Many young people don't consider the years of training, long hours, personal sacrifice and cimmitment demanded in a hot and stressful kitchen. They just see the glamour of the TV celebrity chefs, but not the process of getting there.
Make no bones about it, it's a 24/7 hard slog. When I tell new staff that they will being starting work at 8am and finishing at 11pm, there is just a look of horror on their young faces! You don't always have a home life with this job.
But, the cream always rises to the top and some talented young chefs are making good money by sticking with it, being flexible, developing skills, experience and personal style.
My advice for anyone thinking of a career in catering is to test the water first to see if it is right for you. Those in their teens would benefit from starting with a basic job in a kitchen, washing dishes, preparing vegetables and generally getting a feel for the environment.
It's a great way to watch, learn and see how a kitchen works, discover the hard work and stress levels involved, and also the great buzz. You'll know within two weeks whether you like it or not!
If you've decided you can hack the long sweaty shifts and the hard work, then a two year full-time course at catering college is the next step. You won't be magically transformed overnight into a Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay, but you will learn the essential skills such as how to use knives and kitchen equipment properly, and all the different sections of the kitchen from larder to pastry to meat.
After two years you come out with the underpinning knowledge of the science and physics of how various ingredients react to different cooking temperatures and how different flavours can compliment eachother. The real development of the physical skills comes next.
AS a chef seeing catering students coming out of college, I'd be looking to employ a well rounded person with a solid grasp of the basic skills, but I also tend to put a lot of emphasis on personality and passion for food.
Joining a well-established team, you would need to fit seamlessly into that group of people. This might sound obvious, nut it's important to have individuals who can take orders from a chef, as some do find it difficult being told what to do.
The most important thing is for you to keep learning, accept advice when offered and not feeling that you know it all. That's the type of person I'd be emplying at The Treehouse.
The five-year period after leaving college is a key time in your development. If you want to be good, then now is the time to get an apprenticeship with the best chef you can find. You'll be pushed hard, and the learning curve will be steep and fast. Ideally, after 18 months you should change kitchens and get the benefits of another mentor, different environment and further develop your skills and broaden your culinary horizons.
With time and knowledge you then start developing and creating your own dishes. Although many things have been done before, we can all put our twist and hallmark on something and some take this a step further by opening their own restaurant.
I've always had personal goals and one of them was to be my own boss. You can also be very successful wihin only a decade of leaving college! And if you are the cream that comes on the top, then the rewards are enormous. You just can't beat the buzz and adrelaline rush of a successful kitchen.