Future Chef With A Culinary Degree

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Joliefille

Think cruise ships. They are an awesome way to learn about high volume cooking, speed, planning and developing a familiarity with all kinds of cuisines.

Or, Vegas buffets/megahotels

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by DVSG

No matter what profession you choose it's going to be a rough start. I wish I would have had enough guts to follow my dream of going to culinary school. You're young so live that dream.

This is the other side of the coin... all the well-meaning but unasked for Retirement/Investment Column advice in the world can't pay for the pain people feel when they sell out a passion or a dream for a financially secure career that doesn't make them happy in the long run.

I've long ago lost count of people I know personally who have bailed out out on lucrative careers they came to hate over time, in order to live a more modest life doing something they truly love. And people who didn't take the risks they wanted to in their 20s, who then wind up acting out on those risks in their 50s, are so common they've become a cultural cliche. "Mid-life regret," and "mid-life crisis" are real, and they're more common than they probably ought to be, sometimes spiralling down into depression and substance abuse. And according to NIOSH and other occupational health studies, a number of the most lucrative careers, such as Physicians, Dentists, Lawyers, Financial workers, Pharmacists, and Real Estate Salespeople are associated with suicide rates far above the norm. Unfortunately I knew a couple of those folks too.

So it's wise to balance the extremes of opinion when considering what to do with your life, no matter what your age might be. One can be too reckless, but one can also be too careful. Taking some time in your teens and twenties to mess around with different things to see what you learn about yourself and what you really like doing can be the best investment you make in your life.

Originally Posted by Joliefille

Think cruise ships. They are an awesome way to learn about high volume cooking, speed, planning and developing a familiarity with all kinds of cuisines. I took an incredible
Course from a chef in Umbria who apprenticed on cruise ships in Hawaii.

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Or, Vegas buffets/megahotels

I think the suggestions to try working in a cruise ship kitchen, or in a busy hotel or resort are excellent, because you'll get a quick education in how to work in a production kitchen, as well as learning what it will really be like earning your living that way. I think a basic three month culinary school course to begin with would be a good setup for finding an entry level job like these, and many Community Colleges offer such programs at fairly low cost. But keep in mind that the very high dropout rate at the expensive culinary schools shows how many people find out the hard way that cooking professionally is not what they thought it would be. So it seems to me like you're better off getting some experience under your belt, and confirming that your passion for cooking is enduring before you commit yourself to the high cost of a Culinary Institute or Cordon Bleu type education.

Good luck!