Chef

Career stories

Tim Down – Chef

Tim is an experienced chef, who has worked both in Australia and overseas. We spoke with Tim about what it’s like to be a chef, and what it takes to be successful.

Why did you want to be a chef?

For about as long as I can remember, I was always in the kitchen with my mum, licking spoons and bowls and things and always getting tangled around her feet. I was quite fond of food and when I was 14, I sort of thought to myself, well, it's something I would like to pursue, didn’t really know much about it, I just went with what I felt. From that day onwards I worked towards becoming a chef.

Tell me about a typical day for you?

A typical day for me would start with getting into the kitchen and making sure everything is set up. I usually get in 15 to 20 minutes earlier than the kitchen crew – it’s always advisable to do that. Then I make sure everything is ready to go when everyone walks in the door. I start off with accepting and checking out whatever deliveries have come in, making sure everything is what we ordered and up to specification. If it isn’t I deal with the supplier or the driver and send it back, get on with the food preparation, and mison plus which means set up. I get a couple of hours to do that. Then I get set up for lunch, do lunch service and break down at the end of lunch.

When you say break down, what do you do?

Basically wrap up, finish the last desserts off, put everything back in the fridge, make sure everything is tidy and clean the kitchen down a bit. After lunch at about 3.00 I go on a break for a couple of hours. Then I start work at about 5.00 in the afternoon again, go through the same routine, obviously not as intense in the afternoon because things are still set up from the morning and then have an hour before the restaurant opens to get set up again for dinner. The restaurant closes about 10.00, we pack it all down again, get a few things set up for the next day and probably all get together about 10.30 and get our orders done for the next day. Hopefully I get home by about 11.15.

What’s the kitchen environment like to work in?

A lot of things can influence your day, a lot of things can make your day, and a lot of things can break your day – it’s not for the faint hearted.

It can be very challenging at times, things can change. Decisions have to be made on the spot, right there and then. Whether it’s right or wrong, that decision has to be made, and that can make or break the next couple of hours in your day.

What do you love most about your job?

I love the fact that it’s a high pressure environment.

I like the stress and the fact that you have to be agile. Cooking requires a high level of skill to be able to continually put out the same high standard. Being consistent is difficult because things change every five minutes and to be able to ride above that, and actually enjoy it, is a thing in itself.

So you really need a lot more that just cooking skills?

Absolutely - Cooking skills are easily learnt. Skills can be taught and practiced, but being a chef goes beyond just skills. Personality is a big thing in being a chef.

Chefs are very competitive, so you need a strong personality. If you’ve had a bad day, you need to be able to bounce back, get your head together, and make sure you’re on top of things before the next service.

What kind of hours does a chef work?

Hours can vary, but inevitably the hours are going to be long. At the moment, my hours are typical so I’ve got it quite good, I won’t start til 10.00 am, and as I said, I’ll be home 11.00pm, with a two hour break in between - that’s 4 days a week. On a Saturday, I start at about 2.30pm, and I’m home by 11.00pm.

How do you cope with that?

You just do.

The time does go very quickly. That’s one thing about being a chef, you are always pushed for time, always racing the clock and even if it’s quiet, there is always something to do.

Do you get any perks with the job?

You get the opportunity to eat a lot! Being a chef also keeps you young and you get to work in a team. If you’ve got a good team, no one tries to pull you down.

Tell us about some of the places that you have worked, and some of the things you have done.

I was born in the country and moved to Sydney when I finished my High School Certificate. I got an apprenticeship before I even left home. It was very easy to get an apprenticeship, not hard at all. I found the apprenticeship very tough. I think learning a trade is the hardest 4 years anyone will do, especially in hospitality – not many make it through the first year.

It’s not what people expect it to be. People might see chefs on TV shows and think that’s what it’s like. People might say that looks really interesting, I could do that but its not all glitz and glamour. Most of it is very hard work and it’s not an easy trade to learn: you get burnt, you get cut. It is not easy and a lot of people find that tough. It gets easier toward the end of your apprenticeship, and you begin to take a bit of pride in yourself. By the time you finish your apprenticeship, you are on top of your game. So I worked in restaurants for about 4 years, and once I qualified, it was back to the bottom of the ladder again. It was a long steady climb to the higher rungs of the ladder. It takes about 6 or 7 years to get into a reasonably senior chef or junior sous chef position.

