Bored with College - Interested in Cooking

[ChrisPownell]

Right, im college im bored, and not doing to well, i took double maths, physics and chemistry (i was good at them in high school, not now though), and ive always been interested in cooking.
i have a big decision to make, get into chefing, and fo the catering and hospitality courses next year, or stay in college to complete my A levels, and go onto a totally different career altogether.
Anyone any suggestions of what i should do, or even how to get some experience in a professional kitchen to see if i like it there before leaving college (baring in mind i dont have any cooking qualifications

Thanks in Advance, Chris

[MarkIsCooking]

Chris -
Being bored with college is not uncommon. Here's a reality important to consider. Except for a very elite and small percentage of people, the culinary world does not pay very well. Long hours. Lousy benefits. There are exceptions, but the best money in restaurants is made in the front of the house (i.e. servers) as opposed to the people pumping out the food from the kitchen. I'm in culinary school now, and I'm doing just for the fun. I was in business for 30 years, sold my companies and had the luxury to just goof off for a while. The more I learn about the restaurant and catering business, the less attractive it is as a business. Also, in terms of return on investment, a college degree of a more traditional nature (law degree, business degree, etc.) will pay you back far better than any investment in a culinary degree. It's not like a sous chef with a degree makes more money than a sous chef without one. The sous chef that makes more has put in more time in the kitchen, worked in a variety of well-known kitchens, is creative and very hard working.

Please understand, I'm not dismissing your boredom. It's very important to find something that you really love doing. In terms of putting your toe in the restaurant 'water', my guess is that if you knock on enough doors of smaller, higher end restaurants and ask the chef if you can 'stage' (i.e. watch) for a day or two, you'll find someone who will let you. You could use that as a chance to see what it's really like and see if it wets your appetite.

Best of luck,

mark

[miahoyhoy]

Before you drop out, get a job washing dishes somewhere.
If the hours of school and washing dishes compounded with the heat and nastyness of dish dogging aren't discouraging then go for it.

Seriously, long hours, low pay, etc...
Point is, it is about a passion. Or a refusal to live in the everyday world.

[chefelle]

You will never regret finishing your education. It may be something you want to fall back on later in life AND it looks good on your resume to prospective employers in any field that you started and finished your degree. Shows that even though you may have decided that that field was not right for you that you had the character to finish what you have started. That is a trait that most employers look for. Many of the chefs at C2C started out in different fields before they found and pursued their passions for all things culinary. I have two degrees in music--a Bachelor's degree in piano performance and a Master's in opera. You never know where life will take you!

As to how to find a kitchen job--start contacting chefs in your area. Offer to do anything--and I mean ANYTHING--that they might have for you to do just for the chance to learn. Believe me--someone will snap you up in no time.

Don't be afraid to contact these people---chefs are always looking for people with enthusiasm who are willing to work hard and learn.

Read, read, read books on life in the culinary field. You could do a search here on C2C as to what books would be a good starting point.

As far as the hours are concerned--they are very long and it is back breaking work. I thought I worked long hours for corporate America (or Canada, in my case!!!) and I did but nothing compared to what I work in this field. BUT--I love it. And that makes all the difference. The long hours, low pay, and aches and pains are but a light affliction if you love what you do!

Best of luck to you. Keep us posted as to how you are doing.

[ChrisPownell]

"get a job washing dishes somewhere."

I actually work in a restaurant waiting on, but the kitchen is full, so i would just end up getting in the way. the hours do not bother me, i work all weekend and a few nights in the week as it is.

[lesanglierrouge]

I would first ditto all that's been said so far.

This being said, I would recommend that if you do decide to go the culinary route that you take advantage of the versatility of your passport. Having an EU passport gives you many opportunities that we don't have here in the states. Hop the Manche and try to find work somewhere in France such as Lyon or the Cote d'Azur (Paris is way to expensive for a beginning cook.) If you are going to succeed in culinary arts it is imperative to have a classical training.

Oh yeah and be prepared to be yelled at a lot.

[GreenHorn]

I am in the same boat. I have enjoyed cooking for many years and I am not considering taking hte leap. I have been in the military, sold cars, a contractor here in Iraq and now I am looking for something else to do. I LOVE to cook but have little experience. I plan on taking a cooking vacation for about 2 months to Ireland to get a cooking certificate. It is a basic class that introduces you to "real" cooking.
I am from a small town in South Dakota and we have one restaurant, in my opinion, that is worht trying to cook at. Does training matter to get into a kitchen to learn? I guess I am at a cross roads. I am currently in college, Netowrk Administration, work in Iraq. I have my house paid off, my cars paid off, a vacation house and some investments working. I love to cook but I am having a hard time making the appropriate decisions. I don't know anyone that is a chef or that cooks professionally. I thought about being a personal chef and making a business out of it. Does anyone have any suggestions? I want to get some training first, in which ever country (except Italy), and maybe just cook part time or maybe even full time if I enjoy it. Regardless I want to have the best kitchen in the family with everyone raving about my food... Can anyone help?

[naunga]

Here's the thing that you both should consider: loving to cook does not equal loving the restaurant business.

Yes cooking is fun and you need a passion for food in this biz, but more than anything you need to love the business. You need to love the heat, the burns, the cuts, the yelling, the "men's locker room"-ness of many kitchens. You need to love the long hours. Mark had a great bit of wisdom when he pointed out that most successful cooks have a "refusal to live in the everyday world." Truer words were never spoken (or typed as the case may be).

We are a band of pirates, a thieves' guild, a Wizard's Order. We heartily welcome those who have the nature of a cook and can smell a poser a mile away. Tony Bourdain has said his attraction to the kitchen was due to the moral flexibility that existed (and still exists) in many kitchens. Into drugs? Into hookers? Like stealing cars? Drink like a fish? Killed 3 people? No problem, just don't be late for your shift, don't slack off, and don't steal from the restaurant or you fellow cooks. Sure most kitchens in the US anyhow have cleaned up their act. There is a real respect for food in a lot of places nowadays, but the undercurrent of immorality still exists.

And also keep in mind that professional cooking isn't really about being creative. It's about bangin' out 200 dishes a night perfectly. It's about being able to handle a busy station without losing your cool or cutting corners.

So, through all this here's my suggestion: first off, I second everything everyone else has said. The people here (for the most part) are doing it everyday. Heed their words.

I know someone already said it, but I'd like to emphasize it: READ, READ, READ. Read "Kitchen Confidential", read "On Food and Cooking", read "The Soul of A Chef". Read professional cooking textbooks like "OnCooking".

You should also get a job in a kitchen. Any kitchen. So long as they're busy. No sense in working in a place that only does 20 covers a night...unless that's the type of place you want to work. Most places will take you on without experience so long as you have a good attitude and are willing to learn.

When you get that job, take notes constantly, and stay passionate about food. Read about food, cook at home, go hang out at the farmers' market. And finally: EAT. So many beginning cooks spend so much time cooking that they forget to go eat at restaurants. Eat food you've never had before. Eat things you thing are "gross", eat ethnic foods, etc. You have to expand your palate.

Anyhow, I think that about covers it.

Good luck to you.

Naunga

[cryanmarsh]

On the other hand I've been cooking for fifteen years and now I'm in school for Accounting and Finance majors.

[jonas]

Pretty much it's all been said, but if you love cooking and can see yourself getting a head chefs position or owning your own restaurant. Then the low pay can often change. As long as you know what you are doing. You HAVE to be smart, otherwise you will die in this business a poor possibly very creative, but very poor man.

[tspapa]

Stay in school!!!