Chef

Explore your passion for making food and work in commercial kitchens; from fine dining restaurants, to cafés and food trucks.

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Explore your passion for making food

Bring your passion for making quality cuisine to the table and relish the chance to bring joy to others' lives through food. Armed with the ability to understand flavours, create recipes from scratch, and run a kitchen, Chefs can take their skills anywhere, from fine dining restaurants to food trucks.

Key stats

A Chef is a professional cook, trained in all aspects of food preparation. Here are some key facts and figures about this career path:

$1,250
Average weekly salary
46 hrs
Average hours worked per week
35 yrs
Average age of people in this career
Multi-region
Jobs available in metro and rural areas
~116,300
People employed in this industry
58%
Of employees are full time
Above average
Unemployment for this industry
13.9%
Future growth (next five years)

Stats as of April 2024. Source: LabourMarketInsights.gov.au

Core skills of a Chef

Working as Chef, you’ll be across all aspects of the cooking trade. Some of the core skills of Chefs include:

Planning menus

Consider seasonality, cost, and waste when designing a delicious menu.

Preparing food

Use your knowledge of flavours and different cuisines to cook up a storm in the kitchen.

Ensuring kitchen safety

Adhere to OH&S, hygiene and sanitary standards to keep your kitchen clean and your team safe.

Fast-paced decision making

If you choose to work in a kitchen environment, you'll need to handle pressure, problem-solve, and take initiative.

Start here

Certificate III in Commercial Cookery

On-campus learning or apprenticeship

Employment as a Commercial Cook or Trainee Chef

Once you’ve completed your Certificate III

Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery

Employment as a Head Chef or Sous Chef

You may choose to continue your studies in hospitality management at TAFE or university level.

Why choose GOTAFE?

Industry events

Practice running a major event at the annual Dookie Wine Show.

Professional facilities

Perfect your skills in our on campus professional kitchen facilities equipped with the latest tools of the trade.

Real customers

Put your service skills to the test in our on-campus restaurants and cafes.

Need advice about planning your career? We’re here to help

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