Recent LCB Grad Needs a Job!

[chezsylvia]

How does one get a job in a restaurant without any previous kitchen experience? I am a recent grad from LCB Cuisine Program. I am mature, responsible, team member, conscientious and a pretty good cook. I am as comfortable in cuisine as I am in patisserie. I have applied for many jobs but no responses. I am not interested in fast food. I want to learn from an executive chef in a reputable restaurant. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you for reading my question

Chezsylvia

[Kraftchef]

Where do you live???

[LogghiB]

If someone has no kitchen experience and they want a BOH position, I am only willing to let them wash dishes and work up. No matter where they went to school.

Didn't your school offer some kind of internship placement program?

Otherwise... yeah. You might get lucky by applying around, but you may just have to start small. Besides, I don't trust a cook who has never been a dishwasher before. Particularly since as a chef if your dishwasher decides to flake out on you some night (and it WILL happen) you can bet that you, as a chef, will have to cover the position. It's not like your broiler guy gets paid enough to worry about that crap.

So I'd just apply for a dishwashing gig. Work up from there. It doesn't take long if you work hard and show up on time every day. If you feel you're too proud to take the lowliest position in a kitchen, then the restaurant business is probably not a good place for you.

[chezsylvia]

Thanks for both replies. I live in Kelowna, BC Canada. I'm not too proud to wash dishes. I know the dishwasher is the most important person in the kitchen.

[Kraftchef]

As a fellow LCB grad myself I can tell you do this:

Goto your externship coordinator and have them help you out remember that if you graduated from LCB in North America you can rely on your school as a resource for employment, forever.

Do you want to stay in BC or go out?

I live in Miami and I can tell you there is plenty of work in Florida for people like you.

you may also want to consider working in Europe or the Caribbean.

Good Luck!

[Headless Chicken]

Workopolis and HCareers are 2 resources I use though I too havn't had much luck and I think its mostly for East coast jobs. I've done door to door, used every connection I've made, went through the job posting board @ my school (GBC who also dosn't have an internship for chef trainers nor helps much on finding a job). I've had a few interviews but no hits.

And like what Logghi said, start low as a dishwasher. I was aiming the same way or as an apprentice so I can apply for my Red Seal.

[100folds]

Kelowna doesn't have a lot of options for you right now, well they do for the tourist season, but no long term. I live in Vancouver and I can tell you of two Chefs that own very respectable restaurants and hire kids out of school. They are both very difficult kitchens with tyrant chefs but they both would teach you a lot about cooking and managing in a restaurant. It would be excellent experience and look very good on a resume. Let me know if you want their names.