How to Become a Chef in Malaysia?

What is the Education Pathway to be a Chef after Secondary School?

• A recognised culinary arts diploma from a top private college or university in Malaysia will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to become a chef
• The first step to become a chef is to go for a Diploma in Culinary Arts after SPM or IGCSE/O-Levels
• The Diploma must be accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and will be recognised for entry into degree programmes at Private Universities as well as for jobs in Malaysia & Overseas

Students after secondary school in Malaysia who desire to become a chef may go for the Diploma in Culinary Arts at a private college or university. You will need at least 3 credits in SPM, IGCSE/O-Levels or UEC to study the 2-year diploma course. After you have completed the diploma, you may start work as a chef or continue on to Year 2 of the degree studies in Culinary Arts or Patisserie (Baking or Pastry).

The culinary industry is ideal for students who possess a flair for creativity, desire to please peoples’ palates, provide solutions, able to handle pressure, entrepreneurs and a passion for cooking. Malaysians have a love affair with the culinary world. As Malaysians become more affluent, our taste buds become more sophisticated with a ravenous desire to consume more exotic dishes. All of these restaurants depend on chefs and cooks to create delicious food for their customers to enjoy. Some chefs achieve fame, celebrity, and great fortunes through their unique flavour culinary achievements.

Students after SPM or IGCSE O-Levels with a minimum of 3 credits can go for the Diploma in Culinary Arts for 2 years before entering into Year 2 of the Degree programme for another 2 years. The 3 credits can be in any subject and SPM students must also have a Pass in BM and Sejarah.

• SPM – At least 3 credits (C’s) in any subject and Pass (at least E) in BM & Sejarah
• IGCSE O-Levels – Minimum 3 credits (C’s) in any subject

Some students are misled by some culinary academies in Malaysia saying that their “diploma in culinary arts” awarded by some unknown university from the UK, Australia or USA is recognised. These diplomas do not require any credits in SPM or IGCSE/O-Levels and are cheap. When you complete these diploma courses, you will not be able to continue on to the degree programme at other private universities or even work at top restaurants and hotels overseas. If you have at least 3 credits in SPM or O-Levels, you should go for a Diploma in Culinary Arts that’s accredited by MQA from a reputable college.

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What you Need to do to become a Chef in Malaysia after High School

At any good culinary school in Malaysia, students will acquire important skills in culinary, organising and management.  Students will begin with basic culinary skills such as knife skills, cooking methods, timing, mise en place (Preparation prior to service), creative plates & presentations, flavour & seasoning, cooking on the line and others.

Being well organized is key to running a successful kitchen. Ordering, scheduling, food costing, and dealing with suppliers are just some of the work involved. Chefs need to work in a team and as an Executive Chef, he or she will need to manage the kitchen staff well.

The intricacies of motivating staff and getting the best out of them are important. Ultimately, the Chef will become a mentor to other chefs and having people skills is important to impart his or her skills to the next generation.

In order to become a Chef in Malaysia, students need to obtain at least a Diploma in Culinary Arts or Diploma in Patisserie or Pastry that is recognised and accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). This will allow graduates to find work as professional chefs at hotels, resorts, or restaurants in Malaysia as well as overseas. Diploma graduates may go on to a Culinary Arts or Patisserie degree before pursuing their career.

If the Diploma is not accredited by MQA, you may not continue to a degree at a private university in Malaysia or even find work overseas.

Students who go for a Pre-University programme such as Foundation, STPM, A-Levels, AUSMAT, etc may enter into the degree in Culinary Arts or Patisserie. The degree will take 3 years to complete.

However, most students who are interested to become a chef would choose the Diploma pathway as the subjects are more specific to culinary arts compared to a Pre-University programme. In the Pre-U course, the subjects are more academic and not related to Culinary Arts. The Diploma in Culinary Arts would be practical and prepare students well for the degree. Furthermore, most culinary students are not interested in academic courses, and that’s why they chose to become a chef in the first place.

What will you Study in a MQA Recognised Diploma in Culinary Arts Course?

The Diploma in Culinary Arts is a 2-year course including an internship. You will study 6 semesters with about 30 subjects. Students will study a mix of basic culinary arts subjects with some business & language subjects.

