1. Why do you cook? Is it to save cash or is it recreation? Or something else?
I was a chef for 2-3 years before i went into Web Dev, i still love to cook and have much more knowledge in cooking than most people because of working in commercial kitchens. That said, i usually cant be bothered cooking if its just for me, i like cooking for others.
2. Do you plan ahead? Like a weekly meal plan?
Nah, i like to just see whats in the kitchen and work with it. There are general dishes that i cook often because i like them and will specifically buy ingredients for them, but the benefit of being able to cook, is that it allows you to use what you have.
3. What kind of things do you cook usually?
I like to make the ingredients for things that allow me to pull a meal together quickly. EG, i'll make croutons, salad dressing and chicken so i can make a salad or a wrap in 5 mins if i want to. I make pesto, makes pasta really easy. Every time i have a poker night i'll make a massive pot of my BBQ chilli, it has many fans and is versatile, you can have it with tortilla chips, soft tortillas, pasta, rice, chimmichanga's, etc. Mushroom/beef stroganoff is tasty, roast chicken is easy. I could go on for days.
4. Do you follow any diet? Atkins, Slow Carb etc.
Hell no, i liberally use salt, butter, cream etc, but i'll make sure not to live of heavy foods like that, i'll make sure i eat a good lot of salads, wraps, stir fry's, etc to balance it out.
5. Do you have any life hacks, tips to be more productive as a cook?
A good sharp knife, a large heavy chopping board with wet paper kitchen towel underneath it, stops it moving. Also, watch youtube videos for inspiration, food wishes, any celebrity chef, etc.
Your transition would be very very interesting to document. A Chef + Web dev is killer. Would it be possible to connect via email? Mine: cherian@cucumbertown.com
Brutally honest answer? More money in Web dev. Also, i'm better at web dev. If you're going to become a chef prepare for a massive pay cut and the pay doesnt go up as high with seniority as web dev does. I can earn about £100k a year as a web dev (if i chose to work a full year, i don't) and a executive head chef in London would make around £40k a year and work AT LEAST 60 hours a week, you'd also need 8 - 10 years experience. A mid level chef with 3-4 years experience would make around £20k a year.
I did Web Dev in my spare time as a hobby, managed to get some work from a designer on a forum i was part of, and it just kinda went from there, got to a point where i was making about as much doing web dev as a chef, so just quit the chef job.
I've basically always been freelance, had a few permie jobs but im not very good at having a 9-5, too business minded for that crap. If i was to do contracting for a whole year, i'd make around £100k, but i tend to instead do contracting around 3 - 6 months a year and do my own business related things the rest of the time.
I was a chef for 2-3 years before i went into Web Dev, i still love to cook and have much more knowledge in cooking than most people because of working in commercial kitchens. That said, i usually cant be bothered cooking if its just for me, i like cooking for others.
2. Do you plan ahead? Like a weekly meal plan?
Nah, i like to just see whats in the kitchen and work with it. There are general dishes that i cook often because i like them and will specifically buy ingredients for them, but the benefit of being able to cook, is that it allows you to use what you have.
3. What kind of things do you cook usually?
I like to make the ingredients for things that allow me to pull a meal together quickly. EG, i'll make croutons, salad dressing and chicken so i can make a salad or a wrap in 5 mins if i want to. I make pesto, makes pasta really easy. Every time i have a poker night i'll make a massive pot of my BBQ chilli, it has many fans and is versatile, you can have it with tortilla chips, soft tortillas, pasta, rice, chimmichanga's, etc. Mushroom/beef stroganoff is tasty, roast chicken is easy. I could go on for days.
4. Do you follow any diet? Atkins, Slow Carb etc.
Hell no, i liberally use salt, butter, cream etc, but i'll make sure not to live of heavy foods like that, i'll make sure i eat a good lot of salads, wraps, stir fry's, etc to balance it out.
5. Do you have any life hacks, tips to be more productive as a cook?
A good sharp knife, a large heavy chopping board with wet paper kitchen towel underneath it, stops it moving. Also, watch youtube videos for inspiration, food wishes, any celebrity chef, etc.