im taking an NVQ 2 professional cookery course atm thats due to finish soon and i dont know what to do at the end of it. the college i go to has made a huge mess of the course.

we get 0 kitchen experience from the course but come out with a qualification that allows us to walk into a job. i worked for a few weeks at a local pub but it didnt go so well. i had very little confidence in the kitchen when it came to it.

ive been really trying to think hard about what to do when finished, a simple working trainee chefs job doesnt interest me as my standards for food are higher than anything around me could offer. i dont see me being able to stick out a job making sub-standard food for very long.

at the moment im very experimental in my home kitchen and my parents hate me for it. i have a whole side board filled with spices/sauces ect. for me to find a job it would have to be the right 1, i have a great passion for the food and i can cook well but i would like some room to experiment when it comes to my chosen career path.

is it worth me just picking up a chefs job and forcing myself to do it to gain more experience do you think?

another option i am going to look into is trying to bring some quality of ingredients to the town where i live (Blackburn, Lancashire) as there is only 1 shop that sells good ingredients (Chilli Lime Deli that was shown on here before) there is nowhere that sells quality meat or fish, everyone on our markets are catering to the people who want cheapness over taste.

i dont know if there would be a market for that here. i have been offered by the owner of chilli lime to help me source the produce if i do go this way which was amazing of him but i dont know how to go about it either.

my third option would be to try and manage my own cafe or something but i dont know if blackburn has room for another cafe.

my problems with running my own business either as sales or actually cooking would be im only 19 i dont know all the rules of it nor do i know how to get funding for it.

at the moment i do really want experience but i want to learn things, different styles of cooking, different nationalities ect, the experience of doing the same sub-standard food that the places ive eaten in blackburn offer, wont interest me, itll be too hard for me to do.

i would love to learn how to cook other nationalities foods professionally, particularly chinese or indian food but ive asked around and none of the places near me could consider taking someone voluntary to learn as they only speak the language from where they are from.

another option i was thinking of was to become a kind of "Dial-A-Chef" it would give me a great way to meet new people and can freely experiment but i dont have my own transport so it could make life difficult. again im not sure of the rules with this as hygiene would come into play in a big way when transporting food.

in short HELP!!!

p.s i apologise for the huge post, im just so frustrated and dont want to just leach from my parents when i done. thanx in advance for any help

Hi murdrobe

NVQ Level 2, at best, gives you a foundation on which to build your professional skills, and you really need kitchen experience to develop your skills and the speed at which you work, plus teamwork ability and general work routines.

Could you do an NVQ level 3, perhaps at another college, paired with a work placement or a part-time job?

Or, you might be able to complete an NVQ Level 3 as an apprentice facilitated by a training provider in your area.

NVQ2 gets you onto the bottom rung of the ladder, but from your first paragraph, it sounds as if you don't feel very confident about working your way up in a commercial kitchen environment?

Working for yourself is hard at the best of times, plus you need capital, and not having your own transport will be a disadvantage.

Additionally, if you are working for yourself, then you won't get the interaction and learning from other kitchen staff.

One thing that comes to mind is whether you could find a pub that doesn't do food, but has some basic facilities, where maybe you could work on a sub-contract basis as their menu provider. Possibly preparing some of the food at home and some on their premises. Just a thought.

I think maybe you need to decide which way you want your career to go - if you want to develop your professional cooking skills and vocational skills for working in commercial kitchens, then I think you need to aim for that setting so that you get the contact with other chefs and the benefit of sharing your ideas while learning from them as well.

From reading your post my impression is that you are badly in need of some good careers advice/ vocational counselling, i.e. a conversation with someone who understands the catering trade and available opportunities well enough to be able to help you decide which direction you want to take next?

Have you contacted any of your local Training Providers specialising in catering? They often have very good people who will talk through all options, within and outside of, their own organisation?

From the details you have given above, I think working as an apprentice with support from a training provider to get you to NVQ Level 3 - 4 while working in a commercial kitchen could be a good career option for you.

But of course, it depends on how you see your future and where you want to be in say 5 years time.

Whichever route you take, I wish you the very best of luck!

yeah my confidence is lacking from having a bad experience when i 1st went to work somewhere voluntary to gain that bit of experience.

yeah i do think the same as you though, trying to gain nvq 3 and 4 would be a good idea but as im 19 the options to fund that are getting fewer and fewer. ill be 20 by the time my course finishes so even worse.

also apart from college there isnt really somewhere close enough to me that does the course and from what they are saying they are pretty much allready full for NVQ3 next year...

another problem with taking NVQ3, jumping from having no kitchen experience to then being in charge of it... i dont know how that would go

as for starting my own business though, the market for what im thinking is most certainly there and ive been looking into funding it and ive allready been offered help with suppliers from a great established business allready.

if i could work out the money and stuff to seriously do this, it seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Hi again murdrobe

Re further training: have you spoken to the Learning & Skills Council about opportunities and funding that is available for you?

