Latest / Chef's PSA Podcast / Culinary School Ep. 6

Transcript

Culinary School Ep. 6 · Chef's PSA Podcast

• 0:01
  Hello chefs. You're listening to chefs, PS a
• 0:03
  podcast. I'm your host on Trina.
• 0:05
  Tara, today we are going to get into culinary school So culinary
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  school is probably you know a pretty controversial topic.
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  I know a lot of chefs are very interested and you know I'm
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  going to add fuel to the fire on either side whether you're Pro
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  culinary school or your anti culinary school.
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  But I think from a chef's perspective it's important that
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  we discuss it that we talk about the pros and cons what to expect
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  in culinary school. What to expect when you get out
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  of college, Our schools, some of the differences between culinary
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  school and the real world. But most importantly, I think
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  this gives if nothing else. It's an opportunity to begin
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  dialogue and there's no right or wrong because everyone has a
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  different path and some people need school and some people
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  don't. But nonetheless, I just want to
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  make sure that we're opening up the dialogue and discussion and
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  I don't have a hard stance either way whether I'm Pro
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  culinary school or anti culinary school.
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  So I think it's important that we establish that first With
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  that being said, I did go to culinary school.
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  I went to the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon.
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  This was 1995. I graduated in 1996 and when I
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  was going to culinary school things were much different, the
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  Western Culinary Institute became a Le Cordon Bleu, but it
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  was, it was, it was new for me. I didn't know anything.
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  I was 17 years old, I didn't even know what's called culinary
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  school. I thought I was going to Chef
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  school. As I like to call is like, I'm
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  going to Chef school, but in reality I was going to culinary
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  school. I didn't Know what that word
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  meant and the way I found it back then was you know I would I
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  would buy bone Appétit magazine and I would look in the back and
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  they used to have advertisements for culinary schools and it was
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  CIA Culinary Institute of America Johnson & Wales
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  Scottsdale the California Culinary Academy.
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  And then the Western Culinary Institute that was that was
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  pretty much the only schools that were advertising at the
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  time. So I had decided that I wanted
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  to go to school because I need it to work.
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  I really didn't have any other Since in life, you know it's get
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  into a lot of trouble. I wanted to I wanted to be a
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  fighter. I want to be a professional
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  fighter, my parents didn't think it was the best thing for me.
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  So I said well, culinary school seems easy, you know, I don't
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  need to go to college for four years or whatever.
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  This seemed relatively easy at the time.
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  I thought this is an easy career path, cooking.
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  Seems easy boy. Was I wrong?
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  It wasn't what I, it wasn't what I signed up for, but like I
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  said, it wasn't my initial passion.
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  But what I discovered is that when I was in school, I quickly
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  fell in love with it. Really fell in love with the
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  idea of becoming a chef. And since then, I've gone to
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  continuing education courses in the CIA and st.
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  Helena, California in Hyde Park, New York and then also in San
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  Antonio, I think once or twice. So I've I'm a firm believer in
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  culinary education, there's online culinary program that
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  I've also taken and completed and that's Ruby which is an
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  online culinary school because I'm an education junkie, I
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  always want to get some sort of Competitive Edge as a chef and
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  learn a little Will do something or what else?
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  Could I learn as a chef? So me personally, I've attended
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  school probably more than others.
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  Like I said, I've completed an online course.
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  I graduated from culinary school and I've taken I think, at least
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  three or four continuing education courses at the CIA.
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  I was also a commencement speaker and I for Le Cordon Bleu
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  schools. I sat on their board for quite
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  some time. And then, I think I delivered
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  one of the most recent Moment, graduation addresses for The
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  Culinary Institute in San Antonio.
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  So I'm a big proponent of culinary school, but I know a
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  lot of people are not. So me, personally, I am.
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  I do think that for myself as an individual, I did need that
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  extra education because I'm an education junkie.
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  I read a ton of books, you know? And I think I've talked about
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  this on other podcasts. I read about a book a week and I
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  try to hit about 50 books, a year.
