Any professional chefs/people who work in culinary? (1 Viewer)

[cst2006]

Looking for some general advice and/or to hear the experience of some people who worked their way up through the food industry and are working currently or have worked in a restaraunt as a cook or chef. I'm 25 years old and have been doing tech support for a few years now, but my passion is food. Been giving a lot of thought to what I want to do with the rest of my life, and I want to enjoy my work and not just grind through it like I am now. Have been looking into culinary school, could go to the community college that is closeby for 2 years and then transfer into Johnson and Wales for another two if I wanted.

I've found some books like the Joy of Cooking that seem to be a good place to start, but any other advice one could give to an aspiring chef? From what I'm told the chef at the culinary program I'm looking into is a Gordan Ramsey-like hardass who interviews you personally before accepting you into the program, so I'd like to be able to hold my own/be prepared.

 

[Major]

Make sure you dont overcook the risotto you f'n donkey!

 

[bierfiend]

as someone who change careers to attend culinary school at 30, be focused with your goals and seriously assess all aspects of the F&B business (hours, holidays, wages, etc). i still love cooking, just prefer doing it for family and friends.

 

[DSP]

Ive worked for chefs. They are D-bags. Dont become like most of them

I suggest honing your skills and try to open your own little place. You dont need to learn cooking working under some jerk. You really dont even need culinary school. All you need is your own kitchen and creativity

 

[Abraham]

Cosjobs is who you need to talk to.

 

[Jedi Knight]

Have you ever worked in a restaurant? Like a part-time job in high school or something?

 

[[icon]]

Tipsy mcstagger on here has worked in pretty much every food service gig, then was GM of dantes kitchen (very successfull) in New Orleans and has since hung out his own shingle with McClures Barbecue. Not a bad guy to bounce a couple questions off. Very nice guy but a bit busy.

 

[[icon]]

Cosjobs is who you need to talk to.

And cosjobs as well

 

[Wingnut]

I cooked for 15 years in everything from short order to fine dining. No formal training, all on the job. Learned most of the basic skills from 2 different chefs I worked under when I was younger, and learned everything else here and there as I went along . Held a couple of chef jobs throughout the years - once as a sous chef at a country club and once as chef at a bed and breakfast type place, as well as line cook at several places (prep, banquet, broiler, sautee, expediting).

Its a highly stressful occupation, I don't recommend it unless you really love to cook...and even then, unless you find a place where you like the owners/management, coworkers, hours and pay, you're gonna get burned out and wish you did something different. Of course, if you have the desire and means to open your own place, and don't mind working 80+ hours a week, you might be happy. Myself, I'd never work for someone else again, and I couldn't handle all the work and headaches associated with owning my own place. So, no more cooking for me. I quit that line of work over 10 years ago, and it was the best thing I could have done for my mental health.

I have no idea about culinary school and job placement...its possible they could hook you up with a good gig that you might love. Good luck, there's others here that can help you more...just thought I'd give you my opinion on the profession in a nutshell.

 

[msommer]

Apart from all the good advice elsewhere in this thread, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Kitchen Confidential' by Anthony Bourdain. I have a lot of respect for the professionals in this industry, but I know it is not for me.

 

[Ptomaine]

Crappy hours, low pay, high stress, interacting with cutthroat/backstabbing wait staff, high degrees of alcohol and drug abuse; The chances of becoming on of those "TV Chefs" is probably lower than becoming a pro football player and making the Hall of Fame.

 

[Swing 51]

I see nittanylion viewing this thread - believe he works in the industry in the DC area.

 

[cst2006]

Thanks for all the input so far guys, know it's not an easy road but I definitely want to give it a shot. No aspirations of becoming a famous chef lol, more like having my own local food truck. Downtown NB has been getting a makeover and has some great local food spots, think I could make it work and integrate my food truck into the local scene. That's the dream anyways. My wife is going to be an RN soon so we could handle the financial part of it as far as me taking a pay cut at first. Don't have any restaraunt experience currently, but I know a few people who work at some nicer restaraunts who can most likely get me in there in some capacity, and then work my way up.

 

[nittanylion]

Graduated from Culinary School in 1999. Went as grad school after Penn State, classically trained in French Technique, and have cooked professionally for 15 years since. Prior to that, I worked in every aspect of the restaurant industry (upscale dining) since I was old enough to work, and everywhere I've worked, I've been equally involved in the kitchen, the dining room, and the office.

As a point of reference, I consider Alice Waters (Chez Panisse, San Francisco) to be my Culinary Godmother. Everything I do has been inspired directly by her, or through several of her disciples, and that restaurant.

Family circumstances are the only reason I don't have my own place. I'm sure I'll have more to say about that later. Priorities. It'll happen down the road. Currently I cook for private clients in the greater Washington, DC area, both sides of the river. Very high-end cooking, starting with sourcing of local ingredients (Chesapeake Bay Watershed), cooking with the seasons, and wine/beer pairing as well.

