what do you wish you did at my age?

instead of moving around in your small town, move around the planet while you're still young enough to easily get visas; that's what i wish i had done when i was 21. it's amazing how much more cred someone who has worked in places like london,hong kong, or melbourne gets after they return to north america. 

Pack a kniferoll, get a passport, and spend a couple of years travelling the world working in various kitchens.

you can get visas  fairly easy if you are under 28-32 depending on where you go. i'm pretty sure americans can get a six month visa for the UK which are called working holiday visas or something like that. you should be able to get at least a year from australia and new zealand. there are also sites like h careers that will help you with placements. a couple of hours on the internet should give you all the information you need. once you have a little international experience it should get easier every time you want to go somewhere else. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbrad 

you can get visas  fairly easy if you are under 28-32 depending on where you go. i'm pretty sure americans can get a six month visa for the UK which are called working holiday visas or something like that. you should be able to get at least a year from australia and new zealand. there are also sites like h careers that will help you with placements. a couple of hours on the internet should give you all the information you need. once you have a little international experience it should get easier every time you want to go somewhere else. 

I am interested in this as well. Do you have more information on how to go about it? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingfarvito 

I looked up all the info I could find on it. The US doesn't participate so we're generally excluded the exceptions being Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore.

 

Australia and Singapore would be good places to learn. 

ireland has a very good food culture, especially in the cork area and it would be a nice place to spend a year learning. as i said before melbourne has a great restaurant scene as does sydney. australia really seems to be looking for people right now and if you did spend some time there , new zealand would be the next logical choice. singapore would be interesting too, you would experience a different culture but it's pretty westernized so you wouldn't struggle too much with language , etc. maybe the UK has changed their rules but i was sitting in a pub in edinburgh about five years ago and some american kid came in and said he had just finished cooking school and had four months left on his six month visa. they pretty much hired him on the spot. it might of had something to do with him having a student visa though. if you have a british consulate in your area i'd go see them or if not call the nearest one. i alway thought it was ridiculous that the US and canada don't have swap visas. i'd also try with the placement agencies, if someone is interested in you they will sponsor you and help with, and maybe pay for your paper work.

The requirements for visas for work in the UK constantly change.  Here's a site for the UK embassy in the USA

http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/faqs/living-working/work

hey kingfarvito and cookers, just wondering if either one of you followed this up?

saving money is easier when you have a goal and you still have lots of time.

Listened and paid more attention to things.

Skipped the whole barefoot and pregnant thing, lol!

Seriously, would hate to think that I would have missed out on my beautiful and intelligent daughter (and her two idiot husbands, can't forget them) as well as the three healthy munchkins they produced.

I look back now and wonder why I did not pursue my love of language and culture (and the food!).

Instead went into nursing to help to provide all the nice things (house with pool, country club memberships, kids private schools..you get the picture).

Listen to the guys.

Pack a few changes of clothes, your knives (can you fly with those?) get a visa and start cooking and eating your way around the world!

So different than buying the "package" vacas that are kid friendly!

I must be melancholy baby today, lol......

AIPT is a company that helps to place workers abroad. You should check them out. You can also check out stuff trough sister cities.  Find out what the sister cities for your town are.  

If you wanna prepare to work in the city, do a lot of research on the trends. Read blogs, look at menus, find out what kind of equipment and tools the best chefs are using. Push yourself to be cleaner, more precise, organized, and faster.  You won't find the same sense of urgency and attention to detail in many places outside of the major areas.  At the relevant restaurants in larger cities it is a totally different ball game.  The food they cook in most small town restaurants a decade or more behind the trends going on in cities.  The workers are more cutthroat. Every kitchen has a good amount of over achievers with bad attitudes who are going to talk down and belittle you to your face, and bad mouth you to your bosses.  You have to wear thick skin.  If you work smart, clean, and fast you have to stand up for yourself.  If you let the other guys get away with putting you down, then you have zero chance of moving up.