source:businessonline.com

Who doesn’t love mummy’s well-cooked pounded yam and soup? I definitely know that everyone was waiting for the period of festivities to eat jollof or fried rice and enjoy every yummy second of the holidays. Some Nigerians enjoy cooking more than eating. Some of them have amazed people with their dishes so much that they would want to take their passion to a professional level? Question is: Are you one of them? Yeah! Are you unconventionally interested to be chef or a food stylist and don’t know how? Are you aspiring to become a die-hard restaurateur but you are not sure of the career prospects. Let’s take one thing at a time! Ok?

Who is a Chef?

According to Wikipedia, a chef is a trained professional cook who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. There are different terms that use the word chef in their titles, and deal with specific areas of food preparation, such as the sous-chef, who acts as the second-in-command in a kitchen, or the chef de partie, who handles a specific area of production.

For example, the Chef de cuisine or head chef, is in charge of all activities related to the kitchen, which usually includes menu creation, management of kitchen staff, ordering and purchasing of inventory, controlling raw material costs and plating design. 

The Sous-Chef de Cuisine (under-chef of the kitchen) is the second-in-command and direct assistant of the Chef de Cuisine. This person may be responsible for scheduling the kitchen staff, or substituting when the head chef is off-duty. 

The Chef de partie also known as a "station chef" is in charge of a particular area of production. 

And the Commis (Chef) is a basic chef in larger kitchens who works under a chef de partie to learn the station's or range's responsibilities and operation. 

So you see there is a rank or a ladder of promotion that an aspiring chef needs to climb to reach any of the aforementioned positions in the kitchen. Every chef needs to have someone to look up to for motivation, inspiration and consistency. There are many of them in the Nigerian Hospitality industry but we will mention just 4 of them. Please do well to follow them on Instagram. Ok? Let’s go.

Tolu Eros (Cheferos)

Michael Elegbede

He is celebrated for showing his culinary skills in preparing certain meals from the same land he visits for a number of people is one chef we can never get tired of following. His good looks and Afro hair is one thing we noticed his followers can never get enough of. 

Ronke Edoho /9jafoodieRonke Edoho

Popularly known as 9jafoodie has effortlessly gained the love and trust of so many Nigerians with her culinary style of cookery which focuses mostly on Nigerian dishes such as Egusi soup, jollof rice, ofada rice, efo riro amongst others. She is one of the best Nigerian food bloggers, and also happens to be a certified nutrition and weight loss specialist who has helped lots of people improve their well-being by creating easy follow recipes for their everyday lives.

Gbugbemi Fregene 

Chef Fregs is one of the best in the list chefs Nigeria has ever produced with his mind-blowing expertise in the culinary game. His passion impelled his to educate himself  to Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Paris to learn the art of cooking. He runs a private dining and catering business called Chef Fregz which focuses on fine dining style food that incorporates flavors that this side of the world understands.
So there you go! Going though their posts on social media platforms can revitalize your zeal for culinary arts and keep it unquenchable. Now how do you get to acquire culinary mastery on your own?

How to begin?

• LEARN HOW TO SHOP

If you have the luxury of a local farmers market near you then make certain you go there regularly and check out the produce. Many times they will offer more variety than a supermarket. While you visit the market, be sure to get friendly with the owner and workers there. Ask questions and let them know more about you and your desire to learn to cook and become a Chef. More often then not, they will be happy to talk to you about the produce and other products they sell. 

• YOUR EQUIPMENT. 

If you are going to learn how to cook at home, you are going to need the right cooking equipment. Now don't be mislead into believing that you need the top of the line everything and every gadget under the sun, in order to be a Chef. This is simply not the case, but you still need to invest some money into buying equipment. For your cookware, get yourself a basic set including a fry pan, a sauce pan, a saute pan and a stock pot. You may also want something for grilling. A cast iron grill works quite nicely. The next thing you will want is a good set of knives. I wouldn't go cheap in this department. Knives are a Chef's best friend, so invest in a good set. If you buy a cheap set of knives, they will go dull very quickly and a dull knife can be dangerous. 

• EXPERIMENT 

Are you a picky eater? Not into certain types of foods? if this is you then you will need to develop different taste buds if you want to be a successful Chef.  So in order to understand how to cook with these items, you have to be willing to at least try them.

• LEARNING RESOURCES

There are a ton of learning resources available to today's Chef. Everything from books to videos are within everyone's reach. Start out with a few good books on French Cuisine. Or in a local scenario, you could try the Nigerian Cuisine. It  is a good place to start because of its influence on other cuisines. Do not simply skim through these books until you find a recipe that interests you. You should read these books from start to finish, including the introduction, appendix and glossary. Try out as many different recipes as you can. This will give you a well rounded and rewarding learning experience.

• COOK FOR FAMILY & FRIENDS 

Once you have been cooking for awhile, you will eventually want to cook for people right? It can get kind of lonely eating by yourself. Besides, cooking for friends and family is great practice and an excellent way to get feedback. Here is what you do. Find a few of your friends or family and let them know you would like to have a dinner party (try to scrounge up 10 bucks a head to help pay for the ingredients). Tell them it is your first time cooking for a group of people and that you would like their honest feedback. Come up with your own menu of dishes that you would like to prepare, just like a restaurant. Then work out any mistakes you may have made and try it again in a month or two.

Culinary Schools and courses you can patronize.

Of course, if you are certain about taking a  career path in the world of culinary arts, you should try upgrading your skills in any of the following schools.

• Cmk culinary 39 Osolo Way, Isolo, Lagos
• Culinary Academy Nigeria 50 Raymond Njoku St, Ikoyi, Lagos
• Culinary School 22 Unity Road Ilorin, Ilorin 
• Chef's Academy Abuja 1372b embu street, off WuseII, Aminu Kano Cres, Abuja, Nigeria
• Red Dish Chronicles Culinary School 18 Fola Jinadu Cres, Pedro, Lagos
• Crumbles Chef Academy Chevy View Estate, 40 Udeco Medical Road Off Chevron Road, Lekki Penninsula II 
• FOOD PERFECT Institute of Culinary Arts No 59c, Old Aba Road, Rumuobiakani, Port Harcourt.

If you are any of these strategic metropolitan cities in Nigeria exploit everything they got to offer. They are resourceful and promising. Be A killer Chef. Cook your passion out to the world and you will be celebrated. Stay tuned. Cruise Africa.