Never fall in a love with a Chef

There is not much excitement about my love life but looking back, I think among all my past relationships, I think having a Chef as a boyfriend or husband is real challenging. You may rebuke to say that many occupations out there are just as bad. Pilots- they are always away from home. Sailors- they are hardly home. The list goes on.  

I recall my relationship with my Chef and I relate back to business operations and I think harder when I walk into a restaurant. I applauded those bosses who are at the restaurants working with their families. Running a restaurant is no easy. 

The chef who happens to be the restaurant owner as well, has no time for himself not to mention about family. The chef will be the first to work and the last person to leave the restaurant. They need to settle the ingredients, the menu, staff, sales, marketing, finance and the list is never ending. And these are things that  need to be done every single day. 

Ingredients such as vegetables, meat, poultry and seafood have to be sourced daily. Working with a trusted Singapore food supplier solves only half the problem as you have to head to the market everyday before day break to source for the special ingredients. Chefs have to be, hours before the restaurant is open.  There is so much preparation to do, just in the kitchen alone. 

The assets or the products are perishable so special care and attention are needed, they are things that you cannot even leave alone for even a few minutes. Quality of food will change if ingredients are not cooked or marinated in time. A trusted food distributor in Singapore is very important, timely delivery and they must deliver the right items to the restaurants. This is to ensure that the restaurant is operational for the day. 



Apart from fresh ingredients,  a Chef will need to ensure that the stock level for condiments such as spices and herbs, rice and noodles. The right brand or type to match the right dish! There is alot of knowledge in this area. Most of the chefs in Singapore will order from their food service vendors in Singapore who are also their frozen food supplier, wholesale seafood supplier and also other needs like cooking oil, noodles, canned food. This is to enjoy discounts and wholesale prices if they consolidate their orders. 

When ingredients are all ready, the chef will need to ensure that all preparation work is done before opening hours. Washing, cutting and marinating are important steps that are needed to be done on a daily basis. And a important step will be the broth, which requires long hours of slow cooking to achieve the taste. 

Then the battle begins when the orders start coming in, chefs usually eat after lunch hours and dinner time. Maybe that is the reason why most chefs are bigger in size, they eat late.  And that is also the time when they need to clear up, clean up and prepare for the following day menu. 

For smaller restaurants, a chef will need families to support, accounting & finance, day to day transactions, staff matters and of course marketing. So, if you date a chef, be prepared to help out at the restaurant if you want to spend time with him. 






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