If not, I would encourage you to do so, explain the full picture to them and I feel sure that they will be able to point you in the right direction. You sound right for an apprenticeship to me - you've done a lot of the theory work already.

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As far as starting your own business goes, HM R&C have an advice site and a help-line:-

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I started my own business when I was 21 (not catering though) and the paper-work wasn't anywhere as demanding as I expected.

If you open a business account and keep it solely for your business, then the Bank statements provide most of the information needed to sort out your accounts - I used to do my own book-work, and then pass the books to an accountant before the figures went to the Revenue, they do the fine tuning to ensure you don't pay more tax than you need to.

If you pay for everything with your Business account debit card, it really is very simple to keep track.

I would imagine you will be well below the VAT level, at first anyway.

Not having transport is a real disadvantage though.

However, to be frank, I think you would be well advised to consolidate your training up to at least NVQ level 3, and 4 if at all possible.

You might have to prepare food that is not your first choice, but once you show an employer that you have talents in certain areas, the chances are they will give you some rope and let you develop your special dishes within their kitchens.

I appreciate you may say: "but why do it for someone else when I could do it for myself?" ... but it will be a two way thing, i.e. you will get the opportunity to test your specials on their customers, and then later on, there will be no reason why you can't start up on your own account. Maybe you can get transport by that time too?

Again being somewhat direct about this, I doubt that the books, etc, will be the problem, most people in business take some knocks at some point, often early on in their venture, and that can knock your confidence too, and if you're the only one around to take responsibility, it can be very hard at your age.

Believe me, a lot of business people "talk big" and "act small" when it comes to being fair over money.

So my advice is to have a 'ready smile', 'talk friendly' and keep a 'sharp eye on your back' at all times, because if you don't, you can bet other people will.

Getting your money in your bank, in reasonable time, can be quite tricky when someone is dragging their feet over paying you - the problem tends to be that you don't want to get too heavy with them because you need their business, and of course they know that only too well.

Anyway, I don’t want to discourage you, just a word from one who has been there – I learned quite quickly that there are “friends”, and then there are: “business associates”, and it doesn’t do to confuse the two.

Have you thought of sub-contracting to local pubs, even if they do their own food, maybe you could sell the idea of them having an “Indian” evening once a week based upon your menu?

Good luck!

what you said about sub-contracting is an interesting idea but i dont know how to get into it, if you have any advice regarding that itll be definatley worth looking into.

its not that my course was pure theory, we do cook, its just we learn recipes more than skills. at lvl 2 in my eyes it should be a confidence/skills course to teach you how to be in a professional kitchen where they are friendly and wont be over-bareing if you make mistakes but i was rather disappointed with blackburn college when realising this. cos now at the end of the course theyve thrown us into the deep end and said that we will cook a menu of our choice for the restaurant from the beginning to end.

i appreciate your advice and ill look into what you mentioned.

Hi murdrobe

I use the term sub-contracting to mean a working situation where you are not actually an employee of the employer, but that you do work for them on a regular basis while paying your own National Insurance and dealing with your own tax liability. Such an arrangement can be quite attractive to employers - however, you need to make sure you charge enough to cover all your costs and any tax liability.

I used the term 'theory' in a very general sense - I'm sure you completed various practical tasks in college.

There are three primary elements in training: knowledge; practical (manual) skills, and the emotional side of things - which includes attitude, motivation, self-image, self-confidence, etc.

Self-confidence comes from being sure of your knowledge and practical skills.

Trainers can be encouraging, say well done, etc, but the important bit is to make sure that people are sound in the knowledge of their subject; have the necessary manual skills, and have achieved some self-confidence by having had their knowledge and skills tested and found that they could respond to the challenge presented.

It is possible for someone to have good knowledge, and good practical skills, but to feel unsure about how they can respond when challenged and put under pressure.

Getting someone in touch with those three areas requires a sound knowledge of training and a little sensitivity in the right kind of situation.

From what you have written so far, I think you need to bring these three areas into balance so that you will be able to move on.

If you were working with some skilled chefs and with a good training co-ordinator over-seeing your progress, I think you will find you will discover your confidence. The shouting and balling that Gordon Ramsay produces for the TV screen has nothing to do with training - unfortunately some cooks may be more influenced by such TV drama than have any idea about how to train and develop a student.

I hope you will take the time to have a conversation with a good training co-ordinator. At 19 you have a great deal of time to do all sorts of things, but getting your foundation right is so important for your professional and personal development.

The LSC will advise you of local resources.