# Working as a Café Chef with The Chef Tree

Apply Now!
Get a Quote!

Working in a café can be a great opportunity for a chef who feels they want to step away from the hurley-burley of a professional kitchen whilst still wanting to consistently deliver delicious dishes.

Usually, a café kitchen will have a much smaller staff than a larger business but the emphasis on preparing quality food will still be there.

Depending on the business, you may be required to work weekends and an early start, to catch the breakfast crowd, is a good possibility. Although the greasy spoon café is thankfully still with us, many café restaurants offer updated twists on the Full English, using the best possible ingredients. Lunchtimes will be busy as people look to get a healthy fix of food for the slog of the afternoon. The great thing about working in a café kitchen is that you’ll probably be home in time for your own dinner so it’s a great option for chefs’ looking for work/life balance.

## Chef Jobs

- Chef De Partie
- Cook
- Pizza Chef

Apply Now!
Get a Quote!

## What skills do you need to work in a café kitchen?

As a café chef, you’re likely to be the only person responsible for preparing and cooking food for each and every order. With this in mind, it is important that you have the skills and abilities to be able to fulfil orders quickly. Some important skills therefore are;

### Multitasking Skills

The ability to multitask is required to become a chef because a single dish may consist of foods that need to be cooked differently. For instance, a plate may require a piece of protein such as beef, chicken or fish, a salad or serving of vegetables and a side dish of rice, potatoes or pasta. Each component needs to be cooked differently and the chef needs to be able to attend to each component at all times.

### Understanding Ingredients, Produce and Spices

A cafe chef must understand different ingredients in terms of texture and taste. This includes green produce and spices. All ingredients in the kitchen may not be properly labelled, so the chef should be able to recognize the ingredient by simply looking at it or briefly tasting it. This is an important skill, especially in a busy kitchen or if the ingredients arrive at the kitchen with no labels on them.

### Creative Menus

Chefs who are working in smaller restaurants may be responsible for creating exciting menus that include classic breakfast items, brunch dishes and enticing small plates. This is not simply putting ingredients together on paper, but creating dishes that will make customers come to the back for that particular dish. This may be a longer process but requires the chef to be familiar with ingredients, food collaborations and wine tasting.

### Health and Safety in Food Hygiene

One of the most important skills a chef must obtain is the ability to understand and practice health and safety in the kitchen. This can include putting away knives or kitchen equipment when it is not in use and treat food types accordingly. For instance, the chef should know not to place meat on the same cutting board as other foods, as bacteria from the meat could contaminate other foods, making it a potential safety hazard for restaurant guests. The chef must recognize situations that may be potentially hazardous, such as kitchen towels near a hot stove, as the kitchen can be an active place during the evenings and on the weekends when customers want to experience delicious foods.

### Working with junior staff

As the head cafe chef, you will be responsible for coaching and mentoring any junior chefs working with you and to develop junior team members in their roles. This will include coaching them in the best practices of a busy service, daily prep of ingredients for the standard recipes on the menu and preparing dishes as the orders start to come in. As you supervise junior chefs you will find that the team around you grows tighter and you have the flexibility to do more things with the team you build.

## What chef experience do you need to work in a café kitchen?

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

### Kitchen skills

A chef needs to run a smooth-operating kitchen. 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.

### Food preparation skills

Whether a chef acquires this knowledge by attending a culinary school or through on-the-job training and experience, they need a proven track record in 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, a knowledge of what works for your venue and the highest food hygiene standards.

### Knowledge of nutrition

Working as a 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, is 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 essential aspect of staying within a budget is purchasing quality products at the right cost, which involves choosing the correct suppliers.

A chef must ensure unnecessary food wastage in a kitchen and must enforce strict inventory controls in order to keep on top of your budget. If you have experience of already working in a similar high-quality cafe – even in a junior role – this will stand you in good stead.

### Passion and motivation

Working as a cafe 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.

You get to go to different venues, you’re not stuck in the same job endlessly, not boring. You don’t have to go back when you don’t like somewhere and there is a variety of jobs.

James Avery

Working for The Chef Tree is completely different from being a full-time chef. You choose the hours you want to do, fill in your portal, and everything is arranged around that.

Neil Roach

## What does The Chef Tree Pay for a café chef?

Our rates are dependent on your experience but a CDP can expect to earn £14 p.h, a sous chef, £16 p.h, a Head chef, £18 p.h and an Executive chef or weekend care home chef, £20 p.h.

## 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

Where can you work as a Café Chef?

Cheltenham
Newport
Cirencester
Glastonbury

What our Chefs say!

I like working for The Chef Tree because of the freedom and the flexibility

Eva Kam

You get to go to different venues, you’re not stuck in the same job endlessly, not boring. You don’t have to go back when you don’t like somewhere and there is a variety of jobs.

James Avery

Working for The Chef Tree is completely different from being a full-time chef
You choose the hours you want to do, fill in your portal, and everything is
arranged around that

Neil Roach

Dont just take our word for it

Dont just take our word for it, This is what our chefs say about working for the chef tree

Apply Now!
Get a Quote!

Call us: 071 8604 611