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  I love to read, I love to educate myself.
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  So for people like me that just love the Educational aspect of
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  culinary school. I do think that it is something
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  that you should consider. If you could afford it and you
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  love to educate yourself, you should go to culinary school but
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  I want to talk about what really happens when you go to culinary
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  school. And when you graduate culinary
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  school and I'll share this story with you, I did an Instagram
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  video on this. The other day is when I was in
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  culinary school the instructor was, you know, he was given a
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  discourse for us and he talked about how when we Graduate.
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  You know, we're going to get our diploma in culinary arts and we
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  could use that diploma and go to the American culinary, to
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  American culinary Federation and became a certified cook.
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  So I remember hearing that and I was a bit shocked, I said
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  certified cook. I'm going to culinary school.
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  I've moved two thousand miles away from home to educate,
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  myself to become a chef. As I thought I was in Chef
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  school. When you graduate, I was going
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  to be the chef and I remember raising my hand and I said you
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  said we're going to become certified Cooks, don't you mean
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  will become chefs and He laughed and all the culinary in.
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  School instructors also laughed in the like know when you
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  graduate you're going to be a cook and you're going to work in
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  kitchens for years and it might take you 10 to 20 years before
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  you're ever a chef and times were different.
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  Then I think now I think that's probably not as true as it was
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  back then. I think you could become a chef
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  in a much shorter time, just because of the access to
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  information through social media through video platforms like
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  YouTube, continuing education courses, like, B or really great
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  online programs. Like chefsteps, I think this
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  helps shorten your career trajectory, you could become a
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  chef and much shorter time but it was the norm, there was 40,
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  50 year-old executive, Sous chefs that were waiting in line
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  for their chef to retire so they can move up that wasn't
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  uncommon. So for me, I was, I was a little
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  bit devastated. When I found out that upon
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  graduation, I was not going to become a chef.
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  So for people that are In school right now and if you think when
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  you graduate you're going to be a chef, that's probably not the
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  case. Most likely you're going to
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  start at the bottom, you know, depending on how high end the
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  kitchen is that you work? You know, if you're starting in
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  a Michelin Star Kitchen, you're going to start at the bottom.
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  There's no way that they're going to put you in a position
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  of leadership, much less, probably not even on the line,
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  you're probably going to start peeling, you know, peeling
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  vegetables or putting away the produce.
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  So that's the reality of it, it doesn't matter.
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  You graduated, because the fact of the matter is, everyone else
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  in the kitchen, especially in these high-end kitchens,
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  everyone else went to culinary school, everyone else has ten
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  times more experience and knowledge than you do.
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  So understand that culinary school in a lot of kitchens
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  that's just price of Entry, that just gets your resume looked at
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  in that gets your, your foot in the door, but it does not
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  guarantee a position when you graduate.
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  So I think that's something that a lot of young chefs and Cooks
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  need to understand when it comes to when I graduate, will I
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  become a chef And the answer is probably not.
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  So if the answer is no, you're not going to be a chef when you
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  graduate, then the question becomes.
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  Do you need culinary school? And the fact of the matter is no
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  you don't, you could become a chef without having gone to
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  culinary school. There's many great chefs out
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  there that never went to culinary school that learned the
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  old-fashioned way. They wanted to a great kitchen,
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  they worked under a great chef and they work their way up.
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  And for some people that's the way to do it.
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  They don't like, they don't like sitting in classrooms.
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  They want to get into the action right away and they go that
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  route. So there's There's nothing that
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  says you have to have a degree in order to become a chef and I
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  can tell you, I've been an executive chef nine times for
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  restaurants hotels Resorts corporate Chef Etc.
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  And never once did anyone ask to see my diploma?
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  And as a chef who's hired other chefs, never once did I ask them
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  to see their diploma, it doesn't matter.
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  Once you're in the industry, people don't look at your resume
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  and say, oh, you didn't go to culinary school.