In addition, the subjects will have similarities in all colleges and universities but note that they will have different focus such as the type of cuisine like French, Asian, Italian etc.  Below is a sample of the subjects that you will study in the culinary arts diploma:

• Basic Food and Beverage Services
• Pastry and Baking
• Food Commodities
• Basic Culinary
• Cuisine and Restaurant Operations
• Advanced Pastry and Baking
• Kitchen and Hygiene Management
• Butchery
• Advanced Cuisine and Restaurant Operations
• Catering Services
• Nutrition and Sensory Analysis
• Food and Beverage Cost Control
• English for Academic Purpose
• Garde Manger
• Malaysian Cuisine
• Menu Planning and Development
• Introduction to Business
• Kitchen Layout and Design
• Asean Cuisine
• Entrepreneurship Development
• Business Ethics and Corporate Citizenship
• Pastry Artistry or Vegetables and Fruit Carving
• Basic French
• Business Accounting
• Ergonomics & Work Environment
• Plated Desserts & Artistic Skills
• French Cuisine
• Foodservice Business Plan
• Entremet & Artistic Skills
• Advanced Cuisine
• Principles of Purchasing
• Fundamentals of Food & Beverage
• Patisserie & Bread Confections
• Essential Cuisine Techniques
• Fundamentals of Marketing
• Business Mathematics
• Food & Beverage Service
• Asian Desserts & Breads
• Cuisine of Asia
• Food Hygiene & Sanitation
• Chocolates and Confections
• Classical French Cuisine
• Commodity Cooking
• Culinary Artistry and Design
• Food, Beverage and Labour Cost Controls
• Molecular Cuisine
• Menu Design and Development

What will you Learn in a Culinary Arts Diploma?

The 2-year Diploma in Culinary Arts programme is designed to equip students who wish to pursue culinary arts with fundamental skills in culinary arts and strong product knowledge, as well as the ability to perform and organise food production.

Unlike a culinary arts academy, the curriculum focuses on the areas of culinary, pastry as well as culinary management. Students are trained to develop a high degree of professionalism during the culinary arts course, focusing on quality of the food.

• Equipped with technical skills in kitchen setup and organisation, food product knowledge, patisserie and artistic skills.
• Exposure to different cooking techniques in Western and Asian cuisine, training students to be experts in the field of hot cooking, pastry, baking as well as butchery and garde manger.
• Trained to achieve a high degree of professionalism and to focus on the quality of the product and customers’ expectations.

What you Need to Know to Become a Chef?

The culinary industry is ideal for students who possess a flair for creativity, desire to please peoples’ palates, entrepreneurial and of course, a love of food.

There are four basic skills that every chef uses throughout their career:

1. Technical
   • These skills are the foundation of a chef’s talent and success – knife skills, cooking methods, timing, mise en place, and being able to cook on the line gracefully even during the peak hour.
2. Culinary
   • Most chefs have a good palate to begin, but training for the nuances of flavor and seasoning, new flavor combinations, creative plates and presentations, delving deep in to a cuisine culture all take training and practice.
3. Organisational
   • Prior planning is important in a busy kitchen. Organising the menu, ingredients, staffing and kitchen will ensure a smooth running with less stress. Organising also helps in conducting business effectively (ordering, scheduling, food costing etc.).
4. Managerial
   • Having a keen understanding of human behavior and how to motivate them is important as one gains more responsibility. A good chef understands how to work with people and get them to work for him/her.
   • These skills are the highest level because they involve sharing knowledge and skills with those working for you.
   • The most often-seen method is training, but ultimately being a mentor to a cook and to develop their career is the highest skill a chef can attain.

Who Should Study to become a Chef?

The culinary, hospitality, tourism and services management industries are ideal for people who enjoy experiential learning and being able to apply their knowledge gained immediately to practice. They are people who:

• Love to cook
• Enjoy meeting new and exciting people
• Enjoy traveling and entertainment
• Are creative thinkers
• Are hands-on workers
• Are critical thinkers
• Are service oriented
• Provide quick and creative solutions to different kinds of challenges
• Enjoy being a part of a exciting environment
• Work in flexible hours
• Love to explore new and different cultures

If you want to be one of these people, choosing to study culinary arts at a top private college or university in Malaysia is probably the best step you could take.

What are the Benefits of Studying a Recognised Diploma in Culinary Arts?

