If you’re considering studying commercial cookery, here’s why you need to stop thinking about it and just do it.
Learn New Culinary Skills
Commercial cooking isn’t just a matter of putting a steak on a grill and steaming some vegetables to match. It can be a lot more complex, and there is a vast range of cooking styles you’ll learn when you study commercial cookery. Basic cooking skills, such as baking and grilling are at the top of the practical list, while knife and utensil skills and understanding your way around a kitchen will give you additional knowledge, enabling you to work in any industry. You’ll learn how to work in different, busy environments, cooking dishes from around the world – all of which require different skills to master.
Restaurant Jobs Are Booming
There’s no doubt the restaurant industry has experienced setbacks in the past couple of years, thanks to ongoing shutdowns. Though Australia is opening back up internally, and the fear or lockdown is behind us, restaurant owners are still struggling to find qualified staff. Low international visitor numbers play a large role in this, and though the borders are open again, it will take time for the industry to recover completely. In the meantime, there’s a huge demand for local commercial kitchen staff.
It’s Flexible
2022 has seen a new normal for Australians and life isn’t what it used to be. The rules are constantly changing (isolate … don’t isolate … go to school … stay home), and as such, many people are looking for careers that offer flexibility. Commercial kitchens do just that, particularly as restaurant hours are so varied. And given the industry has had so many setbacks in the past couple of years, restaurant owners are building on that flexibility, giving staff more control over their shifts and a better work-life balance.
It’s A High Growth Industry
The hospitality industry is one of the fastest-growing in Australia and there is currently a high demand for professional cooks who can also manage a kitchen and train staff. By 2023, the gross revenue for the industry is tipped to exceed $108 billion, and this is great news for employment across the sector. In fact, the Accommodation and Food Services sector is expected to increase by almost 150,000 people by 2025. This opens the way for new chefs to enter the marketplace.
It’s Great For Career Growth
While we all have to start somewhere, usually at the bottom of the food chain (pun intended), working in a commercial kitchen provides plenty of room for growth. Upon completion of a commercial cookery course, you may start as an assistant chef; however, there are opportunities for you to advance quickly within the industry – provided you’re good at what you do. With the right backing and education, and good leadership, it won’t be long until you’re showing those MasterChef contestants how it’s really done.
Expand Your Knowledge
Studying commercial cookery will expand your knowledge and palette, allowing you to understand global cultures and flavours, and enabling you to be creative in a job you enjoy. Commercial cooking study teaches you the ins and outs of a commercial kitchen, so you know how to handle all the tools safely and efficiently. It shows you how to create menus, match entrees with mains, and accommodate your culinary delights to suit different dietary requirements.
A certification in commercial cookery allows you to expand your horizons, and provides abundant career opportunities, both in Australia and internationally.
If you’re already working in the industry and want to progress to the next level, consider RPL certification for commercial cookery with Skills Certified. Get in touch with our team today, or take a free 60 second skills test to see if you qualify.
