Working as a Bar Chef with The Chef Tree

Over the last 20 or so years many bars have sprung up in towns and cities across the UK. A bar can be seen to be the younger brother or sister of the pub. A bar is a place that offers a wide range of drinks and which tends to attract a younger clientele. For many years, bars tended to offer only a small selection of food, usually snacks and light appetisers or pizzas. However, as the bar has evolved many are now offering more substantial menus that appeal to a wide range of tastes.

What skills do you need to work in a bar kitchen?

Skill levels will vary from bar to bar, depending on the menu choices on offer but as with any commercial eatery you will need to have a good knowledge around;

Kitchen skills

A chef needs to run a smooth-operating kitchen and service. Doing so requires the implementation and maintenance of sanitary practices to ensure that a kitchen remains hygienic and that the food patrons receive is safe to consume. In addition, chefs are responsible for maintaining the necessary health and safety standards and should know how to apply first aid in the case of burns, cuts or other accidents in the kitchen.

Kitchen staff work with a wide range of equipment and tools, such as meat slicers, mixers, food processors and deep fryers. A chef needs to know how to operate everything in a kitchen so that they can ensure that kitchen staff use all equipment and tools correctly and safely during every service. It’s also their responsibility to ensure that all equipment is properly maintained.

Food preparation skills

Whether a chef acquires this knowledge by attending a culinary school or through on-the-job training and experience, they need superior cooking and culinary skills. These include knowledge of various cooking techniques applied in classic and modern cuisine, a refined palate to carefully balance flavours and seasoning and a knowledge of what works for your venue.

Knowledge of nutrition

Working as a bar chef requires a solid understanding and an awareness of nutrition. Besides focusing on creating tasty and attractive dishes, a chef needs to consider the nutritional value of the food they present to customers. Factors to keep in mind when planning menu dishes, for instance, are the body’s ability to process various foods and whether certain products can cause an allergic reaction.

Business skills

It’s a chef’s responsibility to guarantee the profitability of a kitchen. This means that they need basic accounting skills, including the ability to plan and create budgets and control labour and food costs. An important aspect of staying within a budget is purchasing quality products at the right cost, which involves choosing the correct suppliers.

A bar chef must ensure unnecessary food wastage during each service and must enforce strict inventory controls in order to keep on top of your budget.

Passion and motivation

Working as a chef can be an exciting and rewarding career. However, the occupation comes with its fair share of challenges, which include long hours, working in fast-paced and high-pressure environments, dealing with difficult customers and delivering delicious and exciting food while also ensuring that a kitchen is profitable. To maintain a strong work performance over the years and stay motivated and enthusiastic about their job, a chef needs a strong passion for the culinary world and the hospitality industry. A chef must also feel passionate about delivering excellent customer service and dishes that taste great!

What are the benefits of working for TCT?

When you join The Chef Tree you will be entitled to the following amazing benefits;

Competitive rates of pay. Our current rate for a cook is £16ph.

Our Monthly Bonus Scheme - Complete 166 hours per month (just under 38.5 hours per week) and you will receive £100 bonus. This will be paid monthly.

Our Refer a Chef scheme – If you refer a chef to us you will receive £150 when the chef completes 5 shifts. The chef you refer will receive £75 on completion of 5 shifts.

Access to our online benefit partners, Pirkx - a benefit scheme for courses, health, wellbeing, shopping and more! For more information visit www.pirkx.com