Home > Culinary Student Journal > Introduction

Hello everyone... Nicko at Cheftalk has asked me to post journal entries to Cheftalk's "Day in the Life of a Culinary Student" board so that others considering the culinary field can see what I do at school and on the job. A quick background on me....

I'm 30, married, no kids and this is a career change. I will be attending Culinary School in September 2001. I have been accepted to the "Garnish Your Degree" (GYD) program at the Johnson and Wales Denver Campus. For those of you unfamiliar with the GYD program, it is a program for students who already have a bachelor's degree in anything. It's a one year accelerated program and I will earn my AA in Culinary Arts. I already have a Bachelor's degree in Business from Chico State University in Chico, California.

I currently work a cubicle day job and work at a fine dining restaurant 2-4 nights a week. We are starting this post long before my school starts so I can post throughout my restaurant experience now and my transition into school and beyond. To catch you up with what a "newbie" or culinary student can expect, so far I have done the following in my first 6 months....

- Peel, chop, dice, peel, chop, dice - Work pantry (salads, desserts, appetizers, pizzas) - Work "middle" (plating, saucing, presentation) - Work the Grill - Prep and work fundraisers, street fairs, art shows (including grilling 500 filets for a fundraiser, that was cool) - Take coworker to the hospital for stitches - Burnt my hand and thumb - Attempted (unsuccessfully) to cut off my left thumb

Upcoming Posts.... - Weekly posts on what I've experienced - Johnson and Wales Campus visit - Hectic holiday season - Moving to two new restaurants after the new year - Spanish language school in June - Any further trips to the emergency room

Being my first post, I don't want to ramble on. But I want to start with some advice that I got from the Cheftalk bulletin board. GET A COOKING JOB BEFORE YOU GO TO CULINARY SCHOOL! I cannot stress the difference between chopping parsley for 2 hours and watching FoodTV. To me, cooking in a restaurant is NOTHING like cooking for friends, family, entertaining, bbqing, etc. For the most part, it's the same plates night after night. Find a Chef that needs part time work, even offer to work for free. You may not remember every recipe, but you will learn technique. And more importantly, the increase in your confidence will be invaluable. You will also gain speed and efficiency in your movement. One day on the line and you'll find yourself moving faster in everything you do at work and outside of work (I'm typing this faster). I have been at my current restaurant for 6 months and after the New Year will be moving on to 2 high-end places to learn pastries. I have been lucky enough to be paid at my current restaurant, but I won't be at the two new places. But if I were working for big money, I wouldn't be going into the Culinary field to begin with. :)

Thanks for listening and more to come soon...

Logan
Cheftalk id "theloggg"