I was lucky when I did my apprenticeship as my Executive Chef, Kenneth Leung and the senior sous chefs at the Watermark Restaurant really made an effort to teach you everything they could. If I showed interest in what they were doing they took the time to teach me. I am sure it’s one of the  things that has helped me get where I am today.

However these days I feel many apprentice chefs don’t always get the same sort of attention and training that I did. So here are ten things you can do yourself to help you gain experience in the kitchen and better yourself professionally.

1. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you think it’s a stupid question ask it anyway.


2. Carry a spoon with you at all times and taste everything. Your goal over the 4 years of your apprenticeship is to develop your tastebuds and experiment with flavour profiles. Don’t be afraid to taste or try everything.


3. Buy a hard cover notebook and start writing down recipes. In the years to come this book will become very important in your career. Guard it with your life.


4. When you’ve finished mise en place for your section, don’t take a break. Go and help your chef de partie or sous chef prepare their section. Over time this experience will be essential in getting move to another section. Exposure yourself to more work.


5. Don’t buy cheap knives. Save up and spend money on good tools, as good tools last. I still regularly use my first chef’s knife which is a german from the company FDick. I recall it was the most expensive at the time.


6. Try and buy a cookbook each and every month.  Don’t just buy trendy books from chefs and restaurants; also buy cookbooks like Kitchen From Woman’s Weekly which provides a good collection of basic recipes for muffins, scones, dressings etc.


7. Get involved with daily and weekly ordering. Estimating the amount of fresh, frozen and dried ingredients the restaurant will require is a skill which takes a while to perfect.


8. For Xmas and Birthday gifts ask friends and family to buy you subscriptions to the leading food magazines like Gourmet Traveller or Cuisine Magazine.


9. Go and do a wine appreciation course and learn about wines. Apart from helping develop your taste buds, dining out isn’t always about the food, its about the experience and wine plays a pivotal and important role.


10. When you’re finished your 4 year chef apprenticeship, pack your bags and move overseas. This when you really start to learn to cook. I personally wouldn’t recommend going to London like a lot of chefs do; instead I would suggest somewhere like Tokyo, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Shanghai or even Hawaii. You’ll not only learn the cuisine of that city, you’ll learn the culture as well.

The 11th tip isn’t for all apprentice chefs, it's for chefs that are smokers and if you are, stop right now. Apart from the apparent heath related issues, smoking really stuffs up your taste buds. Developing your taste is one of the most important elements of your chef apprenticeship.