Sarah Tariq - Becoming a Chef is not a piece of cake!

by Zainab Nasir
(Karachi)

Sarah Tariq

Becoming a Chef is not a piece of cake.

I’m a 22 year old from Karachi. Currently a Certified Chef in the making and running a platform "Women of Today", where we promote and encourage the women running their own businesses and help them grow.

The Story:
I struggled through life searching for the answer as to what is our purpose. There's a lot more to discover but all I learned is, the balance of Deen and Duniya is very important.
People rarely know how, when or what they want to do professionally at early age. Most chefs today usually have at least one career before making the leap to full-time work in the food and hospitality industry. For some however, it is the only thing they have ever considered. Becoming a chef after high school takes serious commitment and maturity.

Many people ask me if I am happy with my choice? You know the choice of becoming a chef right after high school? My answer to them is "Yes, absolutely. I found what I am supposed to do in life."

To become a chef is a very long journey. Ask a chef and they will tell you every hardship they’ve overcome. You’ll earn the “chef title” not through a piece of paper but rather through rigid experience of chef training and you also need to earn the respect from your crew, in order to be called a proper chef and actually be in-charge. It is a challenge of leadership and flavors!

I have realized that along my journey to keep learning more, working in the kitchen is one of the hardest things I had in my life because you are on your feet for hours. It is completely physically and mentally exhausting, so much so that most people cannot handle it. They completely shut down. Just like that.

You will be under constant stress and the love for Kitchen has to be in you. You must have the passion because if you do not have that passion, or either way you lose it along your chef journey, you’re dead even before you have started.