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post #1 of 6
4/7/07 at 2:46pm
Thread Starter 
HOW MANY YRS DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME AN EXECUTIVE CHEF?
I REALLY NEED TO KNOW BEFOR I GET IN TO A CULINARY ART SCHOOL:eek:
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post #2 of 6
4/7/07 at 3:04pm
Garr, my internet acted up and my nice previous message was lost.

Pretty much, theres no set time limit for becoming an executive chef. This pretty much lies on your determination and dedication to your craft. It will not be an easy path.

Also, the title of Executive Chef will differ from place to place. An Executive Chef of one establishment might only be capable of performing Sous Chef duties at another establishment.
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post #3 of 6
4/7/07 at 4:20pm
Could be 5 years, 7 years, 10 years, 15 years, .... maybe never.

Graduating from a school won't make you a chef, it won't even make you a great cook. Exactly what you get out of the school depends on what you put into it, in AND out of class.

In school, you will only learn most of the basics. If and how long it takes to become a chef depends on how much you want it, how much you learn, and if you can find the opportunity. You have to learn to walk before you can increase speed and eventually start running. Its a long grueling process and upon completion of school, you will be starting at the bottom of the barrel, with all the graduates from all over the map.

I strongly recommend you read "Becoming a Chef" by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

http://www.becomingachef.com/
"To be a good chef all you got to do is lots of little things well" -Marco Pierre

"As far as cuisine is concerned, one must read everything, see everything, hear everything, try everything, observe everything, in order to retain in the end, just a little bit." -Fernand Point
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post #4 of 6
4/7/07 at 4:33pm
Some never make it to that level. It is a combination of training, personal skill, networking, networking, networking, & luck.:chef:
Preparing a fine meal with quality ingredients is the most practical way we show our love. How we plate shows the depth of our caring.
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post #5 of 6
4/8/07 at 12:25am
The Making of a Chef is also a good read (Michael Ruhman I believe).
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post #6 of 6
4/8/07 at 4:53pm
A few years ago, we had a member here who was hired as an exec right after graduation from CIA. Within a few months he had left that job for another. Not long after that, it looked from his posts as though he had left the kitchen entirely and gone into beekeeping. What went wrong? Probably that he didn't have the skills you need to be an exec: the skills in management, purchasing (both of those we knew for sure from his posts), plumbing, HVAC, psychology, human resources, and on and on.

Tina, if you are basing your decision to go to school on a question like that, maybe you shouldn't go into the foodservice industry. Because as others have already said, it takes a lot to become an exec, and most people, even grads of the top schools in the country, never make it. People make it to that level (and stay there) because they are willing to learn, and learn more, and learn even more -- including a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with cooking. And I even know some folks who were execs but are not any longer, and are fine with that just so long as they are still in a kitchen.

And if you're asking because you want to make the big bucks: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
"Notorious stickler" -- The New York Times, January 4, 2004
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