[chef kal]

My name is Chef Kalin, I am in Sierra Vista Arizona, This is not the place to be for a chef that wants to be awesome should be. I am ready for the move. I have 6 years of catering and prep cooking but I need to be under a Chef with a plan. I want to learn how to get to the next level. Any suggestions as to where I should be looking?

 

[french fries]

In which cities are the "next level" chefs you're dreaming of working with or becoming yourself?

 

[someday]

Here comes the "don't call yourself a chef" squad. 

There are a lot of great food cities. 

Austin, TX
Raleigh/Durham NC

Charleston SC

Boston, MA
Chicago IL

Portland, OR

Seattle, WA

San Francisco CA

Los Angeles CA

New York, NY

It depends what you want and what you are looking for. Cities like Raleigh, Charleston, etc are smaller and probably less expensive to live in, while still maintaining a food identity and culture. Cities like New York and Chicago have world class restaurants that will propel you through your career. 

Even in Arizona places like Scottsdale could be a great place to live and work. There are lots of great hotels, resorts and restaurants there. 

There are great restaurants and chefs in every corner of the country...you might just have to seek them out. You should start with some research about cost of living, climate, culture, etc and whittle down where you want to live. Then get a plan together for a job. Visit the city if you can. 

 

[chef kal]

Thanks I have been doing research just want to hear from folks like you. I'd like to hear from the industry about what's hot. I have been doing prep and catering for the past 6 years and need to take the next step. I need to know where the best place to find the jobs, Craigslist has a lot of spam and I found a lot of con artists. So all advice needed and taken in.

 

[french fries]

I suppose you could add Las Vegas, NV to the list.

 

[chef torrie]

Really depends what your looking for. I just moved back to Connecticut from New York. Worked in Manhattan in a couple of great kitchens under some amazing chefs for the 6 years I was there. I made the decision shortly after I graduated from jwu, that I wasn't going to chase the money right away, and that I was going to put in the time and hard work just to get a chance to get into some of the kitchens I got into. I wouldn't take back the path I took to get where I am now for anything. The pay stunk. The hours stunk. The rent stunk. The commute stunk. But what I learned, and the experiences were amazing.

 

[laurenlulu]

New Orleans cuisine is in the top 3, IMO.

 

[pete]

I think you are asking the wrong question as the answer is so all-encompassing that it becomes useless.  The questions that you should be asking are what kind of cuisines do I want to learn more about and where would I like to live.  You can find great chefs (great does not necessarily mean famous) in almost every metropolitan area in the country.  Cities, both big and small, are teaming with great chefs, although there are definitely cities that have more of a reputation as foodie cities than others, but that is changing all the time.  8 years ago no one would have mentioned Milwaukee as a food city, but it is starting to get a pretty good reputation.  Obviously if you want to learn more about Cajun and Creole food then New Orleans is the place to be.  Want to learn about BBQ and Southwestern cuisine, then maybe Austin, Dallas, Houston, or Santa Fe. You get the point.  Determine where you want to live, whether it is a specific city or a more general region and then start doing some research on restaurants and chefs in those areas.

 

[commanderinchef]

Austin is a real up and coming restaurant city, what with all the gentrification going on there. But I haven't spent a whole lot of time there other than a few visits

 

[someday]

Austin is a real up and coming restaurant city, what with all the gentrification going on there. But I haven't spent a whole lot of time there other than a few visits

When was the last time you were there? Because to describe Austin as "up and coming" is wrong...its already dun up and com'd already. They have TONS of great restaurants.

 

[chefhowler87]

I live in the Detroit area. The culinary scene is really starting to boom. I'd suggest coming for a visit. Downtown Detroit, Downtown Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, Ferndale, and Birmingham have the best culinary scenes in my opinion.

 

[commanderinchef]

When was the last time you were there? Because to describe Austin as "up and coming" is wrong...its already dun up and com'd already. They have TONS of great restaurants.

It was well over 8 years ago now, so maybe things have changed a lot since then. Sorry if I confused anyone I just remembered that the restaurant culture was a lot more interesting there than in other Texas cities I have been to