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Ok I am only 16 and a wannabe Chef so far lol

998 views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  dc sunshine 
#1 ·
:look: There is one problem IDK where to start? Am I too young to start doing something that gives me experience? I help my family cook at home but I think the foods we cook are our own Unique ways that are not the Authentic way..... For example the way we cook tacos is with ground turkey and lettuce and tomatoes and cheese and onions on a tortilla... We do not cook them the Authentic way you know? Even though I think I can do the authentic way if I tried :lips:.... Anyways I do not know about all spices and herbs, I don't know how to use a knife without cutting myself on accident.... I usually just use a cheese grader and stir foods and open cans in my kitchen lol.... I what can I do to boost my Chef intelligence before Culinary School? Oh and BTW I watch Food Networks shows but they are not working in a professional kitchen they are working from their homes so the only thing I see as the professional kitchen is ****'s Kitchen lol.....


Please help me I am a diamond in the rough....:eek:
 
#3 ·
Thanks allot abefroman I just watched them :) I gotta watch the knife one a little bit more before I move on though because I gotta get it down packed :) But the Beef wellington I am so glad you showed me because I always wanted to know what that was and how it was made lol....
 
#4 ·
Some videos are good, but the most important thing is expierience. Try to get a job at a local restaurant, even if its just doing dishes or bussing tables. This will give you a feel for what a restaurant is like. I also reccomend you read Kitchen Confidental by Anthony Bourdain.
 
#6 ·
Get a job at a real restaurant. Not Mc D's or taco bell. I almost dont even want to say this but, go to a place that has a buffet and not a pizza place. Start off bussing tables, washing dishes, sweeping and mopping but also ask questions when you can and just watch the cooks and prep people do their jobs. In the mean time pratice your knife skills at home since most places wont let you touch a knife until your 18. If you want to be a chef thats great, just remember it takes patience hard work and a few stiches in the fingers, but its a great feeling when a person refers to you as Chef. I wish you the best of luck becomming a Chef. Remember learn,learn,learn as much as you can.
 
#7 ·
Hi CD and welcome in :)

Practice practice and more practice. Help out with food preparation at home when ever you can - practice using knives on veg and fruit wherever you can. You've come to the right place if you need info and advice, people here are more than willing to help. Also, you can search the threads and archives here for many things which you may need info on. But as with most things in life, getting hands on experience is the best way for your hands to learn the task.

Its great to see a young person with such a passion to get moving into cooking. My love of cooking (I don't do it for a job any longer) started with a part time job at your age as dishwasher in a kitchen, and I was fascinated by the hustle & bustle & routine of the pro kitchen. I did real drudge work. Cleaning out the fat traps, cleaning the hot plate at the end of service (ouch!), sweeping the floor, etc etc - kitchen donkey :) But what it did give me was a love of the routine and discipline and the love of how the heck the chefs and cooks produce what they do in the time frame.

I went from there to simple things, veg and salad prep, stock taking, stock rotation, breading schnitzels for big functions, things like that. Repetetive yes, but its amazing what you pick up just from being there, listening, asking people about things you don't know (but NOT when they are busy - they don't like it and haven't got the time, you gotta ask in a slow moment). It will grow you up more quickly than you can imagine.

Eventually after a few months I was pretty much in charge of the salads and cheese and fruit plates, soups (it was in a university cafeteria for the lecturer's), and got to cook the bosses' dinner each night. Now that was easy, he ate the same thing every day - T-bone and tossed salad. Silly man, no imagination :) My chef was a tiny feisty Italian lady and I miss her - we got on famously. Her sous chef was a big gentle man who would create magic with what seemed no effort. And the other kitchen hands worked well together as a team - when all the customers were gone we'd crank the radio up and clean down. Exhausting days but great fun.

So, if its really what you want, to cook, pursue it. Practice, read, ask questions. It can take you anywhere in the world once you know what you are doing, Explore the possibilities and use your imagination - but be patient, it doesn't happen overnight.

DC
 
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