Biggest Problem Facing Young Chefs

[David Chenelle]

Think of an apprenticeship as a boot camp for the army. Almost every army in the world demands that EVERYONE goes through the bootcamp, future officers, I-corp, etc, are then later creamed off after completion. It is a common leveler, everyone starts off knowing the same thing, and then it's up to their own ambition to learn more, but if they've gone through the course, you're guaranteed that they know the minimum. My point is that if a Chef finaly gets his CEC/ Red Seal/ ACF/whatever "papers", how many cooks has he improperly trained before he realises that his knowlege on the subject is incomplete and needs more work? Most of these "papers" require the Chef to be in a supervisory postion BEFORE he applies to write them, and now they test him after he's (improperly) trained X amount of cooks?! The damage is done.

Great topics and points folks. Foodpump, I agree wholeheartedly about apprenticeship. I graduated in '85, in San Diego. 3 year course and I graduated as a journeyman cook NOT as a chef. I was far more educated then anybody I had met from the CIA or any culinary schools for that matter. The one exception were people that had practical experience before hand.
Back to the original question. Young Chefs are only a reality in America. They don't exist beyond our borders. The title of Chef is incredibly abused in America. Too many graduates think that they will be a "chef" when they get out of school. At best you are nothing more then a prep cook. Unless you have any practical experience before going to school then all you can hope for is being a prep cook. Secondly the money sucks. Period. My Chef that I apprenticed under told me that you spend twenty years paying your dues to the industry before it starts to pay you. This is how long it takes to become truly established in this industry. Thirdly; our industry changes all of the time. It was changing last week, 1, 5, 10, 20 years ago ad infinitum. Don't think that you are on the brink of making history. You are NOT. You are just another flash in the pan so to speak. There has always been the basics of continental cuisine; 14 methods of cooking, 5 mother sauces, etc. All people have done is to twist them around. Asian cooking also has its disciplines, but once you are familiarized with it you can become efficient with practicing that cuisine. The same goes for others as well.
To all young Chefs all I have to say is this. You need to learn patience. This industry is slowly changing as far as work environment. Office workers learn a lot less then we do but are greatly accomodated for what little effort they put forth. We are in the opposite side of the spectrum. We must continue to learn our whole life and have very little to show for it. If we compared what we need to know as compared to a doctor it would be just about equal. The Doctor only has to know about the human body and it's functions. We must know just about every edible animal on earth. How to prepare it, cook it, serve, sauce, etc. However the Doctor will get paid 4 to 20 times the amount then a Chef. We need to know how to break down carcasses, pull the primal cuts of meat out, cut the secondary out and portion the steaks, filets, etc. I am sure most of you young chefs don't have a clue as to what I am talking about or have never seen and worked with whole animal carcasses as I have or as if I read foodpump right, as he has also. This is a tough business. There is very little glory unless you simply enjoy working with food as I have. That is about the only glory you will have. None or very few will pat you on the back. The only reward you may see is the guests keep coming back for more. Then you know that you have done a good job.
I can keep going on but I have to stop. I'll start to look like this smiley here
David

[josh]

In this work one must be humble.
That's the biggest problem for young chef.
whe are here to serve people, and the bigest payment is a SMILE.
NOT MONEY
NOT TV SHOWS
That comes with the LOVE you have for your work (Food).

[CampChef]

I agree that the most important thing a young culinarian (the term the ACF uses and I agree with) can have is humility. I have worked in this industry for over 20 years, and now teach, and one thing that always burned me was some young gun coming in to MY kitchen and trying to change the worls. Guess what, it's all been done before, you are not inventing anything new. Learn as much as you can, then go somewhere else and learn some more. Even after 20 years, I don't pretend to know a portion of all there is to know, I still seek out other professionals to learn more, as do professionals aks my advice.
As for apprenticeship, the US does have a system of apprenticeship available through the ACF, but most young people do not want to put the time or effort necessary to complete it. A Master Chef in the US must complete the ACF CMC exam, 10 days of very difficult testing and cooking. An earlier post said some other countries have a failure rate of 50%, the CMC has a failure rate of 80%+. There are currently about 58 CMCs in the US, and all are true masters of the craft. There is a huge difference between being an Exec and having CEC on your chest.

