Question for professional chefs?!
Answers: Do you like your job? Do you make a good living? Was school hard? How did you decide you want to be a chef? Any other personal experiences or stories would be great! (I'm considering going into this career)
My husband is a chef. He does really enjoy his job. He's not a chef at work anymore though. He got a promotion and now he's a kitchen manager. Now he only cooks occasionally at work. He does make a good living, but it's only because he had restaurant kitchen experience before he graduated from culinary school. If he would have stayed with his position as a cook he would only be making about $15/hour and he has been working there for a while. He started out as a cook there at $8/hour. Now he's making $48,000 starting out as a KM. Being a chef definitely does not promise a good income, by any means. He got lucky. The rest of his culinary school friend graduates are making about $10/hour right now.
His advice for people considering going to culinary school is always that they should work in a restaurant environment before making a decision. He worked as a waiter and he loved the hectic kitchen environement. Just because you like cooking does not mean that you would enjoy being a chef. 50% of the students he graduated from culinary school with are not going into the restaurant industry. It's just not for everyone. I have worked in the restaurant industry and it's not for me even though cooking is one of my favorite things to do.
He really enjoyed school and it wasn't hard, especially when compared to a traditional college setting. He rarely had homework while I slaved away all night! In the actual classroom there is a lot of pressure though and the teachers tend to tear apart your dishes. You can't be too sensitive or it will be difficult for you to take. As with most things in life, you get what you put in. He had fun and fondly remembers his culinary school experience.
He didn't even like cooking until we started dating. I turned him onto cooking. We really enjoyed cooking together and he started getting a lot of satisfaction making food that others enjoyed. When he started working in the restaurant industry, as a waiter, he realized that he really liked the frantic, fast paced restaurant. It made him feel alive! He became friends with some of the cooks in the restaurant and they began teaching him things. He decided to go to culinary school and he hasn't looked back!
Good luck with your decision and I wish you a bright future!
be prepared to work your a** off.
My father is a chef. And he loves his job, the different foods, and he expirements alot. He makes a very good living in my opinion. We have a great house, a great family, and a great relationshop. I've asked him this many times before and he agreed that cooking school can be very difficult if you dont know certain things (eg. a summer squash compared to a winter squash).
Some stories i remember him telling me...
Well, when he was in cooking school, he had to make a dish for marking grades. Well, he was making a type of soup, but instead of adding paprika, he added cayenne pepper by mistake. :o
It must have been a pretty good mistake, for the teacher gave him full marks for his dish. So, every sunday is creativity night, where we create something using scratch ingredients, and one time he made me the soup. It was very delicious.
I'd send you the recipe but im not sure if he would allow me without his permission for it was his own creation.
Hope i helped! ;D
-Massie. (The chefs daughter, :P)
Love my job - I have been doing this for about 20 years. When I started out, I didn't make squat for wages but definitely make an excellent living nowadays. I never went to school, I learned in the trenches. Since I was 9 yrs old, I knew I wanted to cook for a living, it is just in my blood. I have never wanted to do anything else. It is very hard work, and if you don't love it and have an absolute passion for it, you will grow to hate it. It can be quite rewarding, especially if you work with some good folks. I wouldn't trade my job and experiences for anything.