7 Must Have Skills for a Chef Career

7 Must Have Skills for a Chef Career7 Must Have Skills for a Chef CareerEverywhere you look nowadays there seems to be a new television show, online series or specialty internet video designed to make you drool with envy. From plates filled with scallops grilled with butter to platters piled with pastries and finger sandwiches, the visuals alone are enough to make an aspiring foodiewell..aspire to greatness.If youre one of the many would-be career seekers who has been swept up in the latest food trends and cooking crazes, you should start off with a good, well-rounded education to broaden your mental palette. After you have a few foundations under your belt, its time to hit the job boards for open listings for internships or other entry-level positions working with food. Want to know if youre ready to take the next step or simply wanting to whet your taste buds? Putting aside all the food-related puns, youre in luck. Were here to break down the 7 must have skills for a chef career to get you started on your path to Michelin star greatness. Ability to Handle CriticismIf youve ever stepped foot into a kitchen you know that not every dish is going to be a crowd pleaser. Especially when starting out, aspiring chefs are going to need to know how to handle constructive criticism of their skills and their output. In plus-rechnen to your instructor or senior chefs feedback, there will always be those pesky customers not enjoying a dish or two. The ability to take and learn from criticism is a key skill for those looking to make it in the food industry. Passion for the Culinary ArtsWhile it may not seem all that intuitive at first, cooking is indeed an art much like music, painting or dance. While there is also a hefty bchse of science (bread making anyone?) the artistic nature of preparing a creative and unique meal certain requires a hefty dose of passion for the culinary. If you love all aspects of food from creation to consumption, youll do just fine on this checkl ist item. Attentiveness to DetailDespite what a certain whirling dervish of a cartoon character may have taught us about kitchen skills in our youth, food preparation requires a great deal of precision. Even the smallest details can create subtle differences in taste. A pinch too much sugar or salt can threaten the taste buds and the success of an entire dish. If youve got an above average attention to detail it will serve you well working with food prep. CreativityThe greatest chefs know that the next best recipe isnt going to be found in any existing cookbook. Being a success as a chef often involves a hefty dose of innovation and creativity. From plating to ingredients to preparation and execution, finding inspiration to put something on the plate never before experiences is a handy skill and certainly one that is a must for those looking to make it in the upper echelons of chef-dom. Willingness to PracticeYou know that old saying that your well-meaning parent harped over and ove r when youre young? It turns out that when it comes to a career as a chef, practice still does make perfect, or at least as close to perfection as you can get. Chefs in training must be prepared for a solid dose of failure and be willing to put in the hard work to overcome the inevitable hurdle in the road. Put practice into action and youll be well on your way to foodie success. Being a Team PlayerIf youre the type that fears the idea of being lonely at the top, never worry about that scenario with a career as a chef. Turning out plate after plate of quality food in any setting other than your personal kitchen requires a whole team of talented cooks, chefs, and servers working together in unison. If youre not a people person or dont enjoy interacting with others, you better start practicing now. Being a team player is certainly an essential part of any career in cuisine. Having a Good Business SenseOur last, but certainly not least, essential skill for a career as a chef of often t he most overlooked by would-be cooks. An empty restaurant or a bounced checkbook unable to pick up the shopping list can make it awfully difficult to serve up a dish of linguini. A strong business sense, with perhaps a few of those aforementioned classes focusing on economics and accounting, will be fundamental if youre looking to strike out on your own as a chef.Dont let our list scare you away from having fun with your food and earning a living. If youve got what it takes, a career as a chef can be rewarding and tasty. Just like with any career, remember that if you do what you love youll never work a day in your life. Bon apetiite

Looking for this small sign is the key to spotting a psychopath in your office

Looking for this small sign is the key to spotting a gefhrlicher irrer in your broLooking for this small sign is the key to spotting a psychopath in your officeWeve written about the signs you should look for if you suspect your coworker or boss is a psychopath. No empathy, out of this world confidence, thrill seekers, emotion mimickers, to name a few. But a new study has found a different way to spot a psychopath.This is a mora physical sign. It is all in the eyes and it may be an easier way to help you identify a psychopath if you cant get your coworker to sit down and take the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (a standard scale used to measure potential psychopathy in adults) as that can be super awkward to bring up in the office kitchen.Thestudy,published in the journal Personality Disorders Theory, Research, and Treatment, looked at 82 malementally disordered offenders and analyzed how their pupils reacted to different visual stimuli includingimages of real-world scenes (some were plea sant images but others were quite graphic), auditory sound clips, and videos of dynamic facial expressions.The researchers found that the pupils of non-psychopaths dilated if the video or photo was disturbing, but this didnt occur in the psychopaths eyes.Its all in the eyesWhy does this matter? The size of your pupil says a lot about how you are feeling and what kind of person you are. Our eyes dilate when we see something upsetting, shocking, difficult to process or exciting.It is part of our fight, flight or freeze response. That is why we see so many scary movie posters with wide-eyed scared faces (think Blair Witch Project, Scream.) Some experts believe that our eyes dilate when we are scared or worried so we can take in more visual information.Pupil dilation directly corresponds to arousal which is why pupillometry is very important in the study of psychopathy. So because the psychopaths in the experiment didnt experience dilation this means they didnt have a reaction to upsett ing imagery and sounds which once again indicates that they dont have the same emotions as the rest of us. Psychopaths tend to have no empathy.Lead author of the study, Dr. Dan Burley, from Cardiff Universitys School of Psychology, saidOur findings provide physical evidence of an emotional deficit common to psychopathic offenders. Card sharks have learned to look carefully at the eyes of their opponents to gauge if they have a great hand, and many an astute salesperson knows to up their price if your eyes reveal your excitement at their product.Likewise, the pupil usually dilates when an image shocks or scares us.The fact that this normal physiological response to a threat is reduced in psychopathic offenders provides us with an obvious physical marker for this condition.

