I'm going to be a top chef

Question

Hello, I am 17 years old and have read everything on the Caterer.com website. I want to ask your advice. I am studying a professional cookery course at Glasgow College of Food Technology. This is my first year studying cookery and am enjoying it very much. I also work in a restaurant called Glenskirlie House as a commis chef. I have a big ambition in life and that is to be the best chef in Scotland at the least. Personally, I feel that I will be. I always seem to achieve my goals no matter how outrageous.

My question to you is: how should I go about achieving that goal? My plan is to study professional cookery at all levels, including a degree in culinary arts and management and then to study professional patisserie as well at HNC level. I also want to enter as many competitions as possible to further my experience and show what I have to offer to the people who matter in this industry. Maybe I'm over my head here, but I think that with hard work, I will achieve this. Could you please give me all the advice you can offer?

What the expert says

David Goldfarb, director, Mayday Executive

!	-

What a super young man you are: if only all people were as focused and determined as you. The best advice I can offer is for you to construct a plan that will provide you with the culinary grounding you seek. Consider which hotels, restaurants and colleges will give you the best grounding to fulfil your long-term goals. Remember, it is not just about cooking great food managing people and finance are equally important. Choose your mentors carefully. Make sure they are as equally excited and motivated about the business as you are. Maybe read up on the biographies of first-class chefs, such as Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White, to see how they developed their careers.