As a team of experienced holistic chefs, people are often curious to know how we pursued our careers in the industry, and how they can do the same.
Questions like, ‘Do I need a degree in nutrition?’, or, ‘Is business experience a must-have?’ are ones we hear a lot. Because holistic chefs are still fairly new on the wider cultural radar, there’s some mixed information out there regarding what we do and how we do it.
In this blog, we cover what a holistic chef actually is, and what you’ll need in your toolkit if you want to become one.
Openness to Learn
Being open and ready to learn is a really important quality to have in order to pursue a career in any industry: fact. Most of us were raised to understand the basic value of fruits and vegetables, but the world of holistic nutrition presents a lot more nuances and complexity.
Recent years have seen a research explosion into how the foods we eat can impact us both physically and mentally. Understanding and honouring how different foods fuel us is key to being a successful holistic chef. To be a good holistic chef, it’s vital that you not only respect the origin of food itself, but understand why it’s important for our individual dietary needs.
We cover what it means to be a holistic chef, and holistic nutrition 101 in our Holistic Chef Certification and Business Training course.
Positive Mental Mindset
Holistic cooking is based on a desire to nourish body and mind - and an appreciation of ourselves is intrinsically linked to what we put into our bodies.
Having positive energy makes you more likely to appreciate the importance of nutritious, healthy foods that will benefit our mental and physical state.
Fear of failure is one of the biggest roadblocks to enjoying success, and we know that not everyone possesses the natural confidence to build a business from scratch. That’s why the first module in our certification course focuses on mindset - including ending your relationship with failure, setting priorities, handling criticism, understanding your own boundaries and more.
Willingness to ‘Take Care’
Being a holistic chef goes beyond simply the food you cook up. Anticipating your clients’ needs and having the flexibility to meet them goes a long way towards providing an unforgettable culinary and client experience. Sometimes adjusting, pivoting and thinking outside the box is what it takes to differentiate a great holistic chef from simply a good one.
At Beyond Nourished, we typically work 1:1 with our clients over extended periods of time. This way, we can better understand their tastes, preferences, dietary needs, schedules and more, allowing us to tailor our services to fit seamlessly into their lives. Fostering a more intimate relationship with a client requires a nurturing attitude, and a willingness to “take care”.
It’s valuable to remember that our relationship to food is often linked to so much more than just caloric energy: it’s comfort, pleasure, happiness and a social activity. If holistic chefs are aware of this, it makes for a positive, more satisfying client experience.
Organizational Skills
For people who are passionate about cooking and holistic nutrition, becoming a holistic chef is kind of living the dream. But like any job, it has its tough parts.
Organization is one of the foundational cornerstones of making it as a successful holistic chef. We cater to a diverse range of clients with specific nutritional needs - from weight loss to allergies - so meal planning and meal prep are absolutely essential in order to keep your operations running smoothly.
Business Savviness
While it’s absolutely not necessary to have run a business empire before dipping your toes into the world of holistic kitchens, it is important to have a grasp on some business skills before you launch into your new career. This is especially true if you want to pursue a higher monthly income and larger client base.
Wrapping your head around brand identity, sourcing clients, the ins and outs of legal contract and liability are all going to serve you well throughought your holistic chef career. We teach this and more in our Holistic Chef Certification and Business Training course.
Appreciation for the Quality (& Aesthetics!)
Holistic cooking is, at its core, about fuelling our bodies in a way that will optimize our overall health and allow us to eat delicious food at the same time. But in a time where social media and websites play such a large part in securing business, it helps to have an eye for quality things that are pretty, too.
Using fresh, organic, wholesome ingredients that will nourish our bodies is the first rule of holistic cooking. To spread the (visual!) word about the benefits of holistic nutrition, it’s important to understand the importance of creating beautiful, photogenic dishes. Attention to detail, extra touches and colours and textures will help to engage your online audience and build a following.
If you’ve got what it takes to pursue an exciting, fulfilling and profitable new career as a holistic chef, our Holistic Chef Certification and Business Training course may be just what you’ve been looking for.
We take you through 8 modules over the course of 12 weeks where we teach you how to take your passion for cooking to a whole new level of confidence so you can start doing what you love - and profit from it, too.