A few years ago I was contemplating working in a restaurant, thinking about the front of house or back of house, when I got a rather glaring look into what culinary school really means for the restaurant world. For most people in the industry (and as portrayed in the article), culinary school isn't very important. In fact, most great cooks and chefs don't even go to culinary school. I never seriously considered culinary school because I realized that the real way to get into cooking is to start at the bottom and work your way up.
In this week's Los Angeles Times Food Section, Betty Hallock discusses this with a number of local cooks and chefs, basically showing that those who are truly serious about cooking don't need to go to school. I don't think I'm a great cook by any means, but cooking something that you can learn on your own, with the help of books and the guidance of a professional. The instincts, hard work, and dedication to be a successful cook or chef in a restaurant is something that culinary school will never teach you. At the same time, I do feel that Hallock's article doesn't address the other side as well. She does mention the Culinary Institute of America as an example where students find more success, but perhaps it would've been good to hear the perspective of someone like Farid Zadi of Ecole de Cuisine or the folks behind the New School of Cooking in Culver City - smaller schools that might better train their students for work in a professional kitchen. From what a friend who works for a local catering company tells me, it's till difficult to find talented cooks.
While I do think the article is helpful for informing people who are contemplating culinary school, I think the heart of the matter is really the profession of cooking and the restaurant industry. There are so many people who are looking for career changes or perhaps a starting job at a restaurant, but what it really takes is a more complete understanding of the challenges and rewards of working in the food industry. Too many times the glamorous parts are more apparent than the difficult ones. And more than anything, passion has to drive your desire to work in it.
2 comments:
Nice perspective; if I wanted to go into the food industry, I wouldn't go the culinary school route either. I kind of equate it as the MBA of that biz. It might help get you a leg up in the ladder, but by no means a requisite.
However, it's a bit reductionist to lump all culinary schools into one stereotypical mold. Prospective students should really do their homework to see how the various schools they're consider fared. Get stats, talk to the graduates/alums and so on.
I wonder if it's different in NYC. I have a friend working as a pastry chef. He actually went to LCB in Pasadena. He said nowadays, almost everyone in the kitchen (among the young line cooks) has a culinary degree.
It's true that culinary school is not a requisite, but it's an arms race. As a recent graduate, you may still start at the bottom, but you're going to compete with so many other grads that it might be a de facto requisite at some restaurants.
Post a Comment