The kitchen is really the heart of the hospitality industry. Creating good food is where hospitality really starts. And if you enjoy cooking, it offers a great career.

Almost all hospitality businesses are involved in the preparation of food. There are kitchens in restaurants and cafes, hotels, pubs, B and Bs, and clubs. All sorts of catering places such as function centres, schools, universities, hospitals and sports stadiums either have their own kitchens or contract commercial catering businesses to prepare food for them. So there are plenty of kitchen jobs available.

If you have watched any of the TV cooking shows, you will know that working in a kitchen can have its ‘challenges’! It is not always as chaotic as some programs suggest, but when the pressure is on, it can be difficult – it is one thing to prepare a leisurely meal for your friends or family and quite another to prepare perfect meals for and serve a hundred guests all arriving at the same time and all wanting something different! It can get hot and stressful and tempers can get a bit frayed.

But it is the challenges which make it exciting to work in a kitchen. You work in a team where everyone has their part to play. In fact, in large kitchens, the team is called a kitchen ‘brigade” that is run like an army with everyone knowing their roles and procedures. Despite the pressure there is a great sense of satisfaction at the end of the day when things have gone smoothly and you have created great food that everyone enjoys.