2. Thou Shalt Work with the Best People
*To become a great chef you do not need to work with twenty top chefs.
*You need to experience three or four very good chefs.
*The best is not always the most popular or most famous, it can just as easily be a chef in a small place who is simply very organised and very good.
3. Keep Thee Station Orderly
*Form the storage of vegetables to the finishing of mise-en-place, everything needs to be marked, date labelled, and in proper containers, taking up minimum room.
*A well organised station also gets respect from the rest of the kitchen.
4. Thou Shall Purchase Wisely
* A profitable restaurant runs on the same principle as a housewife’s kitchen: Use everything.
* Pay attention to the price of ingredients and keep them in line with what a customer will pay.
* The more you utilise everything, the more you will be able to afford the best ingredients.
* A great chef respects the culinary value of every ingredient – from a tomato to a truffle.
5. Thou Shall Season with Precision
* Proper seasoning enhances the taste of every ingredient.
* There is an exact point at which ingredients are seasoned correctly. More is not always better.
* Learning how to season correctly requires endless practice.
6. Thou Shall Master the Heat
* From 50°C to 500°C – there is an enormous range for heat to affect ingredients. A truly great cook has such an intimate knowledge of heat that he or she develops a sixth sense of timing for the moment of doneness.
7. Thou Shall Learn the World of Food
* Experience different cuisines whenever you can.
* Do it when you are young, as you are building your career.
* Learning other cuisines will broaden your foundation as a chef.
* Even when you have begun to progress through the ranks of the kitchen, use your time off to go
places, try new restaurants, buy books.
* In other words, immerse yourself in the world of food.
8. Thou Shalt know the Classics
* No matter what cuisine you concentrate on, the classic dishes will cover the spectrum of techniques and ingredients needed to master a cuisine. The fundamentals of stocks, sauces and seasoning are all there in the classics.
9. Thou Shall Accept Criticism
*As a young chef, you spend your days and nights being criticized and analysed by the chefs you work
for.
* It is important to ACCEPT criticism.
* It is equally important to learn how to criticize when you become a full-fledged chef.
* And finally, you must learn from the criticism.
* Criticism is the people’s way of telling you how to improve on your results.
10. Thou Shall Keep a Journal of Thee Recipes
You cannot remember everything you see, or have cooked, but with a journal, a computer and a digital camera. You can bring those taste memories back to life and they will act as your guidance and support throughout your Professional Career.