[lukeygina]

I'm a very young chef! At 19, I consider myself to be one of the most talented but very raw up and coming chefs. I absolutely have the love for the industry and making great tasting/looking food. For example, New Year's Eve I volunteered to work at my restaurant for a couple hours early for free just so that the night/parties/banquets would go smoothly. My Kitchen Manager and I have not always seen eye to eye though and he often tries to hide my enthusiasm/knowledge from my owner (who absolutely is amazed at what a 19 year old can cook) due for him being scared of me taking his job away. Rightfully so though because I would be worried if I was a 10 year veteran of Diner Jobs and being basically a monkey off of an owner with his own system not really making anything of his own. I however, like to try to make things better/more current and my manager def sees that I have the potential but he always tells me that (if I don't make things taste the same (aka like crap) as his that we won't have consistantcy. He's def right but I keep thinking "Well if the waitstaff/owner/customers all say that my way tastes better, than why not change it?"

My uncle tells me that I should come forward to my owner and manager and say that basically I want the Kitchen Manager/Exec Chef job from my manager but I think that's a little harsh. I am just trying to make enough money to support my fun life/ student loans from the failed attempt at Computer Science degree.

Basically some of you guys/gals have read my posts before and they all have the same theme: I'm young, and love cooking but I want to learn to be great and not just settle for mediocre food.

My times to shine are basically Mon and Tues when I work from 9 AM until 10:30 PM by myself with just a runner and a dishwasher for help. Both are not skilled in any means at cooking and are more harm than help when on the line. My only real fault is that I get really nervous when I get about 8+ orders and when I have a large party 8+ I tend to forget the small little things like side items.

I'm basically asking the pros if they've ever had that jittery/nervous feeling and what they did to get rid of it... I really think it's my only pitfall and if I can eliminate it, I think I could be the best cook in my restaurant... lol although that's out of three: Kitchen Manager, *** Kitch Manager (ME), and the other *** Kitchen Manager but below me who is kinda the same breed as my manager (learns from the system and follows it religiously not bringing any fresh ideas into it.

I don't know if I want to / am able to take on a managerial position because A> I think I'd like to try my hand at college once more
B> My owner doesn't really like change unless he's positive it will work...
C> There's really a pretty limited ability to change the menu... It's kinda an old fashioned italian steakhouse with a large banquet area... We serve usually about 300 per busy night with a 150+ banquet per Fri/Sat night...

[lukeygina]

Oh and one other problem I face is managerial tasks... I'm the youngest in the kitchen and when my manager leaves at his usaul 6/7ish I'm supposed to be in charge. However, the waitstaff and even my runners often do not give me the proper respect/title in often the servers will go to my under cook with problems instead of me (expediator/main cook)

How should I command the respect?

[Mikeb]

I'm a very young chef! At 19, I consider myself to be one of the most talented but very raw up and coming chefs. I absolutely have the love for the industry and making great tasting/looking food. For example, New Year's Eve I volunteered to work at my restaurant for a couple hours early for free just so that the night/parties/banquets would go smoothly. My Kitchen Manager and I have not always seen eye to eye though and he often tries to hide my enthusiasm/knowledge from my owner (who absolutely is amazed at what a 19 year old can cook) due for him being scared of me taking his job away.

Hate to disappoint, but theres alot of talented chefs out there. At 19 years old I was a sous-chef at a golf course, then later that year I was a Chef de Partie in one of the top fine dining restaurants in my city (awards from several magazines and other media for several years now). Now at 20 I'm working in the #1 restaurant (based on awards), and if I can find the money will be competing soon. The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. 'Talent' is nice, but you've got to turn it into knowledge, experience and get results. 'Potential' is never bad, but nothing is worse than wasting it.

My times to shine are basically Mon and Tues when I work from 9 AM until 10:30 PM by myself with just a runner and a dishwasher for help. Both are not skilled in any means at cooking and are more harm than help when on the line. My only real fault is that I get really nervous when I get about 8+ orders and when I have a large party 8+ I tend to forget the small little things like side items.