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  We're not going to hire you. It matters what you've done.
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  In the industry. So where have you worked?
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  What have you done? What have you accomplished?
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  That matters more so than it does?
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  Hey, I went to such and such school that like I said that's
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  that's just price of entry and the fact of the matter is most
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  of the people when you graduate will have a lot more experience
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  than you do. So it's a reality check like
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  you're going to go into a kitchen and your think your
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  little bit puffed up, I just graduated from culinary school.
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  I'm going to be able to tell people what to do and people
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  Pilar going to have a hard time respecting.
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  You like you're not the chef, I have way more experience than
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  you. I've been doing this for 10
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  years you just went to school. You have no experience.
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  How are you going to tell me what to do?
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  And sometimes that's that's a sad reality of a lot of kitchens
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  until you understand that the currency that you exchange with
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  other Cooks is really, you know, your ability to cook on the
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  line, your ability to prep, that's what's going to bring you
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  value. Not the diploma, the diploma
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  like I said is going to get you in the door, it's going to give
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  you confidence. It's going to give you a
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  foundation. Shouldn't from which to build on
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  but you're on your own, your teachers, aren't there to help
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  you anymore. So I think it's really important
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  that people understand that because sometimes it can be a
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  shock. You know, you've you're in
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  culinary school and you're working on a project with the
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  team for two or three hours and then you get into the kitchen
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  and it's like, oh shit, there is no team.
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  It's just me and I have a mountain of prep to get done by
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  myself. That is that is a real situation
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  and no one's going to help you and if you don't get it done,
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  you might lose your job. So It's important that you start
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  to think about that. Transition from culinary school
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  to the real world of kitchens. And I highly recommend that if
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  you're in culinary school right now and you're listening to
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  this, get a job in the industry start working as a chef in
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  part-time full-time, on the weekends, whatever you can is
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  start getting exposed to that kitchen environment because it
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  is very different from the classroom, the pace and
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  intensity is, you know, it's tenfold when it comes to the
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  speed that people expect from you and the workload that you
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  get From working on a project in a group with a bunch of students
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  versus working on a project with no group with a deadline by a
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  chef that needs it done yesterday.
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  And I'll share a little story with you.
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  So I used to I won't say which culinary schools.
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  But I used to partner with a lot of culinary schools and they
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  would ask me to go in and have a conversation with the students
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  because there's a lot of things that the instructors are aware
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  of that. They, you know, they really are
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  not going to say to the students but they, you know, they're a
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  little bit afraid for the students and they like, hey, I
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  can't say this to them but you don't work for us.
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  Can you come in and have a scared straight so to speak
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  conversation with the students? So I would go in and give them
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  interview tips and you know what, it's going to be.
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  When you get into a kitchen and I would be shocked, sometimes
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  I'd be appalled. Like I could I could recall the
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  time that I went into this culinary school and it was like
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  it was just like being in high school.
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  Again, the kids were so disrespectful to some of the
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  instructors. I remember, when I walked into
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  to give a little lecture, one of the students had their feet on
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  the table, they were rolling their eyes.
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  When I was talking and I'm trying to be respectful, you
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  know, I'm in their school, but I was thinking you don't realize
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  like you could be disrespectful of little bit when you're in
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  culinary school and you could get away with it because you're
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  paying for it, right? So the teachers might be willing
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  to put up with a little bit more.
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  Like when you're in high school like, okay, you're paying me,
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  you're paying my salary. I get it.
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  I want you to graduate. I understand that, you know, you
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  have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder, but I was as this
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  was happening, I was thinking, if this was in the real world
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  you be fired. If you were that disrespectful
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  to another Chef you that would be it.
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  You'd be thrown out of the kitchen and you wouldn't come
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  back and it blew Mind. And it reminded me like, oh the
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  a lot of the, a lot of the people in culinary school that
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  I've never worked before you're in for a very rude awakening.
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  When you work in an intense kitchen and you have a, you have
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  a little bit of a Lippy attitude towards the chef.
