So You Want To Be A Celebrity Chef?

You might be enrolled in an online culinary arts certificate program to learn the techniques and skills needed to master cooking. Your online cooking school will teach you everything from advanced food preparation techniques to the successful pairing of versatile ingredients, but have you ever wondered how food connoisseurs gain national fame?

Popular television shows such as “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Iron Chef” might be on your permanent digital video recorder list because you love your trade and enjoy watching successful and talented chefs share their day-to-day practices. High-profile chefs are continuously invited to talk shows and media interviews to increase their visibility among audiences. They are flown around the country or even the world for appearances and seem to live a glamorous life at the top of their profession.

So how did they achieve their success?
While a penchant for technique and creativity are most certainly required to be considered a top chef, there are a few other qualities most famous celebrity cooks possess.

Start local: Before you can gain national acclaim, you must run a successful business that you helped build from the ground up. In addition to running the kitchen, you have to understand the business end of the industry to ensure your endeavor is profitable. This will take time, and building a loyal customer base requires superior service and product. Once your restaurant is well-known in the community and your menu is adored you may want to think about expanding to additional ventures within the region.

Personality matters: As your online cooking school degree pays off with your demonstrated abilities in the kitchen, you also need to have an upbeat and positive attitude. When you conduct media interviews locally and nationally, the way you interact with journalists and bloggers will have an impact on your brand’s reputation.

A strong passion, knowledge and love for the food industry may already be instilled in you. However, you may need to work on your stage presence. Interviews and television appearances are often live and if you are not eloquent on the spot viewers might not respond well.

Strong backing: As you begin to book appearances, radio shows or newspaper interviews, do you have a workforce in your restaurant that can function independently? If your restaurant manager is not able to handle high-volume demand from guests without compromising quality, you may want to reconsider being gone for a large portion of the time.

A well-trained kitchen staff and management team is integral to your individual and brand success.

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