>>7584707
No just learn from sites like this and you'll be way ahead of those le cordon bleu debtors

Long, shitty hours for shit pay.

>>7584707

waste of money. just get a job in a kitchen and bust ass and learn while you make money.

its a pretty shit/stressful job but its even worse if you are tens of thousands of dollars in debt for a culinary degree and make $13/hr

You'll actually be able to make money with a liberal arts degree, it just wont be as easy to find a job.

Get a job in a real kitchen and then decide if you want to spend the rest of your life doing that.

>>7584707
if you want to be a cook you'd do well to get in your sunday best and knock on kitchen doors. being confident, eager to learn, and ready to work, will go a long way. if the man behind the first door doesn't hire you he might send you down the street to a friend's kitchen.

you're gonna bust long hours for shit pay but you're gonna learn. you're gonna be salty as the fuckin sea every day and drink and probably smoke when you aren't asleep. but you're gonna be a cook.

sound like the life for you?

Thanks Lady's and gents turns out a Chef's life ain't mine!

>>7584731

>get in your sunday best and knock on kitchen doors

This is true.

Most restaurants have high turnover rates and are frequently looking for cooks. They might get a dozen resumes from a Craig's List ad, and then immediately throw the one's in the trash that don't have any kitchen experience (or pass them around the kitchen for people to laugh at).

Showing up in person with the right attitude makes a huge difference, and could get you hired on the spot, even with no experience (most kitchens are willing to train, they just don't want some teenager who's going to be a waste of time).

>>7584759

if you have no experience take a dish job at a nice restaurant. bust ass have a good attitude and make it known you are looking to learn. they will get to see your attitude/work ethic.

when someone is fired/quits you will get a chance to move into the kitchen.

they will start you off on fry/cold side/prep probably and you will have plenty of time to get used to the ass rape of the kitchen before they have you doing anything you can really fuck up and cost them any significant money/reputation

>>7584759
that's it exactly. i got my last kitchen job by calling the place on my way past and scheduling a meeting for when i'd be walking by an hour later. five minute interview, eyeballing, handshake, done.

people don't understand how hard it is to get people who want to work for a living these days. lots of dipshits want to be gordon ramsay 2016 without realizing he was a hard graft shitheel for 15 years. once they see the work and the life they fuck right off.

>>7584767
this literally happened to me today.
>chef pulls me into the office
>hey anon i got something that maybe we can help eachother out with
>you've been busting your hump dishwashing for the past 9 months with nearly perfect attendance, everybody here likes you, you've got good hands and a good head
>well femanon just quit today and i need someone reliable to do roomservice, banquets, etc. early mornings and some nights
>i remember our conversation from the other week so what i'd like you to do is go online and apply for the cook position
>i had another guy on the line for it, but i want to give you a shot
>whether or not you get the spot is up to you

now all i have to do is figure out how to not-fuck-up-every-time. bear in mind that this is in a conference hotel with two fine dining venues, half a dozen meeting spaces, about 150 rooms and a banquet hall that seats just over 300 and wedding season is coming up fast.

Don't waiters make more than chefs across the board because of tips?

>>7586774

>across the board

Chefs almost always make a good deal more than waiters, you're probably thinking of cooks.

It varies, but cooks usually make slightly less than the waitstaff. On a busy night a cook can go home with $100 while a waitress brings in $300. But on a slow night a cook can still go home with $100 while a waitress goes home with $20 in worth of tips. It sort of balances out, but cooks still make less overall.

>>7586735
>now all i have to do is figure out how to not-fuck-up-every-time
A bit of anxiety is a good thing, but you'll be fine. For roomservice they'll set you up on a railroad track with fully prepped food that you just have to fire off.
Banquet work will be variations of:
Here's 200kg chuck roll. I want ten centimetre wide lengthwise strips, and then portioned to 240g chunks.
Here's over nine thousand carrots. I want them brushed and lined up in roasting pans.
Here's 600 portions of brisket. I want it seared on both sides and arranged on grids.

You basically do one or two big jobs like a robot all day, and unless they're retards they'll make very sure you understand what you're supposed to do and how, beforehand.
If you're uncertain, ask. Never done it before? Ask to be shown.

Congratulations, anon!

>>7584773
That was me...

>Wow Tony Bourdain is so cool
>Wow cooking is so much fun
>I should be a chef and cook cool food
>holy shit this sucks balls

No I own my own business, getting a teaching license and have time to actually enjoy cooking. If anything I think all kids out of high school should work in a kitchen before college they'd work a hell of a lot harder after knowing how shitty labor work is

>>7586799
i've been practicing basic stuff for some time now. was talking with the sous chef for one of the FD venues in the break room and the conversation ended along the lines of '.. i bet half the people in banquets don't know what a paysanne even is and if you're teaching yourself how to butcher whole chickens on your own time you're pretty well ahead of the game.'