Externship Cruise!!!

Greetings,
I have two thoughts/questions for you.
#1: Doesn't your school help with some sort of extership department?? My son goes to New England Culinary Institute and when they go on their externships, there is a specific process for applying and being accepted for the experience. Most restaurants with chefs that would provide a beneficial kitchen experience work through the culinary school to find qualified students.
#2: Doing an externships at a large resort or on a cruise ship, you would be working in a kitchen with upwards if 200 chefs/cooks. Getting personal coaching would not happen, and you may come away with a six month intership having buttered toast for many hours a day. You may think I am joking, but my son had a classmate brag about having an externship at one of the big fancy resort restaurants in Las Vegas. He bragged to all who would listen to him about how he was obviously the best to have gotten his externship site in Vegas. He literally did butter toast on an assembly line, and when he proved his worth they gave him a step up in responsibility to buttering wheat toast. I can promise you a cruise ship kitchen would have a very similar assembly line kitchen.
Look into your local up-scale restaurants where you would get attention from an executive or head chef. Think "small" and "quality" restaurant for the best hands on experience. Good luck as you further your culinary experiences.......being a great chef means long hours and a schedule that is totally unique; but if being a quality chef is your passion, you won't be happy doing anything less.
Cook on!
Chef's mom

Luvtoburn.......stay away from huge resorts and cruise ships where you would be one person on a long assenbly line. If you want a high quality experience you need to start on a smaller scale where you would get personal coaching. In a large resort or on a cruise ship, you may stand at an assembly line and your job could potentially be putting a daub of pastry cream on a million puffs in a row. You would become a professional "dauber", but that isn't learning a wide range of skills. Instead, look for a lovely bakery and enquire about being an intern in their kitchen. Start making your resume' filled with excellent references. You may have to be unpaid for a while, but as your experience and skill level increase, so could your pocketbook.
I wish you luck as you follow your calling as a pastry chef!
Most sincerely,
Mom of a culinary student

Cruise ship jobs can be hard to get sometimes. I tried getting an externship back when I was going to school, so did a few others. The response was the same across the board. Either no response at all, or the cruise line informing us that they dont do culinary externships.

 

Large scale baking is a dying art anyways. All the big hotels I worked at, had around 40 to 70  cooks, and 2 or 3 bakers that just pulled from boxes, and put it on plates. The only place I heard otherwise was the new'ish MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They have a certified master pastry chef there, and I worked with a girl who worked for him. She got to do all kinds of cool sugar sculptures, chocolate rooms, etc. If you want a good learning experience, and volume at the same time, find a 5 diamond hotel, and look up who the chef/pastry chef (if they even have a pastry chef) and research them as well. High profile places, that are very tourist driven are your best bet.

my opinion is for you to try Crystal cruises or Seaburn.They are rocking with great pastry dishes!everythings fresh,hand made ,even ice cream!ofcourse,you will have to prepare alot of Cheese cakes ....