Cookery Career Ideas: a Personal Chef can enjoy excellent rewards

Many aspiring masterchefs turn their hands to work as personal chefs; it's equally true that many superb personal chefs don't have, or don't even aspire to, masterchef status. You don't have to have spent years under Marco Pierre-White, or headed the kitchens at Zürich's Grand Hotel Dolder, to be qualified to delight clients as a great personal chef. Armed with the right intensive training (four-weeks at a good cookery school is perfect), and the confidence you'll develop, your personal chef services could soon be in demand.

As a personal chef, you get the satisfaction of a rewarding, varied career that can give you a good income and introduce you to lots of interesting people. You'll also be rewarded by the appreciation that you get from your clients. A personal chef saves people time and money, and frees up their time, in many ways, including the following:

- Hiring a personal chef impresses a client's friends and business associates.
- A personal chef frees your client so they can focus on enjoying their event.
- Your client enjoys the privacy of catering in their own home or business premises.
- A personal chef can give a client the ultimate choice of service and menu options.
- Clients get high-quality chef service when needed - without overhead when it isn't.

There is continuing demand for good private chefs (ask a few culinary schools or catering recruiters or look on the web to see for yourself). People at all social levels are increasingly time-pressured and appreciative of fine catering in their own home or business. Whether it's a special birthday party for 20 kids or a society wedding at a Cotswolds mansion, people will pay good money for delicious food that's presented with flair and personality - and freedom from the preparation and clearing up afterwards! What's more, it could be you who is reaping the rewards, and the good earnings that come with skill, excellent training and hard work.

A characteristic of personal chef catering is that many chefs develop long partnerships with their clients. A successful dinner party leads to more of the same, a wedding or two, then a christening, and perhaps a golden wedding celebration for the same family. And in the corporate world, a series of successful business catering events can lead to a role as personal chef to a leading captain of industry. And in either case, delighted clients may recommend you to their friends and associates. It's just another of the rewards that you could enjoy as your new career develops.

Good training at a reputable cookery school is a vital foundation for a successful career as a personal chef. Choose your school carefully and you will benefit in many ways:

- Industry-recognised qualifications.
- Intensive training (don't settle for less than two practical sessions a day) that quickly gets you to pro-chef level. Residential cookery courses would be an ideal option.
- Training that's tailored to your ambitions as a personal chef.
- Support and advice after training - to help you build your career.
- The contacts and connections that help you get work.
- Vital organisational, team-management and planning skills.
- The awesome self-confidence you'll need as a personal chef.

If the idea of becoming a private chef attracts you, then the first and most important step is to choose a cookery school that's perfect for you, that tailors it's teaching to suit your needs, that offers help with both menu and business planning, and which gives post-course support as well. The rest is up to you, your new skills and your creativity. Welcome to your new life as a successful personal chef.