Countless cookery programmes show: Working as a chef can be a dream job. However, this profession also means hard work and requires not only a lot of passion but also a great deal of skill and knowledge.

Do you want to become a chef? What should you bring to the table and what tasks await you during your training and on the job?

• Requirements for the cookery apprenticeship
• Completion of compulsory schooling / secondary school leaving certificate
• Good sense of taste and smell
• Hygiene awareness and a sense of order
• Fast and careful way of working
• Physical resilience and stress tolerance
• Team player with a talent for communication
• Good self-organisation and coordination of work processes
• Creativity and willingness to experiment
• Quick comprehension and good memory
• etc.

The tasks of a chef are varied. Depending on the size of the business, a chef may be responsible for some or all of the following tasks:

Prepare food:

• Prepare and serve food using the appropriate working techniques, cooking methods and equipment
• Prepare items (workstation) and clean them again after work
• etc

Planning, purchasing and price calculation:

• Plan menus and menus
• Calculate purchase quantities
• Calculate the prices of the dishes
• Obtain and compare supplier offers
• Discuss and plan event menus with the customer
• etc

Merchandise and inventory management:

• Buying food
• Checking deliveries
• Storing food correctly
• Checking stocks
• etc.

Team work:

• Planning the menus, menus, offers, etc
• Distributing and monitoring tasks within the team
• Job application and staff interviews, onboarding, etc
• Training apprentices or interns
• etc.

Training as a chef in Switzerland
The chef training programme in Switzerland lasts three years and teaches both practical, in-company and theoretical content:

• Merchandise knowledge and merchandise/warehouse management
• Hygiene basics and guidelines
• Basics and use of work techniques and equipment for preparing food
• Work planning and office organisation
• Price calculation and procurement of goods
• Advertising and sales promotion
• Communication and dealing with guests
• Numeracy, German, English, French
• etc.

Further training and career as a chef
In addition to countless courses offered by professional associations or technical colleges, you have the opportunity to complete the following additional basic training, further training or examinations during the course of your career:

Diet cook EFZ
Meat specialist EFZ
Baker-Confectioner-Confectioner EFZ
Catering specialist EFZ
Hotel specialist EFZ
Head chef with federal certificate
Catering manager with federal certificate
Certified head chef
Certified head of communal catering
Certified catering entrepreneur
Dipl. Hôtelier/-ière-Restaurateur/-trice HF
Bachelor of Science (FH) in Food Technology
Bachelor of Science (FH) in International Hospitality Management
Master of Science (FH) in Global Hospitality Business
etc.

Apprenticeships in Gstaad
These YourGstaad employers offer apprenticeships:

Hotel Arc-en-ciel Gstaad
16 Art-Bar-Restaurant
Hotel Hornberg, Saanenmöser
Hotel Bernerhof, Gstaad
Posthotel Rössli, Gstaad
Hotel Alpenland, Lauenen
Hotel Spitzhorn, Saanen
Golf Hotel Les Hauts de Gstaad
Hotel Kernen, Schönried
Hotel Gstaaderhof, Gstaad
Hotel The Alpina, Gstaad
Hotel Alpenrose, Schönried
Hotel Ermitage, Schönried
Hotel Gstaad Palace
Sporthotel Victoria, Gstaad
Hotel Le Grand Bellevue, Gstaad