Take the job and gain some experience. Learn if cooking is really right for you. Plus you'll gain skills and knowledge that will help your culinary school career, if you decide to attend in the future. I am a proponent of culinary schooling, but only if you have realistic expectations of what it can do for you, which you seem to understand. You don't get out of school and become a chef. I like culinary school because it exposes you to a lot in a short period of time. You study all the cooking techniques. You study pastries and baking. Often you learn banquets and even breakfast cooking. Out in the "real" world it would take years and years to gain that much knowledge in so many aspects of the kitchen. I am also a realist and know that school can also give you a skewed vision of the cooking world, so "real world" experience is great also. You will hear people say culinary school is the only way to go, and you'll hear people say that school is bogus and the only real experience is real life experience. I have known great chefs that have taken each path. Personally, I think the best approach is combination of the 2, entering school with some decent experience behind you and then upon graduating, spending a few more years cooking and "paying your dues" before taking any kind of management job. |