Top 5 Online Resources for Chefs

Courtesy of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago

Chefs leave culinary school equipped with a sharp aptitude for research, but those skills can be dulled if not used continually. With the advent of the Web and popular online chef resources, restaurant professionals can keep their sharp edge by learning about culinary trends and other relevant information online.

Chef2Chef.net
Chef2Chef.net is a popular online resource for chefs and restaurant professionals that offer several valuable sections of information including a library of recipes contributed by registered users and ranked by other users. Other features of the site include:

  1. A list of top 100 resources such as top 100 culinary schools, top 100 chef books, and top 100 wines
  2. Interactive forum for open and honest conversation among chefs
  3. Community blogs so each registered user can write and publish information relevant to other chefs
  4. Featured chefs, featured culinary schools, and featured articles from their “In the fire” section

ACFChefs.org
Established in 1929, the American Culinary Federation (ACF) is the professional chef association for North America. The ACF publishes magazines, holds seminars and conferences, and offers career services. Members have access to online resources and discounts that the public does not have access to, but every Web site visitor has full access to recipes, an e-store, valuable articles, and more.

Restaurant.org
Restaurant.org is run by the National Restaurant Association. Unlike other online chef resources, Restaurant.org does not focus on recipes or specific, in-kitchen resources. Rather, this site looks at industry trends and business statistics.

On the site, extensive data and industry trends are published to assist restaurant professionals in growing their revenues and fine-tuning their restaurant business skills. These resources can be particularly beneficial when compiling data for marketing materials, establishing sales projections, or in deciding where to open up your job search.

IFT.org
The Institute of Food Technologists has been around since 1939. 22,000 professionals interested in food science and food technology rely on the Institute for information and networking opportunities. With the Web, food science and technology resources have been made available to the public to provide interesting information on the science behind it all.

The Daily Food News section is the best part of the site offering insights on the food industry that you just won’t find elsewhere. The Institute of Food Technologists is focused on providing online information about food, technology, and the people behind both.


FDA.gov

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Web site is a critical online resource for chefs that requires little explanation. Food safety guidelines, food recalls, and labeling requirements are necessary pieces of information all chefs need. The site provides an option for email updates or RSS updates ensuring visitors receive new information as it is published.

This article is presented by The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago offers Le Cordon Bleu culinary education classes and culinary training programs in Chicago, Illinois. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit http://www.Chefs.edu/Chicago for more information.

The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago does not guarantee employment or salary.