Blog

The average yearly income of a chef in Australia is around $54,000 a year. This amount varies massively depending on region, location and most of all your personal qualifications!

Whether your personal goal is to work in haute cuisine or open your own small restaurant at the beach, an apprenticeship is a time of training and working.

Unfortunately, kitchens are often busy places and sometimes it can be hard for apprentices to get the level of attention they would like.

In order to become a professional you need to get as much experience out of your apprenticeship as possible; therefore check out these eleven useful tips from Australian chef Benjamin Christie:

1. Ask questions! Don’t be shy; there are no stupid questions and there is no better way to learn.

2. Always carry a spoon with you! One of the most important tasks during your apprenticeship is to become familiar with different flavours and develop your taste buds. That’s why you should try and taste everything.

3. Quit smoking! Of course this tip is only relevant for those who are: besides being unhealthy, smoking stuffs up your taste buds and as said in the point above, your taste buds are your most important asset as a chef.

4. Start writing your recipe book! Go and get a hard cover notebook where you write down everything you have ever cooked. This book will be your partner and most important asset for your future career. Take care of it!

5. Read one published cookbook per month and try the recipes! Don’t only concentrate on trendy ones even those for housewives will provide you with fundamental knowledge of basic recipes for cakes, muffins and traditional food.

6. Try to get subscriptions of leading food magazines! They make a perfect present for your birthday or Christmas.

7. Exposure yourself to more work! When you have finished work at your section, go and support your chef de partie or sous chef. This will help you gaining the experience necessary to move to upper sections.

8. Never buy cheap kitchen tools! You should better save money and buy good ones, especially knives as they can last a life time.

9. Get involved with daily and weekly ordering! Logistics are the heart of every kitchen. Estimating the required amount of fresh, frozen and dried ingredients is vital for the supply and financial success of a restaurant.

10. Learn about wine! Many dishes and menus are developed around wine moreover it’s a vital source of income for every restaurant. A wine appreciation course will help you to develop your taste buds.

11. Go overseas! After finishing your apprenticeship working in other countries and continents enlarges your skills, experience and cultural knowledge. Going overseas will take you to the next level of cooking.