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Cooking careers

post #1 of 6
8/10/07 at 1:21am
Thread Starter 
Hi Guys,
just a quick question. I have been working in a number of jobs since I left school for example clothing stores, coffee shops etc. Right now Im working for Starbucks Coffee Co. (you may have heard of them hehe) been there almost 3 years so I have great custumer service along with other things like heath and safety & firstaid etc...which i think i could bring with me to become a chef?? However sometimes i get doubts in my mind that maybe 21 is too old to become a great chef?

What do you guys think?

James
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post #2 of 6
8/10/07 at 4:34am

Well,it's "customer service",not "custumer".:rolleyes:

At 21 with no previous experience and just liking to cook will get you a sous chef position in about 5 to 10 years.Say you go to school;only 5% of grads are still cooking professionally 5 years after graduation,so keep in mind that you CAN learn,but it is a select few who can make a career out of this.It's great to follow a dream,but can you realistically do it?

I love Law and Order SVU,but it doesn't mean I'd be a good detective,you know?

check out the Culinary School boards on this site and you'll get a lot of your questions answered.

And it depends on your definition of what a "great chef" is.To me,a great chef is CMC Lawrence McFadden,Alain Ducasse,Joel Antunes and people like that are rare talents in the industry and they were at it for many years before they got to that level of expertise.

Acquiring skills and expertise does not happen overnight and it's a long,hard road ahead of you in this industry.
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post #3 of 6
8/10/07 at 6:27am
Acquiring skills and expertise does not happen overnight and it's a long,hard road ahead of you in this industry.[/quote]

This is a very true statement.
I do not think 21 is to late to start a career. I personally think that if you are thinking about this real seriously you might want to get a restaurant job like yesterday. Plan on late nights, hard work, and not getting to many holidays. We always eat lunch for holidays so I can be there and I usually show up in work clothes. I think it is a great career and if you want to try it go for it but make sure "make sure" you work in a real restuarant before you spend any money on school. Good luck and just go with the flow if you have it, it will come too you.
Bigsimp:smoking:
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post #4 of 6
8/10/07 at 11:37am
I got into the industry when I was 22 (and admittedly it's only 2 years later), but personally I don't think it's too late. Just be prepared to do some catching up... besides, aiming for being sous or chef at 30 is certainly not too old or late... you'll have many years ahead of you.
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post #5 of 6
8/10/07 at 1:32pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all your thoughts guys. I am currently looking to get a job in a restuarant however I am alos starting my professional chef GNVQ level 2 programme in September. What do you think is the best thing to do first? Start the course and see how I get on?

Also what type of restuarant should I be looking at to work in?

Thanks James
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post #6 of 6
8/10/07 at 5:25pm
One of my Chef Instructors did not start cooking until he was 28

Since then he has held such nice titles as Sous Chef @ Tru and Executive Sous Chef @ Brasseire Jo... and now he teaches restaurant practicals at a LCB school.

You only have as much time as you give yourself.
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