That could be a problem. You can't get nervous ever, otherwise you start making mistakes. You need to learn to organise, prioritize based on cook times, as well as the whims of the guests (do they need to leave quick, are they here to stay, etc...), and when you're in the @#$%, just put your head down and get the job done. I'm very glad I've worked in busy chain restaurants before fine dining, it helped me alot with my production speed (doing several hundred dinners per hour for five strait will do that to you).

Oh and one other problem I face is managerial tasks... I'm the youngest in the kitchen and when my manager leaves at his usaul 6/7ish I'm supposed to be in charge. However, the waitstaff and even my runners often do not give me the proper respect/title in often the servers will go to my under cook with problems instead of me (expediator/main cook)

You get respect by being the best cook in the kitchen, by being approachable, and by getting things done.

[Laprise]

Hey,

I just published a book about becoming a chef call "My Daughter wants to be a chef! www.thechefinstead.ca/beachef.html

I am not THE expert in this world, but I have 20 years behind me and I can easily say, most young cooks want to become CHEF way to fast... Like any trades, cooking at a top level takes time, and skills. It's not for everybody, and it is sure not supposed to be easy!

To improve our trade, COOKS need to work at 3 to 5 places before being put in charge of a kitchen. In our day, cooks get way too much responsability way to fast. The old day was simplier, you don't get to touch the stove until you have mastered cold food first.

Anyway, that's my opinion...

Laprise

[Culinary Merc]

I pride my self on knowing as much as i can in the restuant bis. im always looking for new things to do. yes i have my stregths in some areas and dont like doing some too, but i know how to do them. Evrey chef should know how everything runs. Although i have never been to cooking school i have met people who have, and most of them dont have half of the teachings that i do. it seems that they are lucky to hold a knife the correct way, or how the foh is needed to make the boh run smoothly. Yes we need to evolve and know and learn as much as possible about every aspect about the bis it will make you better and indespensable assate to any place.

[CampChef]

lukeygina,

How should I command the respect?

In every kitchen I have worked in, I have never "commanded" respect, I have EARNED it. After 25+ years, my name and reputation have earned the respect I am due. I never called myself "chef" until it was bestowed upon me by someine I respected. I still consider myself a cook and a teacher of food, but after many years of hard work, have earned the title "chef".

I agree too many young culinaruians are pushed too fast into upper positions, and never learn to respect those that came before. Look at all the Food Channel cooks (no I cannot call them chefs), they put out classic dishes as if they just invented something new! No respect for the CHEFS who actually did the work. I think every cook should spend some time in the dishroom, as a busser in the dining room, and most assuredly work their way through the kitchen. Then they are ready to suggest possible menu items to a manger for consideration as a weeknight special.

Keep your head and learn from the people you work for!

[Laprise]

yes, you are right,

Cooks that go up too fast, usually lack of proper judgement in harsh situation they can't deliver!!

Amen!

[foodpump]

Totally agree with the statement about earning respect. You can't make someone like you, and you can't make someone respect you. You have to respect them first, reciprocation comes afterwards...

[David Chenelle]

[quote=CampChef]lukeygina,


In every kitchen I have worked in, I have never "commanded" respect, I have EARNED it. After 25+ years, my name and reputation have earned the respect I am due. I never called myself "chef" until it was bestowed upon me by someine I respected. I still consider myself a cook and a teacher of food, but after many years of hard work, have earned the title "chef". QUOTE]

Lukeygina, what Campchef has said here is an absolute truth. This is probably the most concise way of teaching you what respect is about. I too have never called myself "Chef" until it was bestowed on me also. I never insisted that anyone uses the label in addressing me. Rather all of my employees call me chef anyways and sometimes when years have passed I may run into an old employee in which he will introduce his freinds to me and then say to his friends that this man (me) is "my chef". I recieved this respect not because I stamped my feet, throw hissy fits and "command" that I be addressed as this empirical royal Chef; rather I did it by not doing so. I earned it in their eyes and I treated them with respect. I am demanding about the quality and standards that I adhere to but I am not abusive in addressing them in reaching this daily goal. Basicaly, I provided a good example to follow and I genuinely care about my crew. That is the best route to go.
David