Your advice is urgently needed!

Hello all,

I spoke to the chef owner one of the city's finer restaurants today to ask about getting some part time work since I have currently no restaurant experience and great big holes in my school schedule.

He told me there are rarely any women in his kitchen, that there's a lot of swearing/ yelling going on etc.. None of this bothers me; I used to be a broker. He just wanted to make sure I understood the perils of the job.

He then invited me to come in tomorrow just to see how things are done and to see if I'd still be interested.

What are some of the things I should look out for? A day in the kitchen won't really tell me if I'll be able to rotate tasks much and be exposed to everything.. But what about the rest? I'm affraid that because this is so new to me, I might discount certain problems now and regret it later. If you are a chef or have worked in a kitchen, please advise!

Thanks.

One more thing: I haven't talkled about an apprenticeship with this chef yet, but do you think it is better to do an apprenticeship in a hotel or in an up-scale restaurant? Should I bother getting my papers at all? My long term objective (not carved in stone) is to get into catering.

OK, there is so much to learn, so all I can say is just be open to trying new things and don't be afraid to say what you have to say, and also I'll pass on the advice I was given when I started cooking, "they'll teach you the job, and if you don't understand things don't be afraid to ask questions". In regards to getting your papers, I don't know whether or not High end or Hotel is the way to go, I am just finishing my apprenticeship in BC, and I was able to apprentice at a Truck Stop, but most importantly go for your papers, because atleast then you will have a trade to rely on.

Thanks CoolJ. Glad to get some feedback before my big day tomorrow (I mean today).

What about chefs that don't have their papers? do they not get the good jobs? do they make less money? I plan to get mine but I'm just curious.

Well he want's to see where you are in your skills first of all.that's what the invitation is for.next if you make a mistake he'll let you know.If you work hard others in the kitchen should help you.If catering is your deal hotel work might be better you'll have more banquets more along the catering lines Also believe it or don't he might expect since your a student that you work for free it'called a staggier (not sure of the spelling).I dod it alot of people do it