Cook

About qualities, work tasks, workplaces and education

Photo: Erwin Purnomo Sidi_Dreamstime.

What qualities are important to have for a person who wants to become a cook?

A cook should be able to prepare food for all types of people: those who are ill, those who are on diets, and those who are healthy. You should be able to make food for all occasions – both for everyday life and for celebrations. You must be able to work methodically and independently, but in a kitchen it is also important to be able to work as part of a team.

You must enjoy making food and have a sense of aesthetics, so the food looks appetising. It is also important to be creative and precise. A cook must have good personal hygiene and maintain good hygiene in the kitchen. It is also important to have a good sense of economy. You should like giving people a sense of enjoyment and wellbeing, should have good communication skills and should be service oriented. A cook must often work in shifts.

Key work tasks for a cook

•    cooking that is tailored to the consumer’s wishes and needs: food for everyday life, celebrations or special needs
•    use of different raw materials and methods of preparation in cooking food
•    development of new products, dishes and recipes
•    composing menus, calculating prices
•    preparing baked goods and confectioner’s goods for meals and desserts
•    selecting beverages that suit the various courses

 

What are the possible workplaces?

Workplaces for a cook are in kitchens where meals are prepared to be served, including everything from fast food to gourmet restaurants. You can be a cook in a nursing home, hospital or hotel. The fresh foods departments at supermarkets also need cooks. You can become a cook on a tourist ship, oil rig, merchant ship or fishing boat. Cooks are needed everywhere. When you have a little experience you can start up your own restaurant.

What kind of education do you need to be a cook?

Vg1: Restaurant and Food Processing

Vg2: Cookery and Waiting

Vg3: Cookery or Institutional Cookery

You can be an apprentice in a business in your third and fourth years. When you finish your training you receive a trade certificate.