Johnson and Wales Denver

[Egirl2214]

What are the pro's/ cons I think the school looks great for me....

location
Culinary Aspects
Access Program

I there anyone who goes to the school/ knows the school well that can give me some insight.

Thanks

[SGMChef]

Hi e-girl,
I visited the Denver Campus last year and found the staff very motivated and knowledgeable. I had a group of twelve students there for a one-week program, as a reward for their good work. I got the nickel tour and they appear to have a very good program. My cooks were thrilled with the information and program we had arranged for them. Several of my folks gushed that it was the “best experience of my life”! Well, I don’t know about all that, but all the instructors were eager to share their knowledge and even allowed them to attend classes that we had not paid for, like a pastry lab, and with their French sommelier for wine discussions. No school is perfect but you could do much worse than this school. A lot of how things go at a school depends on how much knowledge you already have and how motivated you are to hit the books and practice your techniques.
Hopefully, someone that attends classes there will speak up. You should also plan for a visit and address the area that are most important to you.
SGMChef

[Egirl2214]

Thanks SGMChef

I think I am going to visit in feb. Do you know anything about their Access program?

[SGMChef]

Hi e-girl,

After visiting their Website, I found out what you are talking about! Yes, it sounds like a great entrance into food service! To attend J&W as a high school student will enhance your learning curve, so to speak. If you can get credit toward high school graduation, that is a bigger plus. You should discuss this with your guidance counselor. The sooner you start learning basic food service techniques, the better off you will be down the road. If you don’t already work part-time at a restaurant, I would highly recommend that also.

My advice is to go for it!

[Egirl2214]

Thanks,

I am a sophomore, and I would be going to J&W my Senior year with all of my HS credits done (I’m home schooled), I am thinking that will give me more time to focus on my culinary skills rather than my senior year in HS. I am also thinking about working at an Italian restaurant...but it would have to be in the summer, do you recommend working there during the school year, is there a plus. I work with a caterer 1-1/2-2 weeks every year for the past 3 or 4.

[SGMChef]

Hi e-girl,

My advice is to get as much diverse experience as possible at this point in your life. The plus of working at the Italian Restaurant (if it is a good one!) is learning about Italian Cuisine from someone knowledgeable in that specific area. Italian cuisine, like most countries, is similar to America in the sense that people from the North, South and in between all use different styles, ingredients and techniques in putting together “Italian Food“. The more varied your experience, the more likely you are to find that niche that really trips your trigger! You may end up the Spumoni Queen of America!

I worked at various Restaurants for five years before I went to school. I worked in a Bakery full-time when I put myself through Cooking School. I went in at midnight, made a delivery on my way to classes at 7AM and got out of school at 3 PM. Having first hand knowledge about what a restaurant is REALLY like will better prepare you to make full use of your instructors experience. I almost felt sorry for my fellow students that were going to class having never actually worked in a restaurant. Telling someone what the dinner rush is like is totally different from experiencing it first hand! Trying to prepare your part of the menu as fast as you can, as well as you can, for a couple of hours straight gives you a different perspective on what instructors are teaching you in a “laid back” classroom environment.

Even if you only work somewhere one day a week, you can gain valuable insight and knowledge. It is never too early to get some knowledge and experience in a kitchen or another food establishment. I have done very well for myself and I believe that working hard at your age is like an investment in your future, whatever that may be. I worked a local butcher shop one day a week, for FREE, because the meat cutting Lab at school would not be finished before I graduated. It was a family business with the Father and sons cutting and the wife and daughters running the front counter. They didn’t need any help, and were not hiring, but let me learn and ended up paying me with Steaks anyway because they felt guilty for all my free hard work. My parents were never happier with any of my jobs!

Whatever your future, it will be based on your knowledge and accumulated experience. You may have the steady hand required to be a cake decorator. Until you pick up a pastry bag and do a little practice you’ll never know. There are worse jobs than being a Pastry Chef! Wedding cakes can bring in some pretty good money!

GOOD LUCK and go get'em!

[karen90]

Hi! i too am homeschooled, and looking forward to culinary school. i don't have any info on johnson and whales or anything, i'm sorry..but, it's just nice to see someone else my age here! i'm going to be going to the Ct Culinary Insitutue in fall of 2008..and the cool thing is, they're made some sort of agreement in which i can go to Johnson and Whales to get a bachelors degree after only a year and two months!!!!!!! so WOW!!! i'm pretty excited about all of this!!!=) good luck to you!!!!

[Egirl2214]

SGMChef--

Thank you so much for the advice, I was told that I could work at the restaurant and get some tips in the kitchen but I was debating whether or not to take the offer because I would only be able to work once a week, maybe less some months. But when you said
"Even if you only work somewhere one day a week, you can gain valuable insight and knowledge."

I figured that maybe I should. THANKS you seem to have a lot of knowledge about all of this.


karen90

Congrats on Ct Culinary Institute, a year and 2 months that is wonderful!

Have fun!

[Egirl2214]

Also...

Would it help to get letters of recommendation by people and chefs that I know or is that not useful in the culinary universe.

[SGMChef]

Hey Egirl,

Letters of recommendation are always great to have, especially during the early years of your professional development. They document your work experience and even just your work ethics to future employers. Things like “a good, hard worker“, “hated to see her go” or “I would hire her back anytime” are great indicators to future employers. I would definitely get a letter from the caterer that you have been working for.

Part of filling out a job application is listing your work history. If you can produce letters documenting your job performance that gives you great credibility to the person doing the interview. Due to your current age, this won’t be an issue for a while. But when you are twenty-something, gaps in your job history can send up red flags to potential employers. It is especially dangerous are if you leave an employer on bad terms, even if your boss is a JERK, during an interview talking about this can give the impression that maybe the problem wasn’t with the boss, it may be that you could be a difficult employee. *Don’t ever use negative terms to describe past employers, instead say things like “I learned all I could from that operation and decided to find another place to learn from”.

Interview tip- the person doing the interview wants to know what you have to offer to their operation. Even if all you have to offer are enthusiasm and a willingness to do any job task, it could be enough to get hired. Interviewers primary focus is finding someone that can do the job and to evaluate your personality. Even if a person lacks the experience, your attitude can still land the job if you are a ”positive” type person.

Good Luck!

[Egirl2214]

Thanks I will remember that