College Prerequisites for a Career as a Sous Chef

Sous chefs are the second line of chefs who work under the executive chefs and assist them in all their activities. The sous chefs are capable of handling all the duties of the executive chef when he is busy or otherwise occupied. Under such circumstances, they are in-charge of making all the important decisions like determining the menu, making inspection of the food items, ordering inventory and so on. This requires special skills and experience. Skills have to be acquired through courses specially meant for this area of work.

The basic educational requirement would be +10 and thereafter the person interested in a career as a sous chef has to undergo culinary training in a culinary school. There are many culinary institutes which offer degree programs in culinary arts. There are two years and four year courses available. To get into the career of a sous chef one has to complete a course and learn all the required skills. The course will teach the person the skills like baking, food preparation, sanitation and safety measures required while cooking and all the culinary skills which are taught in the culinary school.

Though there will be classroom sessions and theory classes, more importance is given to practical experience also. The Culinary school s provides exhaustive practical experience to the students. The basic requirements for this course are a keen interest in cooking, experimenting with food, interest in preserving the nutritional value of the food and make them tasty. Though most of the skills are taught in the culinary school, one has to have an aptitude and liking for this field to succeed in this field. After finishing the basic course in a cooking school, an aspiring sous chef candidate can enter the industry through some small restaurant to get more practical experience. Since the hours of a restaurant is completely dependent on the hours customers prefer to eat, sous chefs often require to work late into the night. Shift hours include part time or full time on weekdays and weekend nights.

Many courses are available to students who want to pursue a career as sous chefs. A BA from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Management, AS from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts, Food Service Management offers a BS Degree and an AS course Culinary Arts are some of the options available. Any person with a basic qualification of 10+2 education level can enter into these courses. The American Culinary Federation has got sponsorship programs for eligible candidates for the apprenticeship program.

The field of Sous chef in the hospitality industry has got wide scope for the right candidate. The person has to have the skills, aptitude and training from a cooking school to get into this field. Creativity in preparing the food and presenting them is an added skill which is of great advantage.