What is a sous chef?

A sous chef is the second chef in the kitchen. There is usually a head chef followed by the sous chef which is usually the hardest position in the kitchen. The fact that you are on the spot when the head chefs not there, you are responsible for watching everyone around you, the head chef usually has to do things like stock takes and orders and you are left in charge to make sure everything goes ok, and generally assist the head chef . That’s quite a hard job. In bigger hotel chains, you usually have an Executive Chef who might control the whole group of restaurants or whole group of hotels, and usually as the sous chef, answer to either the Head Chef or Executive Chef.

Where else have you worked?

About 5 years ago, I went to the UK because I decided to go for a change. One of the biggest advantages of being a chef is that you are able to travel and work anywhere in the world. It’s very easy to find work, especially overseas. I went over for the experience, its something I always wanted to do. One of the reasons I became a chef was so I could travel. I went to England and found myself in a position where I was working for a catering company that tours with bands and performing artists. I basically became a roadie, cooking for lots of different bands and doing personal chef work, which is quite fun.

What’s it like working as a personal chef as opposed to working in a restaurant?

It can be fun, but you are at their beck and call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You get the night off if they are not hungry or they want to go out to a restaurant. Then again they can call you at 3.00am for a chicken sandwich. They can do whatever they like, really. But you usually find the money is very good and you have the bonus of travelling. I’ve seen every place in Europe there is, and I got paid for it.

How much can you earn as a chef?

When I started my apprenticeship, I was earning $3.53 per hour before tax, but that was 14 years ago. The rates have gone up since then, and they are not as miserly as that anymore. It obviously gets better as you get older. The least I’ve earned as a qualified chef would be about $500 a week, after tax. The most I’ve earned would be about $3000 a week, after tax, but that would be earning a foreign currency.

How long did it take you to reach that level of success?

At least 10 years. I’m in my 30’s now and I know chefs who are in their 20’s doing the same sort of thing I do. They find it harder because I have a higher skill level than them - this comes from experience.

What’s the best or most useful skill that you’ve learnt?

How to cook: cooking is a lot of fun. There are very few things that guarantee you pleasure three times a day in life, and food is one of them. Being able to do it well means that I get to eat well, and everyone that I cook for usually gets to eat well and I quite enjoy what I do, and that for me is the best thing. If you enjoy what you do you will never work a day in your life.

What kind of job searching techniques did you use to get the job?

I went through an agency called The Hospitality and Training Network (THTN), they are all around Australia now. Basically you can become indentured, which is what you do when you become an apprentice: you become indentured and that allows you to move around restaurants. Before THTN it was harder to gain experience in different jobs because you used to be indentured to a restaurant, and to break that contract you would have to go through all sorts of paperwork and drama, but with this new way of doing it a chef can change at least maybe once a year, or every 2 years. Changing your job is a great way to give you new ideas, expand your horizons and network.

Did you need any work experience before you started working in the kitchen?

No work experience at all. We hired an apprentice two weeks ago, mostly on personality. You can pick up the skills, but to be a chef, it requires a certain personality and usually people are hired on that alone.

Is the job different to what you thought it was going to be when you first started?

I did not know what to expect when I first started, I just thought it would be a good idea at the time, but I loved it because it was very physical. It was very hands on and creative, you get to see instantly what you have created, rather than maybe never seeing the end result of what you have been working on, it’s very artistic.

What kind of study have you done as a chef?

As a part of my apprenticeship, I did two and a half years part time at TAFE. They teach you a broad level of skills. You might think, I like the pastry side of things or you might like hotels, you might be working in an Asian style restaurant, but you also need to learn French. So TAFE gives you a very broad spectrum of training in all those things you simply don’t have time to learn in a restaurant, like occupational health and safety and food science.

What tips would you give to people who are thinking about being a chef?

Really, really, think hard about whether this is what you want to do. If you are sure it’s what you want to do, then think again. See what it’s all about and make your own mind up: don’t let anyone talk you into anything, go and see for yourself.