Training To Be A Chef

[tim armstrong]

I'm not sure where this one goes, but I have a 17yr old Thai step son who is finding it hard to survive the demands of his latest and expensive technical school. He now wants to become a chef. Yes I have told him it involves much hard work. However, ever the eternal optimist, we keep trying to find him something he really likes. Does anyone know the best training centres or ways into the business in Bangkok ? Ideas appreciated.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

This is one career you can learn a lot informally if you really want to. Start off in your own kitchen - if he needs the guidance hire in some cooks to work with him on a short-term rotating basis.

Cooking is one of the skills I teach my girls, and some of them end up being perfectly capable of catering a Western meal for 20 within the year, the good ones get taken out to different international restaurants and then we download recipes from the Internet.

I would only invest in professional training once he's proven the aptitude and interest.

Maybe sponsor him running a food cart for a while? He can learn how to run a business at the same time. . .

[tim armstrong]

Yes aptitude and interest are key words in this case. I would be more optimistic if he was a girl, but Thanks for the thoughts anyway.

[tim armstrong]

Also, he is inspired by his mother who is an excellent cook of both thai and western food and has that rare ability to look at something once and then can cook it. Unfortunately she doesn't have the patience to teach him cooking.

[chiangmaikelly]

http://www.cordonbleudusit.com/

http://www.facebook....cordonbleudusit

http://www.dusit.com...naire-2012.html

[tfc]

Send him to work in a restaurant for a month or two first as kitchen hand. This will give him the experience of seeing how the back end of a restaurant works and give him a bit more insight into whether or not it is for him. If he doesn't last as a kitchen hand he will probably not last as an apprentice chef.

[harrry]

Even if you have to pay someone to take him on in a busy kitchen as a kitchen hand it will probably be cheaper than him dropping out of a cooking course because he sudenly finds it is actually hard work.

[chiangmaikelly]

Send him to work in a restaurant for a month or two first as kitchen hand. This will give him the experience of seeing how the back end of a restaurant works and give him a bit more insight into whether or not it is for him. If he doesn't last as a kitchen hand he will probably not last as an apprentice chef.

Get him a job at a big place. Dirty, smelly and hot. Get him used to cuts and burns. Remember his boss does not want any information from him. The boss wants him to be quick, quiet and clean. If I remember in France it takes two years to learn how to bake a loaf of bread. http://bakertrade.com/artisan-baking-courses

[h90]

I think there is a lot demand of real chefs in Thailand.

[ThaiRich]

One thing to remember. Being a chef isn't just cooking food. It is an art, it is a talent. If you don't have a love for food, if your not passionate about cooking for other people it is a waste of time. A cooking school will help him learn how to show his passion and love of food. It won't teach him to be passionate. Most of the restaurants I go to I can see the plate and taste the food and I know the chef is just doing a job to make a salary. Also, being a chef is not a 9-5 job.

[chiangmaikelly]

I think there is a lot demand of real chefs in Thailand.

A good chef can go anywhere. Most people don't realize not only does he have to cook but make money too. There is a big difference between cooks and chefs.

http://chefanuragthakur.blogspot.com/2012/09/bsc-1st-year-kitchen-heirachy.html

[tim armstrong]

Thanks very much for the interesting replies.Some really good points. I've dabbled in the food

business myself, even in Thailand, so I know about the hard work. I like Harry's idea of paying

someone to take him on for a while to test out his interest, as we sure have spent money on schools

without too much to show for it.

Thanks also ChiangMaiK for the organisational chart, I'd never quite understood the terminology

before. I think he is a bit influenced by so much TV and movies, which tend to glamorise the whole

profession. As for the artist in him, hmm, not sure. His mother has the 'creative gene' and is also

very quick. We have a friend who is reasonably senior in a small but very well established hotel

group, so I will find out how they start their kitchen hands.

[h90]

One thing to remember. Being a chef isn't just cooking food. It is an art, it is a talent. If you don't have a love for food, if your not passionate about cooking for other people it is a waste of time. A cooking school will help him learn how to show his passion and love of food. It won't teach him to be passionate. Most of the restaurants I go to I can see the plate and taste the food and I know the chef is just doing a job to make a salary. Also, being a chef is not a 9-5 job.

And it is a management job as well.....

[carmine]

Send him to work in a restaurant for a month or two first as kitchen hand. This will give him the experience of seeing how the back end of a restaurant works and give him a bit more insight into whether or not it is for him. If he doesn't last as a kitchen hand he will probably not last as an apprentice chef.

100% agree with this. Working in a kitchen is very hard work. Theres no point spending money on a catering course if he can't handle the real thing.

Once he's done the dish washing and been torn into by a raging chef, if he still like it then book him on a course

[beano2274]

Try Centara Grand Hotel Bangkok, near Central Ladprao, they usually look for staff, give him a starting point

[harrry]

Check out the training that is available (which for quality training does not seem to be cheap,). Settle on a course that meets his needs and your pocket. Promise him that he can do that course conditional to completing 3 months of the hard grind dishwashing if he does not miss work and gets satisfactory reports. That way he has reason for the work and if he sticks that he may well stick cooking.

[tim armstrong]

Thanks again Harry. A useful suggestion. I still have to get passed his mother's tendency to rescue him and ignore his laziness, but a carrot dangled in front of him is a good idea. The Centara is also worth exploring. Thanks Beano.

[bermondburi]

My wife trained at Suan Dusit Rajabhat University in BKK . They offer course in Western / Thai / Desserts and Pastries and pretty much everything . It's not cheap but they have excellent facilities and either Western trained chefs of western chefs . I have no complaints . My wife was an excellent cook before and going there really broadened her . And you get to eat all the food they make . I think they arrange job placements as well so that might be helpful that you know there is an end result .