Chef
A fast-paced career for food lovers.
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What's it like to be a Chef?
A Chef is a professional cook, trained in all aspects of food preparation. They generally work in commercial kitchens; these can take on a wide variety of forms, from fine dining restaurants, to cafés, to foodtrucks. Many Chefs focus on a specific cuisine, while others choose to specialise in certain aspects of cooking, like baking or pastry making.
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What can I earn as a Chef?
Find out the average salary for a Chef across Australia
Latest Chef jobs on SEEK
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How to become a Chef
You don’t need a qualification to become a Chef, but it’s common for Chefs to complete an apprenticeship and gain a vocational qualification such as a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821).
- Complete an apprenticeship as part of a VET course that matches your cooking interests. This could be a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821), Certificate III in Patisserie (SIT31021) or Certificate III in Bread Baking (FBP30421).
- After becoming a qualified Chef, advance your cooking skills with further kitchen experience.
- Consider further study to progress your career or specialise in a style of cooking. For example, a Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery (SIT40516) can prepare you for leadership roles in a kitchen.
Explore related qualifications
SEEK users who have worked as a Chef have studied these qualifications.
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Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
This certificate gives you the skills to prepare food and menu items and may provide a pathway into roles in cafes and restaurants.
Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery
This qualification provides the skills to prepare for a supervisory or team leader role within a commercial kitchen.
Certificate III in Patisserie
This qualification provides the skills needed to produce patisserie products and prepare for a role as a pastry chef.
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Skills and experience employers are looking for
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CookingHygienicHACCPFood PreparationResilienceFood ProvenancePositive AttitudeWorkplace Health and SafetyTeam WorkAbility to Work At A Fast PaceSkills listed in your SEEK Profile
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Is Chef the right role for me?
Working hours for Chefs
Overtime
Weekends
Shift work
Late nights
Often
Sometimes
Never
Job market trends for Chefs
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Source: SEEK job ads and SEEK Role Reviews
Latest Chef reviews
Latest reviews from 122 Chefs surveyed on SEEK
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Chef job is a great art.
Reviewer's Qualification
Bachelor of Hospitality
Experience
10+ years
Organisation size
Medium (20-199 employees)
Specialisation
Chef
The good things
Why I want to be a Chef
There are multiple reasons to be a chef for me and the very first one is I just love cooking. I know it is quite common to cook but I just love it and it keeps me happy. One s...
The challenges
Of course the passion for food and the teaching of others does allow the chef to cook, but not at the same level as those who work the line every day. To reach the pinnacle of a cook’s career and beco...
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Your food will bring happy moments in people life
Reviewer's Qualification
Diploma of Hospitality Management
Experience
10+ years
Organisation size
Large (200+ employees)
Specialisation
General
The good things
You bring smile and happiness in people life weather you work in cafe or restaurant, events centre or hotels, aged care or hospitals. You also get happiness, when you customer appreciate you with good...
The challenges
Long hours of work at certain kind of hospitality industry which might effect your personal life.
Less awareness in seniors to bring this industry as respected as other industry.
Read more
Source: SEEK Role Reviews
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