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Ok so culinary school is almost done, now what?

post #1 of 5
3/20/10 at 10:36am
Thread Starter 
Ok
So i am now two months away from finishing culinary school. And i just cant think of what to do now...
The answer is obvious, i want to make food that taste good and be creative. Simple? No.

Where to start? Do i want to look for a restaurant that focuses on international/regional/modern cousine?
All is intresting choices. Do i want to try my luck going abroad to start at an entry level in a high class kitchen?
Or should i stay put and perhaps not have the same oppertunities as i would in a more larger city (i live in sweden halfbig town).
Should i try to switch restaurants alot? Some cheifs that i have meet have told me that is the best thing to do. At the same time in my own experience those are the ones that often do not get further than being "hired geeks". Never really makes descisions and just go from restaurant to restaurant just doing what they are told.

Offcorse all of these are rather a taste of your own style and what you enjoi cooking the most. So there is no right or wrong answer really. But my question and meaning with this thread is, have you been in this situation?
What did you choose and how did it work out for you? Do you think you made the right descision and if you could go back, would you do it difrent?

Thanks in advance and i do appology for my poor english. Fortunate for me am a better chef than typer :)
/victor
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post #2 of 5
3/30/10 at 6:16am
I'm in the same situation as you I'm not sure whether to stay in US or got to Europe, even though my plans of leaving have failed me and turned down one of the opportunities, I'm not even sure how I'm gonna do after school. its kind of weird. i don't suggest job hopping, at least a year or until you have learned everything you wanted and done all the stations in my opinion.im the type of person that switching jobs just doesnt suite me or what my parents taught me.  i enjoy my current job but i think it may change because of certain person leaving. i suggest going with what you are passionate about if you like international then stick with that and focus on that at least that is what I'm gonna try to do. i enjoy Italian cuisine because of its similarity to my own home country's cuisine(simple ingredients, few ingredients that make great dishes and family type enviroment) and sooon as i graduate I'm focusing on working alot closer to my father to teach me the national dishes and other dishes. and hopefully visit my aunts in Israel to show me what they havew to teach me.  good luck with everything and best of luck to you.
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post #3 of 5
3/30/10 at 7:02am
I took off and went to England for six years. The experience I gained there was invaluable to me not only as a chef, but also as a person.
 
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post #4 of 5
7/18/10 at 2:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by skatz85 View Post

I'm in the same situation as you I'm not sure whether to stay in US or got to Europe, even though my plans of leaving have failed me and turned down one of the opportunities, I'm not even sure how I'm gonna do after school. its kind of weird. i don't suggest job hopping, at least a year or until you have learned everything you wanted and done all the stations in my opinion.im the type of person that switching jobs just doesnt suite me or what my parents taught me.  i enjoy my current job but i think it may change because of certain person leaving. i suggest going with what you are passionate about if you like international then stick with that and focus on that at least that is what I'm gonna try to do. i enjoy Italian cuisine because of its similarity to my own home country's cuisine(simple ingredients, few ingredients that make great dishes and family type enviroment) and sooon as i graduate I'm focusing on working alot closer to my father to teach me the national dishes and other dishes. and hopefully visit my aunts in Israel to show me what they havew to teach me.  good luck with everything and best of luck to you.


First off thanks and i hope everything is well. This all does sound like a good plan. But at the same time on a pure personal level its hard for me to just be passionate about just one thing. Maybe its because am swedish. Swedish cousine (if you can call it that) is rather undeveloped and in many ways most restaurants in sweden is way to boring menu wise to concider. I guess thats a blessing  only people with a strong culinary history receives :)


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by StockPot View Post

I took off and went to England for six years. The experience I gained there was invaluable to me not only as a chef, but also as a person.
 

I actually did the same thing. I currently work in england. And it have changed my perspective on things. Both on a personal level and purely educational aswell. I currently work in a big kitchen 20+ employess, still a fine dinning place thou.

I kinda feel a bit lost thou to be honest. Here things are very difrent. Sous chef and head chef do take responsibility here however its not anything like in sweden. In Sweden the head chef and sous chef would be the ones working the most. Here they are rather the ones that most shouting and yelling. However at the end of the day, they head out first.

 

Not trying to diss the english system, i think my restaurant is good. But it does take some getting used to.





 

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post #5 of 5
7/20/10 at 2:36am

i lived in london for 6 years and the experience was invaluable in so many ways i can't even start. for those of you Americans with any chance of spending time OUTSIDE the USA, please do so, even for a few months it will help you no matter what your trade, etc.

 

The USA lives in a bubble that really prohibits many aspects of self-awareness and appreciation for what is going on in the larger world, which is too often way ahead of us in the US. Especially true for the last decade and leaning more in that direction as the US gets more draconian and closed-minded in the face of 9/11, fear of immigration, etc.

 

Not saying America hasn't got anything to offer, it most certainly does - just that getting outside of the country for a bit and putting yourself in the shoes of people outside the US really wakes you up and invigorates the soul and perspective.

 

Gives you ideas you'll never get in the hood or the barrio too.


Edited by Culinuthiast - 7/20/10 at 3:10am
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