Planning a career in Thailand?
You might consider becoming a chef
By Jon Fernquest 
Some of the most respected jobs in Thailand with
the highest salaries don't require a college degree.Thailand has ancient culinary traditions respected worldwide.
It should be no surprise then that the profession of chef can lead to a very promising career.
Chefs also have abundant opportunities to work overseas, gaining valuable experience while working their way up the career ladder and improving their salary and income.
That's what today's article is about.
culinary - about
cooking
profession - a type of job requiring advanced training and education
chef - a trained professional cook in a restaurant (See Wikipedia)
career - the series of related jobs that you spend your work life doing (especially if the job is a profession) (See Wikipedia)
abundant - exists in large quantities
career ladder - a hierarchy of jobs with more complex duties and responsibilities for higher pay within a general occupational area, vertical job promotion
profession - a type of job requiring advanced training and education
chef - a trained professional cook in a restaurant (See Wikipedia)
career - the series of related jobs that you spend your work life doing (especially if the job is a profession) (See Wikipedia)
abundant - exists in large quantities
career ladder - a hierarchy of jobs with more complex duties and responsibilities for higher pay within a general occupational area, vertical job promotion
Here is the article in full:
TOURISM & HOSPITALITY SERVICES
Local hotel kitchens may face brain drain as chefs look abroad
Keeping talent can build F&B revenueBy CHADAMAS CHINMANEEVONG
9/02/2009
The Thai Chefs Association expects the hotel business in Thailand will face a shortage of local professional chefs due to a brain drain to overseas workplaces.
Jamnong Nirungsan, the association's president, said local professional chefs were leaving for positions overseas where they could get valuable experience and double or triple the pay.
"My former junior subordinates have moved abroad and some could earn more than 80,000 baht per month, compared with only 20,000 baht in Thailand. That's why they took a chance," he said.
Mr Jamnong, who is also an executive sous chef of Nai Lert Park Bangkok, said the shortage would first happen in three- and four-star hotels in provinces because they normally use local chefs because they can pay them lower salaries than international chefs. But he feels Thai chefs' ability is equal to or higher than that of their international peers so this is a problem for the industry.
In the past, the occupation was not recognised but today it is quite popular, especially with the younger generation. Many Japanese game shows and Korean series paid tribute to this career and outstanding chefs are widely respected.
"We must make use of this trend. Good education, proper practices and language teaching will improve the standard of young Thai chefs and the shortage of skilled chefs will gradually be resolved," Mr Jamnong said.
Toward this end, the association co-ordinates with educational institutions such as Suan Dusit Rajabhat University to support training courses for chefs.
brain drain - when
educated and talented people move from a poorer country to a richer
country so that they can earn more money
subordinates, junior subordinates - the people who work under you in a company or organization
executive chef, Chef de Cuisine, Head of the Kitchen - the one person in charge of everything in the kitchen of a restaurant
executive sous chef, sous-chef de cuisine, under-chef of the kitchen - is the assistant to the executive chef, second in command
the star system, three star hotel, four star hotel - a hotel rating system, compares the quality of hotels (some hotels such as the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok even claim to be six star hotels)
a peer - a person at the same level as you in a company or a school
international peers - people who have the same job but who live in a different country
paid tribute to - show respect and admiration for someone or something
resolved - problem will be solved
X co-ordinates with Y - X works together with Y to achieve a goal
Suan Dusit Rajabhat - a college that began as a girls school in the late 1940s specializing in home economics, eight years ago they set up a school for chefs (culinary school)
subordinates, junior subordinates - the people who work under you in a company or organization
executive chef, Chef de Cuisine, Head of the Kitchen - the one person in charge of everything in the kitchen of a restaurant
executive sous chef, sous-chef de cuisine, under-chef of the kitchen - is the assistant to the executive chef, second in command
the star system, three star hotel, four star hotel - a hotel rating system, compares the quality of hotels (some hotels such as the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok even claim to be six star hotels)
a peer - a person at the same level as you in a company or a school
international peers - people who have the same job but who live in a different country
paid tribute to - show respect and admiration for someone or something
resolved - problem will be solved
X co-ordinates with Y - X works together with Y to achieve a goal
Suan Dusit Rajabhat - a college that began as a girls school in the late 1940s specializing in home economics, eight years ago they set up a school for chefs (culinary school)
The Thai Hotels Association (THA) recently reported that average hotel occupancy in January was 40%, down from 80% in the same period last year. Advance reservations for Bangkok are expected to drop by 27 percentage points while resort destinations such as Phuket could decrease by 34 points in the first quarter of this year.
This shows that if hotels rely only on room revenues, they cannot survive hard times, he said. This is why many hotels, including big international chains, have focused on food and beverage (F&B) or other sources to compensate for low demand for hotel rooms. Some hoteliers say that today F&B contributes more than 60% of their total revenue, up from 40-50% in the past. Chefs are an important key to that revenue stream.
"Actually, being a chef is a good job. You will never be laid off. In every economic situation, you will always be needed if you have skills because people can cut other expenses but not meals," Mr Jamnong noted.
He added that this career generates good income at the executive level. For Thai executive chefs, the salary can average more than 100,000 baht per month while international chefs make 150,000 to 300,000 baht per month.
Thai Hotels Association (THA)
- an organisation of hotels in Thailand that evaluates and ranks hotels
and resorts using a set of standards (See website)
hotel occupancy - the percentage of rooms in hotel that have guests staying in them
a reservation, an advance reservation - an arrangement for a table, hotel room, or seat in an airplane in the the future
big international chains - big hotel companies that have many hotels around the world
food and beverage (F&B) - the restaurant and bar industry including those in hotels and resorts
X compensates for Y - Y has caused a loss, X has caused an increase, that corrects and makes up for the loss
hoteliers - the owner or manager of a hotel
X an important key to Y - X is important for solving problem Y
a revenue stream - money coming into the business from some service or good that they sell
laid off - lose your job (because business is bad)
hotel occupancy - the percentage of rooms in hotel that have guests staying in them
a reservation, an advance reservation - an arrangement for a table, hotel room, or seat in an airplane in the the future
big international chains - big hotel companies that have many hotels around the world
food and beverage (F&B) - the restaurant and bar industry including those in hotels and resorts
X compensates for Y - Y has caused a loss, X has caused an increase, that corrects and makes up for the loss
hoteliers - the owner or manager of a hotel
X an important key to Y - X is important for solving problem Y
a revenue stream - money coming into the business from some service or good that they sell
laid off - lose your job (because business is bad)
(Source: Bangkok Post, business, 9/02/09, Local hotel kitchens may face brain drain as chefs look abroad: Keeping talent can build F&B revenue, CHADAMAS CHINMANEEVONG, link)
