Being a Chef is a Creative Career
By Chef Mardav
mardav@hqpublications.com
Culinary Institutes Columnist
Forget about "starving artists." If you want to pursue an artistic career and still be sure that you will always have something to eat, you can become a chef. In chef's jobs you'll be able to exercise your creative tendencies while earning a chef's salary and being surrounded by food.
Dozens of Choices
Once you've finished your chef training, you'll have dozens of different kinds of chef jobs to choose from. The field is very large and there is no single chef job description.
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In addition to fine restaurant kitchens, there are a wide range of private chef jobs in corporations, schools, resorts and other settings. You may start in simple sous chef jobs and work your way up to an executive chef salary, or you may be hired for one of the many personal chef jobs that are available.
Excitement and Challenge
Regardless of which direction you turn, everything about a chef's career is exciting. The most exciting moment, the culmination of your entire chef's training, is when you are asked to prove yourself as you audition for your first chef job.
I remember being handed a 12-pound turkey and told, "Make something I have never tasted before. Serve it tomorrow."
I soaked the bird overnight in a brine made up of salt, sugar, ginger, cloves, bay leaves and fresh rosemary. The next morning I put the turkey on a charcoal powered smoker and gave it about four hours of hot smoke. Then I put it in a hot oven and covered the bird with aluminum foil.
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I used a meat thermometer to make sure the inside meat reached 185 degrees. Then I took it out, let it stand for ten minutes and carved it. As you might guess, it was a triumph and I passed the test.
About the Author
Chef Mardav entered the kitchen at the age of seven and now, many years later, is still there. His writings on a variety of subjects have appeared in a wide range of publications. He is also a visual artist whose illustrations have appeared in Europe and the United States.
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