[SGMChef]

Greetings all,

As I read the entries from just out of High school to career jumping a “little” after school. One thing applies across the board. There is no replacement for knowledge and experience! The harder you work NOW; the better off you will be in the long term.

rosieobloom, stay late or come in early to learn from someone that is really good at those Butter sauces and learn how they do them to include how to save those sauces if they start to head south on you! Same for seafood and meats, find the teacher in your operation and take advantage. An experienced chef will appreciate you seeking him/her out for advice since it strokes their ego! The more time you invest now the greater your “value” to another employer.

When I was a culinary student and the meat Lab at school was not scheduled to be complete until after I graduated, I went to a local butcher shop to learn. The butcher told me his wife and his daughters ran the front and he and his sons ran the back and he didn’t need any help. I said I would work for free. He said, “OK then!” That very first day I learned to dismantle a side of beef and did a LOT of Beef tenderloin cleaning and portion cutting! At the end of the day he sent me home with about $80 worth of various meat, mostly Tenderloin tips, and I went back each Saturday for a couple of months to my “No pay” job and went home with meat! Working there also exposed me to networking with the various customers and clients. Since it isn’t always what you know, but who you know, this is a valuable commodity! I got a letter of recommendation too!

Lesson- at least consider working at another place or coming in on your own time to get that knowledge in exchange for your time. You can never have too much knowledge or friends and connections in this business.

I know gosselil, you are already concerned about the financial aspects, but the more time and effort you invest now the better off you will be. If you were to go to the local employer that offers the best salaries in town and flatter them by saying, “I am just starting in the business and I heard you are the best restaurant in town. I would love to learn and would work for free one night a week just to see how things SHOULD be done!” That may very well lead to employment there once they see your attitude and hard work!

I got hired on at a Marriott that was not even hiring at the time with this technique. I ended up being the swingman and working wherever they needed me. On any given night I would work the hot line for one of the three restaurants, the other I worked in the Banquet Dept, next night etc. Because of my hard work, I ended up on the corporate team that opened the J.W. Marriott in DC. The corporate Chef, that opens all new Marriott’s, asked me to join his team if I ever wanted to leave the military. This was not because I was some Super Chef with all the knowledge in the world; it was because he saw how much of a motivated hard worker I was! (He was surprised how quickly I did those 1,000 Canapés with attention to detail and quick hands!)

Employers are always looking for hard working, dependable, motivated staff!