Hi everyone

[BugBoy]

Hi everyone,

My name is Adriano. I am a Brazilian student at the University of Georgia; I study insects. Yes, I have eaten some bug! Last time it was at my department’s end of year party. I baked some mealworms with brown sugar…nothing fancy, pretty tasty though; especially if you feed them apples or oat meal for a couple of days.

Anyways, the reason I joined the forum is because I need some help and I thing this is the right place. Here is my conundrum: I am at the middle of my PhD. I have a good scholarship, good publicationsn etc. I would say I am doing pretty well. But I am not happy. I don’t believe in what I do anymore. I am still pretty enthusiastic about my science but I just don’t love doing it. Cooking is my passion. I love being in the kitchen and I want that it to be my career. I have been thinking about dropping my PhD and joining a culinary arts program. I fell I am wasting my time and my talent. Yes, I do believe a have a lot of talent for cooking!!!

The problem is that I cannot afford a cooking school. I don’t think I can get a scholarship since I have no experience. I know you can work part-time for some schools, but this is not a deal offered to non-US citizen. I don’t see how I can make a living, pay for my studies and not being illegal in US. I really hope someone can help me with some ideas. Maybe someone that went through a similar situation before. I do apologize in case you fell this is not appropriated for this forum.

[Mezzaluna]

Hello Adriano and welcome to Chef Talk.

We hope you enjoy browsing the site and meeting people from all over the world. I would recommend you begin your inquiry here in two ways: first, try using the search button and the archives to locate conversations that may relate to your question. Second, post questions about career change and culinary education in the Culinary Schools/Culinary Students forum.

Visit often to learn and share. We'll look forward to your posts!
Regards,
Mezzaluna