how to become a chef

456

hi.
i was wondering if anyone knew what courses and qualifications are needed to become a chef and where these courses are and how many points i would need.
thanks

spurious

There are a number of ways. Have a look at some of these courses.
http://www.dit.ie/study/undergraduate/programmes/dt432/
http://www.dit.ie/study/undergraduate/programmes/dt407/

http://www.it-tallaght.ie/index.cfm/page/course?id=51
http://www.ittralee.ie/en/InformationAbout/Courses/SchoolofBusinessComputingandHumanities/HotelCulinaryTourism/TL620-HCinArtsCulinaryArts/

http://www.ittralee.ie/en/InformationAbout/Courses/SchoolofBusinessComputingandHumanities/HotelCulinaryTourism/TL719-BACulinaryArts/

http://www.gmit.ie/thehotelschool/level-6-programmes/hc-cul-arts.html

There are similar courses at levels 5 to 8 all over the country.

Mugatuu

Hi 456,
Spurious is correct with the college links he sent you. I studied Culinary Arts for 2 years in WIT. It was a level 6 course and I think the points were 230 or so! My advice is to get yourself some experience in a professional kitchen before you consider studying this in college! A lot of people entering these type courses are directly out of secondary school and have absolutely no experience in a kitchen and some end up dropping out as its not what they expected.

Some colleges offer immersion courses which are 6/9 month intense courses! I wouldn't recommend going straight into a degree, its better to either do one of the immersion courses or the 2 year courses, then go work in the industry for a few years and return to college for your degree.

The hours are very long and the heat in some kitchens can be excruciating! also the pay isn't great!

(I posted about my course in this thread ----> http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=78724110)


Anyway, if you have any questions PM me!

456

thank you for your help mugatuu and spurious but do you now can i just do a pastry course to be a pastry chef or do i have to do a over all course first.
or does anybody else now.

Mugatuu

No problem, I'm glad to help!

Yes there are pastry courses! DIT have an advanced pastry course 1 & 2.(a quick google and it'll come up there!) In my opinion it would be much more beneficial to do the immersion course to get a feel for it as its broad and there is a good bit of pastry involved as they cover everything. You should defiantly try get some experience in a kitchen first and then once you've tried that mention to the chef you'd love to try out the pastry section etc and they will be able to give you more guidance. You have to start from the bottom when you start out and the more experience you get then you'll be able to specialize..

DIT also run a level 7 Bsc in Pastry and Bakery Arts Management. From what I've heard there is far less actual cooking in this course and more business and theory involved in it. DIT seem to have a lot of theory in there courses, not that is a bad thing or anything but keep that in mind when you're considering them.

The likes of the two year level 6 courses in Culinary Arts are broad and offer you the chance to get a feel for what you'd like to specialize in. The immersion courses and 2 year courses teach you everything from scratch and are lifelong skills to have.