving their skills on a daily basis.
There are certain things that you will only learn at a school like this, such as the chemistry or history behind food, which yes will help you become a better chef but it is not the key.
- ‘Kitchens are constantly noisy and chaotic.’
This misconception comes majorly from television and film. A kitchen is always portrayed as extremely chaotic and manic in these situations.
Of course, at times they can be a little disorganised or hectic, but that adds to the environment for the most part. Chefs need to communicate with each other so the background noise can get a little loud but it’s important to remember that if a voice is raised it usually isn’t out of anger.
- ‘All Chefs Need to be Experts on Food’
Just because your industry revolves around food does not mean you need to be an expert in every aspect of food. Instead, it’s more important to have an interest in food and growing existing skills further.
The most important thing that chefs need to have is passion. Passion for creating new and interesting dishes and the skills involved in their trade. If you don’t know something about a certain food than don’t be afraid to ask other chefs, it’s more than likely that they will b able to fill you in and vice versa.
These are some of the many myths that surround this industry and profession, so it’s important to let budding chefs and just the general public know that these aren’t accurate representations of becoming a chef.
