8.4.2008: 3 weeks until second semester (long post)

Alright, so summer has been interesting to say the least. I attempted to get externships and/or cooking jobs within independent restaurants with little success. From the advice I had received on this board, and from other sources (books, internet, personal experiences, etc.) I had decided that I wanted to apply only with independent restaurants where the owner had a true hands-on impact on the business--i.e. no corporate chains. I am not ripping on corporate chain restaurants in the least. I just wanted to try my hardest to head in a certain direction even if it meant less money.

So, back at the end of March and in early April, I started sending out resumes, cover letters, and even a few portfolios of the dishes that I prepared from class. And then nothing. I followed up with a few restaurants...and then, nothing.

I kept searching through classifieds, craigslist, internet with only minimal success. I even sent my info to long shot restaurants...Michelin rated places. Nothing.

Days turned into weeks, and then months. Restaurants that I would stop by and personally visit would have one of two reactions to my appearance. The first group would ask me, "What? Why are you here? What do you want to be in a kitchen for? What? Why" They couldn't understand my desire to change careers....and therefore, I RARELY got past the hostess to speak with the chef or ANY kitchen crew.

The second group was less interesting. They would merely say "Oh we are ALWAYS accepting applications. Just fill this application out and I will be sure to give it to the chef."

Needless to say, nothing was promising.

Then, after a couple of months passed, I was confronted with the dreaded, DREADED debate...do I stick with the path that I was currently on (culinary school and jobs) and hope that I would find employment? Or do I bite the bullet, and slinker back into legal work and at least be getting a paycheck? If I were to go back, I knew that the chances of having the free time available to try getting a secondary cooking job or continue to take classes would not exist. I struggled with it for weeks.

Then one day, I decided why not look for jobs back in my home state of California? Technically, there really was nothing holding me in Nevada any longer and all my family was there. I was out of school, out of work, and there were always dozens of listings for jobs in CA every time I researched.

So.....I started getting excited about finally moving back to CA. I started making plans for CA. I didn't limit myself to only cooking jobs, but looked at everything in the hopes that I would find a good fit for me to make the move back. From there I could get myself established, get a consistent schedule, and then take culinary classes again or at least get a cooking position.

But of course Murphy's law kicks in. The VERY FIRST DAY that I start a 10 day job searching trip in Southern CA...in fact, the very first hour that I was driving to drop resumes, I get a phone call from a really good restaurant here in Vegas. I had sent my info to the main chef and he had forwarded my info to his sous. The chef also sent me a really encouraging letter. So I set up an appointment for about two weeks later when I got back in town.

And of course, I was a little bummed because my excitedness and dream of moving back to CA were now somewhat in disarray. A new debate was formed....keep looking in CA or go balls-out for a good restaurant job in Vegas?
I figured an interview wouldn't hurt any of my CA plans.

I was a little nervous the day of the interview, and the cheftalk forum helped me figure out what to wear--I settled for a shirt, tie, slacks and dress coat. When I arrived at the restaurant, the hostess gave me a fully loaded application and said that the sous would be with me in a little while. What I mean by a fully loaded application is one that wants an employment history for the past 10 years; residences for the past 7 years; references and their current jobs and addresses, etc. Fortunately, I had almost all of that information in my planner, less a phone number or two.

When the sous came out, we hit it off really well. He liked what I had to say, my background, and he didn't ask me, "What??? What are you doing here?" he understood my passion and desire to get into the industry. He liked that I understood the rigid rules that his particular kitchen follows, and that I was willing to start from the bottom up. We chatted for at least 30 minutes. By the end, he said that he liked me and that I would be a good fit, and that he definitely wanted to set up a second interview with me in a couple of days--I assumed he meant with the executive chef--and he would call me in a day or two.

A day or two later...no call. I called on the third day, and he was out. I called on the fourth day and through another crew member (each call prior, I had spoken with him personally) he told me that he had to cancel my appointment for that day (we weren't set for an appointment on a specific day...so I wasn't sure if he meant he was permanently canceling the interview, or if mistakenly believed that we had an interview scheduled for that day. In any matter, the crew member I was talking to couldn't give me any more information.

So, a little disappointed, I decided to give him a week or two more to call me. And if he didn't, I would send a thank you card to him and to the head chef thanking them for their time...and then move on with more job searching....needless to say, I ended up sending thank you notes. and I was now back at square one.

Now for the REAL kicker...after my job search trip to CA....MY VERY FIRST DAY BACK FROM THAT TRIP....THE VERY FIRST MORNING BACK IN NEVADA....I get a phone call precisely at 8am. It was my old judge wanting to know if I was available for work. I had not interviewed with the restaurant yet...and money was getting tight.

But I didn't want to lose the opportunity of getting into this restaurant that I wanted. So I asked if I could think about it for a couple of day (I admitted to the executive assistant that I was interviewing and would know the outcome in a couple of days.) So I was given until the day after my restaurant interview to give them an answer. Because the interview had gone so well, and because I was told I would be definitely be back for a second interview, I decided that I better turn down the position (and all that green money). I was worried that things could still fall through the cracks, but I needed to see this particular job interview through to the end.

So, of course, when I sent out those thank-you cards...it was more than a realization of not landing the kitchen job, but it was also the sad realization that I turned down a second job that was all mine if I wanted it. I don't regret the decision...it was just a hard pill to swallow, you know? This was all about a month ago when this ended.

Now for one last ray of hope...back in April, there was a posting on Craigslist with another really good restaurant in town. I sent my info via email, and within an hour, I got a phone call from the Sous. He thanked me for my info and like what he saw. But he admitted that the job posting were for positions that wouldn't open up until September at earliest. He then said that he would be calling me at the end of July to let me know the status of everything and their availability.

Well, with this past week being the end of July...and with another CA roadtrip scheduled...I decided to give this sous a call just to see the status. He thanked me profusely for calling because things were so crazy within the restaurant that he needed the reminder to call back certain of us applicants.

He couldn't divulge what was going on within his restaurant because the owner/chef was to make a big announcement this week to his crew about some positive changes in his restaurants. So the sous did share, however, that depending on the crew's reaction...that would determine when exactly I would start.

We talked about lots of different food topics for over an hour. he is really passionate about food, the industry, and especially about his chef--a classically trained chef from France who is really liked in town. It was a good conversation. He invited me to the restaurant's family meal and said that as far as he was concerned, I was on his team. It is now just a matter of figuring out logistics with his restaurant's changes and figuring out when I would start--which, he said, could be between mid-August through mid October at latest.

I really REALLY like this place and am more than willing to wait until December for even the lowest job at this restaurant. So for now...there is no further debate about what to do...the momentum is with me for staying here in LV and developing my cooking skills. CA is sadly left along the wayside for now...but for this particular job, it will be worth it.

Now, if we can just financially survive until I start, then things will be fine. My wife is the greatest for letting me make this change and pursue this dream.

Now...I am only left with one lingering problem...this sous is describing the job as "cooking school where I am getting paid." It sounds very much like a paid apprenticeship under the Head Chef's direction--long hours, grunt work, a few years of menial tasks...the works! But since I don't have a starting date yet, I feel like even this "sure thing" can fall through the cracks. So in the meantime, I will start my culinary classes at the end of August and hopefully get some tuition money back if I really do start with this restaurant and need to drop classes for the sake of this job.

yes, it will be a loss of money if I need to drop partway into the semester, but to train under this chef is very exciting and I feel that I will gain a lot from the experience.