• Students are eligible to apply for loan from funding agencies such as National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN).
• Students are eligible to continue to Year 2 of the Culinary Arts degree from other Private Universities in Malaysia.
• Students can be considered for employment in the public sector. In many cases, even employers from the private sector prefer accredited programmes in their selection of graduates for employment.
• Able to travel round the world
• Able to obtain jobs worldwide easily
• Able to get extra points in the application for Permanent Residency (PR) status in certain countries like Australia, UK, USA or Europe
• Able to network with people from all levels

What is the Nature of the work for chefs in Malaysia

• Long hours
• Weekend work may be required
• High pressure at peak periods
• Service oriented – provide a high level of services
• Customer emphasis – able to cater and adapt customer’s needs and requests
• Dynamic – on-the-go
• Able to adapt to changes and stress

What is the Career Progression for a Chef in Malaysia or Globally?

The chef is not only a cook, but an artist, a manager, a chemist, and an entrepreneur.  The successful chef has to adapt to the dynamic changes of modernization and demands of the clientele. The beauty of a career in culinary is that you can either work for prominent international hotels and restaurants or branch out with your own restaurant. In large establishments an Executive chef may oversee chefs in charge of specializing in everything from sauces to chocolates.

On a typical day a chef will:

• create recipes;
• measure, mix, and cook ingredients according to recipes;
• direct the work of other kitchen workers;
• estimate food requirements;
• order food supplies;

Executive chef

The Executive Chef is the highest position in the industry. Their primary function is to manage the food preparation and cooking for a restaurant. Often, an executive chef will be responsible for a chain of restaurants or other food service establishments.

Some of the work involved are planning menus, estimating food requirements and costs, and supervising the work of sous-chefs, chefs and cooks, and other kitchen staff. They also take care of the hiring and recruitment of kitchen staff. Depending on the occasion, some executive chefs may cook regularly while others may cook for only for special occasions.

Executive chef In most full-service restaurants and institutional food service facilities, the management team consists of a general manager, one or more assistant managers, and an executive chef.

• Oversee kitchen operations, planning menus, quality control and presentation of meals.
• Responsible for all food preparation activities, estimate food requirements and costs, stock control, and dealing with suppliers.
• Supervise the work of sous-chefs, chefs and cooks, and other kitchen staff.
• Recruiting and managing staff, work delegation, and adherence to high service standards.
• Often, will be responsible for different kitchens of a hotel, a chain of restaurants or other food service establishments.

Chef de cuisine

• Reports to an executive chef and is responsible for the daily operations of a single kitchen.

Sous-chef

• Sous-chefs are like front line managers where they supervise the work of chefs, cooks, and other kitchen workers. They often demonstrate new cooking techniques, recipes, and usage of equipment. In some kitchens, sous-chefs may plan menus, order food and kitchen supplies, and prepare and cook meals and specialty foods.
• They are managerial chefs on the front line where they supervise the work of chefs, cooks, and other kitchen workers
• Demonstrate new cooking techniques, recipes, and equipment to the kitchen staff.
• May plan menus, order food and kitchen supplies, and prepare and cook meals and specialty foods.

Chef

• Basically, prepares, season and cook a wide range of foods
• In general, chefs measure, mix, and cook ingredients according to recipes, using a variety of pots, pans, cutlery, and other equipment, including ovens, broilers, grills, slicers, grinders, and blenders.
• Chefs also are responsible for directing the work of other kitchen workers, estimating food requirements, and ordering food supplies.
• Each chef or cook works an assigned station that is equipped with the types of stoves, grills, pans, and ingredients needed for the foods prepared at that station. Job titles often reflect the principal ingredient prepared or the type of cooking performed—vegetable cook, fry cook, or grill cook.

Saucier

• Responsible for making all the sauces or dishes cooked in a particular sauce or gravy.
• Sauciers must be highly knowledgeable when it comes to the possible mixtures and permutations that can create a fine sauce.

Chef de Garde Manger

• The chef is in charge of all cold dishes such as appetizers, desserts, pates, cold sauces, salads, dressing and sandwiches. Garde mangers are often skillful in using leftovers to create new dishes.
• The chef who, in the classic French kitchen brigade system, is responsible for all cold foods.
• “Garde Manger” is a French term for the pantry area where cold dishes are prepared and stored — foods like appetizers, desserts, pates, cold sauces, salads, dressing and sandwiches.

