'Now I have more responsibilities'

“I have with my employer, Herten Care Group, indicated that I wanted to grow and was looking for a new challenge,” said Jozepha Saelmans, who completed the one-year Chef training course.

When the chef vacancy came up, they asked me. Now I have more responsibility and, of course, I'll earn some extra money. It's also nice to have a diploma. Now I'm really learning the basics, like cleaning, cutting, preparation techniques, product knowledge, and nutrition. I find the courses on dietary preferences and culture, and innovation in the industry, very interesting. The program is one year long, so you gain a lot of information in a short time. I recreate the dishes that didn't turn out well in school at home. I'm now cooking more from cookbooks and experimenting with those recipes. Using the recipe as a basis and then trying out different things myself—that's what I love about cooking.