Chefs Career Advice from John Freeman, Michelin Star Chef

Chef Career Advice

Based on his extensive experience working within the Culinary world, Michelin Star Chef, John Freeman offers his advice to aspiring Chefs in an attempt to help them on their journey up the career ladder:

The advice I would give is to get into a kitchen and get into a busy kitchen, somewhere that's preferably creative and you can see that, somewhere that you feel comfortable because you're not going to want to work somewhere that you don't feel part of the team and I would say get your head down and work your nuts off.

The best careers advice I was ever given and this is going to sound really strange, but it was actually to get out the industry an old Chef of mine who used to moan a lot when I first got into the industry I remember I'd only been in the industry about a year and I bought a new knife, brought it into work very proud couldn't wait to use it and Chef was just like oh why you buying that and I was like well you know to make my job easier and make me better and then he basically said to me, he goes well if I give you one bit of advice it would be to get out this industry and he basically just listed a load of negatives and that really and it always stuck in my head because I've always wanted to really prove him wrong I just wanted to make something of myself in this industry as almost like an up yours to him.

When a Chef applies for a position with us I'm not really interested in where you worked, your CV really is almost irrelevant I'd rather get you in, we work with them, we get them to do a dish , things like cooking that stuff can be very easy, that's just practice but I want to see someone who is a little bit more creative then that who’s going to think outside the box, have an upbeat attitude. I don't want people coming in here who are just going to sit and moan and be angry were not interested in that so yeah. If you were to come to us and have a career with us at the restaurant then one thing were going to give you is creative freedom. OK, a young Chef that's come into the industry for the first time lets not sugar coat it but by working hard you are going to reap a lot of benefits.

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