What does each Chef Title mean?

When you decide to become a chef, you are then left with a choice of which kind of chef you would to be. If you plan to become someone that is at the top of the kitchen hierarchy then it is most likely you’ll have to work your way up to the top positions. However, what are the different kinds of chefs? And what does each chef title mean?

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How to get a job in hospitality, leisure and tourism?

The hospitality, leisure and tourism industry has a lot to offer graduates both in the United Kingdom and abroad, and it’s still growing.

The industry covers areas ranging from accommodation and food services to health and fitness, entertainment, and clubs, bars and pubs. No matter the area you choose to pursue, there will be plenty of jobs to pick from and management opportunities.

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Dressing Your Hospitality Venue This Christmas

Decorating your hospitality venue, whether it be a hotel, pub or restaurant, is a given at this time of year.

Christmas trees have been put up and tinsel is adorning the fixtures, all in preparation for the 24th and 25th December. There are obvious Christmas decorations that will have been put up, but sometimes these aren’t the right ones.

So, just how do can you achieve that festive look, all the while maintaining a welcoming, timeless appeal?

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Expect influx of Chinese visitors to UK hospitality industry, says VisitBritain

The UK hospitality industry is expected to receive an influx of Chinese tourists this month as their holiday season kicks in.

China’s week-long annual holiday ended on Friday, however, they are still expected to continue to travel outside of their country. Chinese visits to the UK have doubled over the course of the past 5 years. 2009 saw approximately 89,000 visits, whereas 2014 saw 185,000 visits. Furthermore, the seat availability on flights departing China has increased by 16% for October 2015 in comparison to this time last year.

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Necessary hospitality skills

The hospitality industry can be a demanding one, however it is arguably one of the most fulfilling careers to be a part of.

If you are considering working within hospitality and have a particular field you have in mind, because there are many, there a number of skills that aren’t necessarily crucial for your success within your chosen field, but will help you immensely. Besides, there is a lot of time to learn if you are missing a skill.

Customer service

You will be interacting with people on a day-to-day basis, thus why is it important all of your guests enjoy their experiences.

Good customer service is all about meeting the customers’ expectations and sending them away happy.

Languages

The beauty of working in hospitality is the diverse customer base you get to meet. More often than not, there will be language barriers however it is an incredibly life skill to have – being multilingual will lead to success within hospitality because it is such an international industry.

Communication

Communication skills are the heart of working in this particular industry. You will be interacting with customers on a daily basis addressing their needs and ensuring the customer is happy. The misfortune of having an unhappy customer is often the result of miscommunication and being misinformed.

Finance management

It is important for employees to have an understanding of profitability, cash flow and tax liabilities. The understanding of financial management is the key to running a successful hospitality business.

Understanding

Having an understanding of the industry you are working in is vital for your success in the industry.

Make it your aim to know and understand what your guests need and what they want by keeping up-to-date with trends, what’s happening in the news and any success stories.

Cultural awareness

Possessing this skill is extremely beneficial as you’re likely to come into contact with and will need to interact with clients from a variety of cultures.

Cultural awareness is important within any career, especially in hospitality. Keeping an open mind will help you dodge any misunderstandings that can occur as beliefs and values represent a person’s culture.

The above skills will help you go forward within the hospitality industry!

Please visit our website for to view recent vacancies!

Working in the hospitality industry

If you’re considering getting into the hospitality industry, there are many many reasons why this is going to benefit you as a person!

The hospitality industry is varied with roles, offering something different every day. There are a variety of benefits that present themselves when becoming a part of this particular industry, below are the f main reasons why a hospitality career is desirable:

Opportunities

Hospitality is all about variety, there is never a working day thaty is dull. There are always new challenges to be tackled, even the opportunity to travel to different places; it’s understandable how this could make you want to get up early and head to work with a spring in your step.

Appreciation

There will be a few times where you are thanked for the work you do which is a great motivator to continue to perform at your best. Patrons will remind you that your work is highly appreciated – beign told your work is making others happy is truly rewarding.

Stability

The industry is incredibly stable – the financial meltdown that occured in 2008/9 hit the hospitality industry, however it survived and again is flourishing as an industry.

Creative

Hospitality dabbles in creativity with constant challenges that need to be faced head-on, requiring both creative and critical thinking.

For further information on the available hospitality roles, please visit our website!

The Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry is diverse
The hospitality industry is diverse

What exactly is the hospitality industry?

The hospitality industry is among the widest compared with other industries. Hospitality cannot be restricted to a niche of businesses, such as why the term can be applied to nearly any business that revolves around customer satisfaction and meeting their leisurely needs, however, there are some aspects of this industry that need to be understood.

Of course, the most dominant aspect of the hospitality industry is its focus on delivering high quality customer service. It is customer satisfaction that these businesses rely on because they are based on their luxury services. Along with that particular element, is how some hospitality businesses rely on disposable income and leisure time, thus why a lot of these businesses see sales from tourists or rich sponsors.

Variety of business

A common error is hotels alone belong in the hospitality industry, while this may be true, they are only one sector within the industry. There are also many forms of transportation that cater to tourists are apart of the business world which could include niche airlines, some cruise ships and some trains.

Among the variety are areas of business such as events planning, restaurants and general tourism.

Something that hospitality industries can adopt is a theme. For example, restaurants could specialise in Mexican food or Italian food and adapt the restaurant to that style to attract those who like that particular atmosphere.

Hospitality is undeniable a broad industry but it does have defining elements that set it apart from other businesses.

Please visit our website for further information about Gateway and how we can help you get ahead in hospitality

Duties of different chefs

In the kitchen of a restaurant will a number of chefs each assigned a specific duty that each coincides with the other in hopes to provide a quick service.

Becoming a chef requires ambition, creativity, drive, patience and, most importantly, stamina.
Below are the variety’s of chefs and their experience for the role at hand.

Short-order cooks

These cooks will have a minimal amount of cooking experience or education. One would essentially work in lower level dining or usually in fast-food restaurants.

Station chef

The station chef will usually work under the watchful eye of the sous chef and each of the station chefs will oversee a specific element of the meal. Most kitchens will have the station chef working on that specific section of the overall meal although, in larger operations, a station chef could be assigned assistants and lower chefs that would work under their supervision.

Station cooks could possibly be chefs that are working their way up in the ranks from a lower position or lower skilled jobs.

Types of station chefs positions:

–  Sauté chef: responsible for all food items that are sautéed and their sauce which is essentially the highest position of all of the stations
Fish chef: namely execute their title role, the fish chef will be in charge of the fish dishes and will often to all of the fish butchering and fish sauce assembly.
Roast chef: in charge of the preparation of braised and roasted meats and their sauce
Grill chef: prepares all grilled foods (position can be combined with the rotisseur)
Fry chef: in charge of preparing the fried food items (again can be combined with the position of rotisseur)
Vegetable chef: has the role of preparing hot appetisers, frequently in charge of the preparation of soups, vegetables, pastas and starches. In a full brigade system, a potager would take out preparing the soups and a legumier would prep the vegetables.
Roundsman: another name could be swing cook, this position fills in as needed on any station in the kitchen
Cold-foods chef: can also be called a pantry chef; a cold food chef is responsible for preparing cold foods such as salads, cold appetisers, pates etc.
Butcher: butches poultry, meats and occasionally fish, can also be in charge of breading meats and fish
Pastry chef: has the role of preparing pastries, desserts and any other baked goods. The pastry team will frequently supervise a separate team in their own kitchen or separate shop in larger operations. This station can be broken down into specific roles including: confiseur – prepares candies and petit fours, boulanger – prepares unsweetened doughs for breads and rolls, glacier – responsible for preparing cold and frozen desserts, and a decorateur – prepares show pieces and speciality cakes.

Sous chef

The sous chef is essentially the assistant of the executive. They will be the second in command, taking the executive chef’s role when they are off duty.
Sous chef’s are responsible for ensuring the line chef’s are following the orders of the executive chef and are doing their role efficiently.
Small restaurants may not require a sous chef, alternatively larger operations may require a number of sous chefs.
The sous chef preferably working in formal culinary education as a result of their position in the kitchen, they are on their way to become head chef. Start right now by applying for sous chef Peterborough listed on our site.

Executive chef

This role belongs to the highest position in the kitchen. Executive chefs will be found in finer dining establishments and are often referred to as the head chef – they effectively manage and direct the kitchen staff, holding the responsibility of creating the menu, ordering inventory and the plating design.

Each role is crucial in order for the kitchen to function correctly and for the catering experience for diners to run smoothly.
Please visit our website to view the latest vacancies available in hospitality.