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  Remember, here's a big difference between culinary
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  school and work is when you're in culinary school, you're
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  paying them, you're paying them. But when you flip it around,
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  they're paying you. So, the expectation is much
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  different and everyone in the kitchen understands that already
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  like theirs, There's, there's a difference.
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  It's like when you're in high school, like a lot of people go
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  to culinary school right out of high school.
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  And so you're used to kind of that, that mentality and banter.
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  You know, you're the senior in high school and then all of a
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  sudden you get into a professional kitchen and these
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  guys are four five, six years in.
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  So, it's like going from being a senior in high school to to
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  big-time college. And you're a freshman all over
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  again and it's a culture shock. So, I think it's, I think it's
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  important that you understand. That you're prepared for it.
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  And I'm not saying this to scare anyone, but understand, the best
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  thing to do when you're in culinary school is be humble.
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  Go into a kitchen that is going to make you better work with
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  chefs that are better than you, learn and work in kitchens that
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  you're not the best. Because if you're right out of
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  culinary school and you're the best person in the kitchen,
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  you're probably in the wrong kitchen because you should be
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  working around people that are much, much better than you,
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  that'll haste in your career because you'll have You know,
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  you'll have a greater eyelash learning curve as its explained,
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  you know, the ability to go further.
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  Anyway, I'm rambling and I'm ranting.
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  I want to talk about lasting just to kind of close it all up.
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  Is, what should you do upon graduation?
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  Like I said, ideal, if you could get work experience, that's
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  great. But one of the great benefits of
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  going to culinary school is your Chef instructors.
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  Use them talk to them. And ask them.
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  Where should I work? Who do Oh, and the industry that
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  I could go work with and learn from and see what doors that
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  they opened for you. So this is a very important
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  piece of advice. I could give you is utilize the
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  people around you because they know way more than you, they
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  probably have more experience in the industry than you.
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  And and if you're not going to use them, figure out what are
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  the best restaurants in the world.
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  And if you have the opportunity to go work abroad and work in
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  different countries and get into some of these world-class
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  restaurants, you know, the restaurants that have Michelin
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  stars or on the world's 50, best do it.
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  Because a lot of those, a lot of those places would prefer to get
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  you when you're younger and you have less experience.
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  So you haven't really picked up any bad habits, then they would,
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  you know, if you had 10 years experience working in the wrong
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  type of kitchen, and what I mean, by the wrong type of
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  kitchen is something that's not exactly at that high level.
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  So, Working great restaurants, work around great chefs like and
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  we'll talk about this on another episode but you could always
• 14:58
  work your way down the ladder, but if you start out working in
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  kitchens for years, that are not at the highest level, it's very
• 15:06
  hard to work your way up. So if you start at the top, you
• 15:09
  can always go down but it's difficult.
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  If you start at the bottom, to work your way up and I mean that
• 15:13
  in terms of level of Cuisine that you're working on.
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  So if you have a passion for working in high-end Cuisine, do
• 15:20
  that right away. Don't be afraid that you're not
• 15:22
  going to be the best person in the kitchen because the reality
• 15:24
  is you're not and you're not going to be the best person in
• 15:27
  any kitchen that you go to. So why not go to the best
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  kitchen where you can learn from?
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  Great people. Well anyway, chefs that wraps up
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  this rant on culinary school for those of you that were on the,
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  on the, on my Instagram and you messaged me what episodes you'd
• 15:46
  like to see, I appreciate that. It gave me a lot of ideas for
• 15:50
  future Rants and It's like that. But if you want to support the
• 15:53
  show, follow chefs, PSA. I've started a tick tock, we're
• 15:57
  on Instagram and Twitter, you could support the podcast.
• 16:01
  There's a, there's a link where you can sponsor the podcast, you
• 16:04
  could buy the chef's, PSA book, share this information with
• 16:08
  everybody. But anyway, we'll see you next
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  time. And let's cue up the porno
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  music. See y'all