07.31.06
What They’re Not Going to Tell You in Culinary School
The instructors in culinary school have a job to do. Well, two actually. On the one hand, their job is to prepare you for the world of working in kitchens. So you know how to cook, and do so completely, efficiently and correctly. And not to mention how to do so in a sanitary manner. They do this well. They know what they are doing, and they know how to teach.
But there is another job they have. They need to get you in, get you through, and get you on to bring in the next class. Like any school they are in the business of making money, so they have to keep that revolving door spinning. Before I start to sound overly cynical here, I am not damning them for this, but I will say that they may gloss over some fundamental challenges that exist in the kitchen, lest you be deterred and end your education prematurely.
I recently started getting some posts and comments from people who are in similar situations to myself. The “second career” types that is. I just want to explain a certain aspect of kitchen work that will never be reflected in any class in culinary school. It is a truth that may deter some people from going into, or completing culinary school, and thus would stand in stark contrast to job #2 of the teachers in culinary school. The simple fact is this:
This is you in the kitchen in your first weeks on the job:
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I don’t care how good a cook you think you are. I don’t care how good you are in your classes. You are going to be a worthless sack at first in the kitchen.
Your chef is going to get on you for it, and (if you are any good) you are going to get on yourself as well for all the simple mistakes you make seemingly every time you turn around. It is an endless litany of errors, and don’t be fooled: you will not sneak it by your chef. S/he will catch every little mistake, and will let you know about them.
I came from my job where I was a long-term employee who knew everyone in the organization, everything the organization did, and I even raised over $2 million for that organization. That’s right, I was not only happy in my job, I was an expert in the field of online fundraising and I was darn good at it.
And now I can’t make a batch of tomato sauce properly to save my life.
I’m not saying my chef is a jerk - he is actually a great guy who runs a restaurant about as well as I can imagine it being run. He just wants everything that goes out to be perfect.
Read that last line again. Perfect. That is a far cry from what I have been doing in the kitchen so far in my life, and a far cry from what you have been doing as well I would assume. “Good enough” no longer cuts it. Getting B’s in your culinary school classes means you are miles from where you will need to be in a restaurant setting. And I should know.
I have a 4.0 in culinary school, and if I can keep myself from making 10 mistakes in my first hour at work, I think to myself “Damn! Great work Matt!”
 You don’t have to work for this dipshit to be told you are doing something wrong in the kitchen. Any chef will be happy to let you know. Only not while being a total poseur for the cameras. |
I know I am early in my cooking career - and for those of you who follow my story line, I am currently following a job lead for a second job right now plating desserts at Restaurant Nora in DC on Friday and Saturday nights, I’ll keep you posted on that - but the simple fact is, if you have a fragile ego, or think you know everything there is to know about cooking as you graduate from cooking school and head into the world’s kitchens - forget it. You are going to get your ass handed to you for lunch before your first shift is halfway over.
Get a job in a kitchen - doesn’t need to be full-time, doesn’t need to pay much - or even anything. Get some experience to see if it’s right for you, because it is hot, tough and a real wake-up call you will never get from your culinary school teachers. They know the truth, and if they told it to you, you just might walk about the door.
Having seen some of my fellow students and now seen the realities of kitchen life, it would be better if some of them had left earlier, because they are never going to make it. So before you spend all your money, just know what you are getting in to.
Stumble it!
Boutros said,
August 1, 2006 at 7:37 am
I’ll take a raspberry chocolate mousse tart, please.
If you take a weekend night job will I ever see you again?!
Matt said,
August 5, 2006 at 4:24 pm
If I got the night job, that would mean an end to most anything I ever do socially. I have a feeling that at this time in my life, there is just not much I am going to be able to do.
I think that is something else that people have to recognize who go into this profession - the timeline is COMPLETELY different that what you are used to, and you will have to re-vamp your social life and the hours you have for free time. There is a lot of sacrifice involved in being a chef, and I’m not just talkinig about salaries and nerve-endings.
Nate said,
January 1, 2008 at 9:36 pm
It’s worth mentioning that taking a year of culinary school, especially at a young age, will be the best thing you can every do for yourself. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to make (and come up with) delicious and nutritious dishes, and it’s a skill that’s easy to hone your entire life.