So You Want to Be a Chef? Here's What They Don't Show You on TV 🔪

 Let me guess. You watched a cooking show, maybe a documentary, maybe even a movie like Boiling Point — and something clicked. The energy, the creativity, the passion. You thought, yeah, I want to do that.

And honestly? I get it. I've been there.

But after 20-plus years in professional kitchens, I want to have an honest conversation with you. Not to put you off — but because I wish someone had told me this when I was starting out.

The TV version vs the real version

On TV, kitchens look electric and glamorous. The chef is cool under pressure, the food is beautiful, and everyone goes home happy.

In reality? You're on your feet for 12–14 hours. The kitchen is hot — like, really hot. You'll miss birthdays, weekends, Christmas dinners, and New Year's Eve with your family. While everyone else is celebrating, you're behind a pass making sure their celebration looks perfect.

That's just Tuesday.

The physical toll is real

Your back will hurt. Your feet will hurt. You'll burn yourself so often that eventually you stop flinching. You'll cut yourself and wrap it up and keep going because there's no time to stop. You'll finish a double shift, get home at midnight, and be back in by 8am.

Nobody puts that in the brochure.

The pressure is unlike anything else

A busy Saturday service is as close to controlled chaos as you'll ever experience. Every single order needs to be perfect, every single time — and it all has to happen at once. The tickets keep coming, the heat is rising, someone calls in sick, and you're short staffed on the busiest night of the week.

Sound stressful? It is. But here's the thing — when your team pulls through and nails it? There is no better feeling in the world. That's the drug that keeps you coming back.

The kitchen will humble you

Doesn't matter how talented you are. The kitchen will humble you, break you down, and rebuild you. You'll have chefs senior to you who seem harsh, but most of them are teaching you something — even if it doesn't feel that way at the time. The hierarchy is real and it exists for a reason.

Respect it, learn from it, and your time will come.

So why do we do it?

Honestly? Because we can't imagine doing anything else.

There's something deeply satisfying about feeding people. About creating something with your hands that makes someone's night special. After 20 years I still get a buzz from a dish coming together perfectly, from a team working in sync during a slammed service, from watching a young cook find their confidence.

That never gets old.

My message to the young ones

If you want to be a chef because you love cooking — great, come in. But come in with your eyes open. It's hard, it's demanding, and it will test you in ways you didn't expect.

But if you can handle it? It's one of the most rewarding careers you'll ever have.

Just don't expect it to look like MasterChef. 😅

— The Chef

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