One of my sons (Jason) who is 15 says that when he turns 16 he would like to start working in a restaurant and work towards becoming a chef. After many years in the business I know how tough the business can be, and consequently I am having a tough time encouraging him on in decision. How do others feel about their children going on to take their place in the kitchen? Good or bad?

You are definatley right about the hard work but there are more rewards to the biz than just setting your sights at the executive chef level . Why not learn it all?
I started in this biz as a busboy / dishwasher and I havent stopped progressing .
All I can say is that there is a big need for experienced people in the food and beverage industry at all levels . I would let my child do whatever he or she wants no matter what there chosen field of endeaver .
good luck and keep cooking !

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[youla]

MY SON HAS BEEN COOKING SINCE HE WAS SIX,...NO KIDDING...HE LOVES IT!! HE HAD HIS OWN KNIFE A SMALL PARING KNIFE AND I CAME HOME ONE DAY TO FIND HIM WITH THE CHEF'S KNIFE IN HAND PREPARING DINNER!!! HE TOLD ME HE THOUGHT OF AN IDEA AND WAS TRYING IT OUT!!!MY GOD I THOUGHT IF MY APPRENTICES COULD SEE THIS! HE HAS SUCH A PASSION FOR FOOD AND NO FEAR OR INHIBITIONS OF DOING THE WRONG THING BECAUSE HE EXPERIMENTS ALL THE TIME. HE IS 12 NOW AND IT STILL CONTINUES..HE WILL TELL ME WHEN HE IS MAKING DINNER AND I WILL SIT BACK AND PERHAPS OFFER ADVICE LIKE TURN THE HEAT UP OR DOWN,BUT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO TELL HIM HOW TO DO ANYTHING. I DO A LOT OF VEGETABLE CARVING FOR BUFFET WORK AND SOMETIMES END UP BRING IT HOME TO DO...ONE DAY HE CARVED ME 'ELVIS' OUT OF A CARROT!...HE JUST AMAZES ME BUT I THINK HE IS RIGHT IN SAYING DONT TELL ME HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY I WANT TO EXPERIMENT. THE OTHER THING I DO WITH HIM IS TAKE HIM GROCERY SHOPPING SO HE CAN CHOOSE INGREDIENTS AND SEE WHAT IS AVAILABLE . NY CHEF SAYS HE CAN START WORK STRAIGHT AWAY BUT THE INSURANCE WONT COVER HIM COS OF HIS AGE....KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HIM I THINK HE IS A CHEF OF THE FUTURE!!!SAYS A PROUD MUM!

I owned a Chip Wagon for three summers and had my 16 yr old Daughter working with me, she hates the food buz now. and funny thing she can not rember how to cook herself a burger after fliping thousands!

[Nick.Shu]

congrats youla.

One thing you really must remember, sometimes once the food industry gets you, its very hard to escape.

[m brown]

my two eldest boys want to become ice cream men. they are 7 and 5. pretty cool, huh?

[theloggg]

m brown,

Are their names Ben & Jerry?

[youla]

thanks for the congats Nickshu,,,but not to me give to my son for his enthusiasm...yes I know about the food industry I was brought up amongst chefs...my father, his father, his his father and I got out of the business for a while but was always drawn to it. I always impress on my son the manual part of the work and he knows about the long hours so he is fully informed but I do impress on him to choose a back up career and to study for one as I did, cos you change, life changes and what you love doing as a 10 year old may not be the case in another 10 years...especially when you are doing it for a 14 hour job and it is not just a relaxing hobby!

[shroomgirl]

There are so many food venues~ teaching, writing, catering, selling, brokering,food styling (big bucks)....I'd see if you can't direct him into a school that will show him alot more options than just the stove. Or a mentoring program.
After my stint in college at a 80 seat French restaurant I decided that picking up full stock pots will destroy my body.
There are so many options to restauranting too, small go food shops, personal cheffing. I guess I'd say facilitate the directions you feel his strengths lie.....
There's nothing like hands-on experience to know if it's for you.

good`luck
shroomgirl