Top 6 benefits of working in hospitality

The hospitality industry is acquiring lots of attention, and rightly so.

Hospitality jobs
Hospitality jobs

Many people are considering starting a career in the industry, despite the tough hours that will need to be put in, so to succeed.
Hospitality is a worthy industry to get into, it comes along with a lot of beneficial attributes, enjoyment excluded.

Opportunities

Working in the hospitality industry is a great career for those who love variety and thrive off lively atmospheres.
It’s never dull with the opportunity to travel to new places and experience different cultures – waking up in the morning has never been easier.

Appreciation

There are many job roles out there that don’t receive any appreciation and aren’t thanked for their work.
The amazing thing about working in hospitality is being acknowledged constantly by patrons for the work that is being done for them.

Meritocracy

Hospitality jobs are for those who value the quality of work speaking for themself.
By using initiative and following through on actions, honing a positive attitude will help you soar in your career.

Perks

The perks of working in this particular field, ensuring other people are happy and satisfied with their service, brings along a satisfying feeling to yourself.
Other people’s happiness will affect you in a positive way.

Stability

After surviving a financial meltdown in 2008/9, the hospitality industry is flourishing and thriving once again.
That situation shows how stable and robust the industry is.

Creative

Little do many know, hospitality requires a creative mind: there will be times when you are hit with constant unique challenges that will need to be faced with a strong mind and strong ideas.
Creativity and critical thinking will be needed and put to good use in this industry.

There are many more benefits to the hospitality industry than mentioned above making this field of work an exciting one!
Please visit our website for further details about hospitality jobs and hospitality recruitment.

The Hospitality Show 2015

January 2015 sees the Hospitality Show taking place at Birmingham’s NEC between the 19th and the 21st.

Pubs are being invited to the event to indulge in free mentoring sessions with some of the most respected players in the hospitality sector.
The sessions are expected to last roughly fifteen minutes, one-to-one, and advice and guidance will be given on a variety of subjects that should be covered in hospitality such as catering equipment, innovation, crowd funding and social media.

Some of the mentors in the show will include:

– Chairman of the Catering Equipment Distributors Association and Managing Director of Vision Commercial Kitchens, Jack Sharkey
– Hotel Procurement Expert, Gordon Anderson
– Drinks Industry Guru, Stuart Rosenblatt
– Owner of consultancy service Yuzu Hospitality, Steve Cash
– Hospitality Consultant, Stephen McManus
– Hotel Profitability Guru, Peter Hales
– Chief Executive of the Institute of Hospitality, Peter Ducker

Design booth

There will be four mentoring booths dotted about the arena, and one of them will be dedicated to the business of better design.

This booth will allow visitors to discuss projects and design ideas in confidence with the experts from that specific field.

Managing director at Fresh Montgomery, Toby Wand, said: “Ask any successful business person about defining moments in their career and you can bet that at some point in their rise to prominence they will have been mentored.

There may be one or many, but the importance of a figurehead, there to help drive you on, or offer that bellwether piece of advice that you never forget and take with you throughout your career, cannot be understated.

The Innovation Zone

The Innovation Zone is another exciting highlight of the event which wil showcase some of the most recent equipment launches.

Keith Warren, the Associate Director of the Innovation Zone, which has been organised in conjunction with the Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA), commented on what a fantastic opportunity this is for operators to take a look at the most relevant up-to-date equipment on the scene.

Warren explained: “The Hospitality Show is the largest showcase next year for innovative and energy-saving equipment that will be of huge interest to caterers.

The CESA Innovation Zone is a great opportunity for our members to showcase what they are developing and what the latest equipment has to offer in terms of user benefits and features.

Networking Dinner

In correspondence with the show, on Tuesday 20th January, a networking dinner will take place at the Arden Hotel.
Adam Bennett, Chef Director at the Cross in Kenilworth, Warwickshire will oversee the menu.

Adam will be representing Team UK for a third time at the Bocuse d’Or chef competition in January which will be held in Lyon.

Show Exhibitors

Also appearing at The Hospitality Show will be a variety of catering equipment suppliers available for visitors to discuss equipment with.
Jestic will be making use of the show by launching a brand new piece of equipment, although, for Smeg, Grant Sous Vide and Nayati UK, this will be their first time at the show.

For more information on The Hospitality Show 2015, visit the website!
To find hospitality jobs near you, visit our website!