Career Changing? Read This.

[NECI-ized]

I too was a career changer, nor am I a spring chicken. After retiring from the military I went back to college full time at New England Culinary Institute in Vermont.
They have great programs both Culinary and Baking and Pastry. I see you read the journal that recomended cooking exp first..If you have it great but I had very limited as well as a good many students here and have no problems keeping up.
I am finishing my B.A in Culinary arts next month and have never regreted the choice I made! Check it out, dont worry if you have little exp, somtimes that can be a benefit as you dont have bad habits to break!

[Chef_Trainee]

I do have one piece of advice for anyone going in to culinary school for the first time. Get a part time job, anywhere from 10-15 hours a week. I went through school without a job. I ended in the top 5, so I am confident in my skills. I also did a lot of volunteer work. But a job will help you with use your skills in a live kitchen, and it will help when it comes time to do you externship.
I wish you all good luck in school, and never give up. And always remember one thing, My chef must love me, cause he is always yelling my name.

[rosieobloom]

Hello everybody,
I was just wondering how to find a good community college for culinary arts in Sacramento. I am a baker with some hot line skills. They have several different cooking schools listed. I would like to tie up any lose ends on the hot line end (such as butter sauces, hollandaise, etc and learn how to cut and prepare meats and fish. Any responses would be appreciated.

[gosselil]

It's nice to see so many corporate refugees opting for this route as well. After 15 years of working in offices, I decided last Fall to leave the desk and the computer screen behind for the kitchen. I had taken a series of "Serious Foodie" classes at a local private professional culinary school in town and fell in love with the craft and discipline. I enrolled for the Professional 15-week Diploma last January and graduated in April. It certainly was an experience of a lifetime. Definitely pushed me to the limits and I'm thrilled I made it through (came in second in my class of 23). Not bad for a 45-year old...

I now work for a catering company and I only hope at this point, to be honest, I will be able to make a living out of it. Jobs are plentiful in my town, but salaries unfortunately are very low in this field.

Anybody have any advice on this subject?

[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!