Things will work out. They always do A look at faith and perseverance

Things will work out. They always do A look at faith and perseveranceThings will work out. They always do A look at faith and perseveranceThe biggest human temptation is to settle for too little. - Thomas MertonThrough every peak and valley of our lives, faith and perseverance will continue to be the two biggest keys that permit us to move forward. Our goal is to make progress, to keep advancing and to keep furthering our human potential. Believing in ourselves and believing that things will work out in our favor is a great beginning. Continuing on course to victory is how we finish.When I speak at conferences and at events, very often Im asked after a talk about the best piece of advice Ive ever received - or words of wisdom that have always stuck with me. I realize that I turn back to maxims or words that often boil down to very foundational values and principles. This one from my Dad resonates with meThings will work out. They always do.Ill admit, at first blush it may landseem like this is the ultimate I dont have any control, so I surrender to the unknown way of living. And yet, its actually not. Far from it. Simple. Impactful. Full on control. Faith and perseverance are two things that we can control. Faith - particularly faith in ourselves - is fundamentally a function of our attitude.We can choose to believe, or we can choose not to. Perseverance is all about a willingness to see things through, to envision things positively working out even if they dont work out exactly the way we thought they would.The more Ive advanced in my career, the more Ive realized the wisdom of these words. For those of us have a future-seeking, opportunistic mindset, these words matter a great deal. When youre already confident and self-assured that things will work out in your favor, your mind is at ease and more focused to achieve your goals.A few years ago when I took the StrengthsFinder strengths assessment, I ended up with Futuristic as my number one strength. Whats crazy is that sometimes, I think of that as a weakness and not a strength It can sometimes lead to a feeling of inadequacy or pressing. And yet, its also my biggest asset.What about for you? What do you find to be your biggest strength? Can you see how this can sometimes be a weakness in some circumstances?My Dad has always encouraged me not to sweat the small stuff. And to keep the big picture in mind. Whatever youre choosing to do today, begin with victory. This is why Im such a huge proponent of reverse-engineering. You already have the prize, you just dont know it yet. Build from that. Stay self-assured, resolute and confident. Things will work out. They always do.Building with faithYou have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. - Steve JobsThings may not always work out the way we originally thought or envisioned, but that doesnt mean they dont work out. Often, they re far better than originally expected. This is why modifying, improvising and changing things up is all about Just because we thought things would happen one way, then didnt, doesnt mean we should get distressed and give up.In some instances, maybe we havent aimed high enough. Maybe we set the bar too low. Aim as high as you can, within reason. Why aim lower? This doesnt mean to set unrealistic goals that end up in disappointment. This means to set powerful targets for achievement in front of you that promote an attitude of expectancyWhat does this mean?Optimism. Hope. Encouraged confidence. An attitude of expectancy charges our battery with the inspiration, belief and fuel to lead us to work that we love. To moments that will continue empowering us to move forward.Dr. Jeremy E. Sherman writes in Psychology TodayWe work from the evidence at hand to (place) confidence in a bet we think will work. And work is the point of faith Only so many hours in the day and we dont use them just for wondering, but for doing focused work. Since most things take concerted effort and time, we need to focus. Focused work is concentrated work, work based on consistent bets on what will work.I like to think of this as small bets - small, continuous bets of faith on ourselves to continue pushing forward.Finishing with perseveranceIn the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm in the real world all rests on perseverance. - Johann Wolfgang von GoetheWhat are you compromising within your life today? What are you settling on that is not even close to good enough? Dont settle, even when the results dont appear right away. Because in so many instances, they dont show themselves in as timely a manner as we think they should. The results that we desire wont always reveal themselves immediately.Ive come to realize, this is one of the biggest reasons why so many people give up. Its not a loss of hope. Its not a loss of faith. Its not even fear, because when we keep working and sta y positive, fear eventually subsides.So many people give up because they expect to receive an output in very short order after an input. When youre raking leaves and looking to create a leaf pile, that may work out for you. But when youre trying to grow ideas or influence, build a business, do things that are less linear, and perhaps more abstract, youll find that the results often come several iterations down the road.If you crave structure, then youll want to find yourself working within an environment that is giving you outputs with efficiency. If youre willing to tolerate more risk, less definition, yet with greater reward, I encourage you to stay the course for what you believe. Could be your own writing career. Maybe its launching your own business.Dont get discouraged if the results dont immediately appear. Things have a way of working themselves out for those who continue to apply what theyve learned, what they believe and what they desire to do every day.Stop beating yourse lf up and hurting on the inside because you perceive that you havent done enough. We should all be great competitors and looking to best our best efforts, but we shouldnt go crazy in the process with worry. Allow yourself to give things up to faith. Keep going to see things through to a result you desire.If youre willing to stick it out and believe, youll find that life continues to unfold in your favor.Make it workJoin my newsletter and check out my bestselling book, The Value of You. This will give you inspiration to start planning for success on your journey. If youre interested in working with metry me here.Thisarticlefirst appeared on Medium.