Becoming a chef

[Orangesanlemons]

Cheers mush. I meant the phrase "gastropub" itself; not having a pop at anyone for using the abbreviated version!

"Gastropub", "Fine dining pub", they all sound crap really. It's a shame no-one can think of less cringeworthy alternative...

 

[Streathamite]

"foodie pub", "cuisine pub" "diner pub"...
oh shit I ain't helping here, am I?

 

[Orangesanlemons]

Expensive pub?

 

[Streathamite]

I think there's even less chance my big bro will plump for that one!

 

[D]

I have a friend who went to a local culinary academy (there are a couple of well respected ones in San Francisco). He learned some useful stuff, dropped out, and became a baker. Now he makes bread and pastries for a local, cooperatively owned bakery. Another friend of mine went to culinary school after we finished university and she's a sous chef at a very famous restaurant. She absolutely hated cooking school, but it helped her to get some great "externships" at famous restaurants.

 

[Firky]

Read Orwell's 'down and out in paris' and in particular, hotel x... put me right off working in a kitchen It is dated now, but I imagine some of it still rings very true.

It is actually on onlinehere

 

[Funky_monks]

I worked as a commis-chef/ KP in a small hotel when I was a lad (16-19).

For the last three of those years, I worked as a short-order cook in a greasy spoon too (both were part time college things).

It kindled my love for cooking, but also made me realise that if I cooked for a living it would just crush any joy I got from cooking.


I think the only way I could enjoy it on a commercial level was if I had to do 10 covers or so a night, but then it'd be pointless, wouldn't it?

So, er........I'd reccomend you tried teaching instead.

 

[Xanadu]

Argh! Seem to be going through 3 month cycles of wondering whether to quit it all and become a chef.

At the moment, the two stumbling blocks seem to be the long hours and the low pay. I find it hard to cope without a decent sleep at least most nights in the week, and being on half my current salary isn't particularly appealing... but it'd be sooooooooooo much more rewarding than a career in IT!

 

[lyra_k]

My brother in law in a sous chef in a posh hotel (probably considered quite naff in the cheffing world - I don't know), he's in his late 30s and got there by working his way up, but it tooks years - he has no formal training.

Xan - fwiw I've always thought you'd make a great chef from your posts in the burbs.

 

[Xanadu]

Thankyou You'll be known in my head as "the lovely lyra" forever more. And that whether you like it or not

I made a list of reasons to stay in IT or become a chef while I was at work today:

Stay in IT
pro
earn lots of money
only working 9 to 6/can have social life
relatively easy work
get to stay renting lovely room in london
get to travel

con
boring work/questioning my existance constantly
office politics
embarassed about job
possibility of ending in a dead-end
travelling to crap places


go become a chef
pro
can pay a huge amount if it goes well
enjoyable job
pride in work
mixing with different people
doing something I'm could excel at

con
earn half the amount
years before earning decent wage
hard work
long hours/no social life for ages (except with colleagues)
have to move back home for a while

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

hummmm i think perhaps don't ditch in IT without testing the water

perhaps see if you can wrangle a nice long holiday and then use that to test out the bottom rung of the ladder in the kitchen ..... if it catches you passion you can ditch the IT job if it sucks major balls you may have lostr a holiday but atleast not a job