© 2026 Nikola Skeledžija. All rights reserved.
For future chefs and their parents.
One of the questions parents most often ask me before their child enrols in secondary school is:
“My child loves cooking. They want to train as a chef. What do you think?”
My answer is almost always the same.
Do not make that decision simply because your child enjoys cooking at home.
Do not make it on the basis of television programmes, social media, or stories you have heard from other people.
And do not make it because of stories such as:
“My neighbour’s friend has a relative who works as a chef abroad and earns serious money.”
Let me tell you one simple truth.
People lie.
And even when they are telling the truth, they often tell only the part of the story that sounds good.
You will hear how much someone earns.
You will hear far less about the years of work, learning, sacrifice, missed holidays, weekends and family gatherings that came before it.
It is not all sweetness and success.
There is bitterness in it too.
We also need to remember that young people are making this decision at the age of fourteen or fifteen.
At an age when it is difficult to have a clear idea of what any profession really looks like.
At an age when we are particularly open to the influence of social media, television, friends, our surroundings and the expectations of other people.
That is why I tell every parent and every prospective student the same thing.
Before You Decide, Find Out What the Profession Is Really Like
Before making a decision, speak to people who actually do the job.
Better still, let the young person do it themselves.
Let them visit a few good restaurants.
Let them talk to chefs.
Let them ask whatever they want to know.
What does a working day really look like?
What is rewarding about the profession?
What is difficult?
How many hours do you work?
How much do you still have to learn?
What would you do differently if you were fifteen again?
I believe most chefs would gladly spare a few minutes for a conversation like that.
Because there is no better source of information than someone who lives that profession every day.
Let Them See the School from the Inside
I give the same advice to anyone considering the school where I teach.
Bring your child.
Or better still, let them come on their own.
Let them step into a training kitchen during practical lessons.
Let them talk to the students.
Without teachers or parents standing beside them.
They will probably receive the most honest answers there.
Not because anyone will try to talk them out of the profession.
But because, perhaps for the first time, they will hear what it actually feels like from the perspective of people who are just beginning to discover it for themselves.
The Decision Should Be Theirs
I believe it is very important that the young person ultimately makes the decision.
Parents can help.
They can guide, advise and provide support.
But it is the young person who may one day have to do that job.
That is why the decision should be based on real information and genuine personal interest, not on someone else’s expectations.
That gives them a much better chance of choosing a school and a profession that truly interests them.
Of finding something in which they can see themselves.
Something that gives them a reason to learn, improve and grow.
Even then, things may not turn out perfectly.
They may change their mind during their education.
And that is perfectly fine.
But it is far better to change your mind after making an informed decision than to choose a profession on the basis of assumptions, trends and other people’s expectations.
Perhaps that way we can avoid a situation in which a young person enrols in a school and then spends the next three or four years studying something they never truly cared about in the first place.
There Is No Perfect Profession
There is no perfect profession.
Every job has its advantages and its drawbacks.
But it is far easier to make a good decision when it is based on the real experiences of people who actually do the job, rather than assumptions and an idealised image of what the profession is supposed to be.
In the end, the goal is not for a young person to enrol in just any school.
The goal is for them to choose a school and a profession in which, one day, they may be able to find their place.
Author: Nikola Skeledžija