Hi!
Posted a little note in the intro forum. Might as well say hello here as this fits me to a T...
Have I ever worked in a restaurant? No.
Have I cooked for lots of people? Well sometimes... I've catered and help cater a few weddings, worked the kitchen of a ski lodge some weekends many years back (family style very simple menu). But most of the cooking I've done was for two or four or maybe a few more. I've been doing it for over 30 years. Meats, vegies, casseroles, soups, sauces, barbq, pan-sear, bake, steam, sautee, etc. I've always enjoyed cooking, at least as an amateur!
So when I got divorced a little over a year ago, and then my company announced a forced early-retirement buyout, I decided to take my money, abandon my 24 year career in information services, and put myself through a nice new chef-owned culinary school called "The Professional Culinary Institute" (PCI) near San Jose California...
It's a 5 and a half month program. I start Jan 16. Following school is an 8 week externship. After that who knows. My inclination is to look for high end restaurant work. I want to make food from scratch whether its sauces, soups, salads, or entres I'm actually doing. I don't know how realistic that is. I don't mind starting in prep or any other place in the kitchen, but I'd like to work someplace high-end. Again I don't know if that's a realistic expectation, but I'm sure going to try...
Otherwise, I don't really know what I'll end up liking best in the industry. I'll keep an open mind through school and let opportunities present themselves, try to be alert to them, learn as much as I can, read as much as I can -- I've read some Escoffier and I'm reading about the restaurant industry now, a 1992 book called "Restaurants that Work" (Martin Dorf) a case study of 8 successful restaurants cause I want to understand the business (though I have no intention at this point of owning a restaurant), and I did read Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential"... That book scared the **** out of me, but not enough to dissuade me from my madness!
More later... Yes I'll start a blog here of someplace... I'll share my experience, at school and following.. I want to see where I pop up a year from Jan 16! Where ever it is, it's going to be interesting...
Good night for now... More later.
Matthew