Pastry or Patisserie Chef

• Pastry chefs have the enviable job of creating  a multitude of baked good and confections from cookies and cakes to chocolates, petitfours, beignets… any dessert you can think of! The Pastry Chef has to be In creative and well-versed in dessert tastes and flavors.
• Create a multitude of baked goods and confections — everything from cookies and cakes to chocolates Work involves the preparation of pastries, such as cakes, candies, chocolates, and other specialty dessert items in retail and commercial settings.
• Pastry chefs with sound business skills can move on to opening their own pastry shop or bakery.

Sommelier/Wine Steward

• Positions in this area require a deep appreciation and understanding of wines, spirits, liqueurs, beers, coffee, tea and other non-alcoholic beverages, including production, bottling, storage, distribution, marketing and pairing with food.
• The position requires a high level of innovation in beverage products and involves sales skills.
• They may work with vineyards, fine dining restaurants, hotels, cruise lines, chain restaurants or managing multiple high volume accounts for regional spirits distribution companies.
• Many fine restaurants with extensive wine lists employ sommeliers — wine experts who recommend wines to customers that are most appropriate for their meals.
• Drinking and judging wine may sound like an ideal job, but it’s difficult work that requires extensive practice and knowledge.
• Many take classes at the best culinary schools that teach the chemistry behind making wine, how to taste the wine, and how to judge its colour, aroma, flavour and body.
• Good senses of taste and smell are essential and a knowledge of food chemistry can be helpful.

Institution and cafeteria chef

• Works in the kitchens of schools, cafeterias, businesses, hospitals, and other institutions. For each meal, they prepare a large quantity of a limited number of entrees, vegetables, and desserts.

Research chefs

• Combine culinary skills with knowledge of food science to develop recipes and test new formulas, experiment with flavours and eye appeal of prepared foods.
• Test new products and equipment for chain restaurants, food growers and processors, and manufacturers and marketers.

Catering Career

• The job basically entails the planning of the menu and pricing for a meal to be served at the premises of the client. A good catering company can ensure the success of an event.
• They will work with the clients planning the food, decorations, entertainment and location of the function while ensuring profitability.
• Caterers may specialize in birthday parties, official opening of shops, official launching of products, weddings, seminars, conferences and other functions.

Others

• Others combine their culinary education with their personal and professional interests, such as writing or photography, which can lead to careers in food writing for newspapers, magazines or cookbooks. And, of course, there is also food styling, the profession that makes food look its best and/or authentic in front of a camera to produce both still-pictures and video productions that we see of food.
• Grocery and specialty food stores employ chefs, cooks, and food preparation workers to develop recipes and prepare meals for customers to carry out. Typically, entrees, side dishes, salads, or other items are prepared in large quantities and stored at an appropriate temperature.

Career opportunities in Culinary Arts in Malaysia

• Restaurants
• Bakeries
• Cafes and pubs
• Fine dining restaurants
• Boutique restaurants
• Fast food
• Hotels & resorts
• Spas
• Airlines
• Leisure such as theme parks
• Gaming & casinos
• Cruise Lines
• Food service operations in hospitals or universities
• Managed services
• Catering
• Food Media
• Private clubs
• Conference & exhibitions
• Grocery stores
• Spas
• Distributors
• Wineries
• Hypermarket chains
• Entertainment industry such as celebrity chef
• Education – teaching at colleges or universities

Types of positions in the Culinary jobs in Malaysia

• Expediter
• F&B manager
• Restaurant manager
• Outlet Manager
• Banquet & Catering Sales Manager
• Restaurant/Café owner
• Sommelier/Wine steward
• Banquet Chef
• Fish Cook
• Chef de Garde Manger
• Kitchen Manager
• Meat Cutter/Butcher
• Pasta chef
• Rounds/Swing chef
• Saucier
• Saute chef
• Vegetable chef
• Personal chef
• Demi Chef
• Commis 1,2/Junior chef
• Pastry chef
• Chef Tournant
• Line cooks
• Chef de garde manger
• Chef de Partie
• Assistant cook
• Chef-de-cuisine,
• Junior sous chef
• Sous chef
• Food & Beverage manager
• Restaurant manager
• Food Service Outlet Manager
• Banquet and Catering Sales Manager
• Food Nutrition Balance Counselor in hotels or hospitals
• Restaurant/Café owner