From a restaurant standpoint, being a talented cook is obviously a very important piece...but equally important, are writing a business plan/knowing how to run a profitable business, and that goes hand in hand with knowing how to negotiate a commercial lease, and accepting the fact that while location is an important factor, it's trumped by the deal you make to get into whatever space you wind up going into. So many restaurants are dead in the water right out of the gates because they fell in love with a location, and didn't have the necessary skills/knowledge to either get a great deal to get in there, or walk the deal and keep looking.

It's highly unlikely one can have a successful restaurant without a solid business plan, firsthand knowledge of Profit and Loss Statements, and a favorable lease (unless you outright own the dirt yourself)...and it's not good enough to have a partner that knows that kind of stuff. You HAVE TO know it. Partners are a strange breed of people. Things change, people change. You have to learn what you don't know as fast as possible if you get into a partnership with someone who knows more about certain aspects of the business than you.

It being Friday, of course I don't have time for any quality posting now, but when I have time, I will.

There's some really good commentary in here so far.

It ain't easy or glamorous, that's for sure...and you really, really, REALLY have to love what you do.

 

[nittanylion]

PS: Do NOT (NOT NOT NOT) put a single dime into Culinary School until you have worked in the kitchen for a while, at least a year;..and by 'worked in the kitchen', I mean in a hard kitchen, under a hard Chef, in a longstanding successful restaurant. Where you will probably be doing grunt work, and being paid peanuts. I'm very tied into my Culinary School, and I can't tell you how many students I've seen, over the years (very large percentage), are, at the end of the day, pretty much making donations to the school's coffers because they had no idea what they were getting into when they started.

Culinary School, is, by and large, a trade school. They exist to teach you a skill, pretty much in a vacuum, Real world is starkly different. What you do with it is up to you.

 

[belljr]

my nephew is a sous chef at a pretty popular restaurant, he started out at an applebees grill, then applied to his new restaurant, they sent him through training and he worked his way up. he is supposed to get his own place if they ecpand. i dont think he had formal training prior to applebees.....

 

[Jedi Knight]

I've been in restaurants for over 30 years. I wish you all the luck. It can be a rewarding career, but it is very hard work. The beautiful thing is that there are a million different ways to make a career in the food industry.

You mention that you may have a goal of owning your own business. Trust me- it is crucial to get real world experience running a restaurant before attempting this. Too many people fail because they don't "get" the basics of managing food and labor costs. These are the two biggest costs and are incredibly easy to screw up.

I'll echo the comments that this is a physically and mentally demanding career with long hours at times, working on week-ends and holidays and high stress. If you can deal with it, it can be enjoyable. There is nothing that compares to making someone's day by cooking them a terrific meal, or providing an enjoyable experience.

I once had a manager that got to me on a bad day. I was contemplating walking out and she pulled me outside and we talked. She told me that restaurant work is exactly what you make it. If you think it's a crappy job, then that is what it is. If you think it's a great job, then that is what it is. I've always found those words to be true.

 

[Wingnut]

Thanks for all the input so far guys, know it's not an easy road but I definitely want to give it a shot. No aspirations of becoming a famous chef lol, more like having my own local food truck. Downtown NB has been getting a makeover and has some great local food spots, think I could make it work and integrate my food truck into the local scene. That's the dream anyways. My wife is going to be an RN soon so we could handle the financial part of it as far as me taking a pay cut at first. Don't have any restaraunt experience currently, but I know a few people who work at some nicer restaraunts who can most likely get me in there in some capacity, and then work my way up.

I'm actually thought about getting into the food truck business. If iI was ever going to get back into cooking that would probably be the only way I would do it, and it would only be on a part time basis. Low startup compared to brick and mortar, total creative control, way less headaches, and way more fun.

 

[[icon]]

Thanks for all the input so far guys, know it's not an easy road but I definitely want to give it a shot. No aspirations of becoming a famous chef lol, more like having my own local food truck. Downtown NB has been getting a makeover and has some great local food spots, think I could make it work and integrate my food truck into the local scene. That's the dream anyways. My wife is going to be an RN soon so we could handle the financial part of it as far as me taking a pay cut at first. Don't have any restaraunt experience currently, but I know a few people who work at some nicer restaraunts who can most likely get me in there in some capacity, and then work my way up.

I'm actually thought about getting into the food truck business. If iI was ever going to get back into cooking that would probably be the only way I would do it, and it would only be on a part time basis. Low startup compared to brick and mortar, total creative control, way less headaches, and way more fun.

Yep. I've considered it as well. Gotta find your hook/niche.... gotta be in a city that supports them... and gotta value engineer your menu and engage social media aggressively (build following, tweet/post menu/location/specials/promotions/etc).

 

[Judge Smails]

Are all chefs/cooks chain smokers, or have they moved on to stronger drugs? Seriously. Every time I see a show it includes smoking breaks outside. Doesn't that dull the taste buds and result in over salting everything?

 

[cosjobs]

Are all chefs/cooks chain smokers, or have they moved on to stronger drugs? Seriously. Every time I see a show it includes smoking breaks outside. Doesn't that dull the taste buds and result in over salting everything?

Our taste buds are so acutely sensitive, we have to dumb them down to see what things taste like to all the regular schmoes.