Why? Because I enjoy cooking for family and friends, you replied. Enjoy cooking, yes, it’s a prerequisite for a chef. Cooking for family and friends? Sorry, think again. You will be working nights, weekends, holidays. You will be so preoccupied with the list of things to prepare for the guests in the F&B establishment you work in until you forgot the last time you met with your family and friends. Hopefully, your family and friends will forgive you that you choose to rest rather than to cook for them after working 50+ hours a week. (P/s: Perhaps that the reason cooks are not well paid?! You don’t have time to spend!)
If you can’t stand the heat, or simply can’t stand, stay out of the kitchen. You will be on your feet almost constantly. Before becoming a chef, you will be trained as a cook that performs monotonous chores rigorously. It may be the Nth prawn you have shelled for the day, but bear in mind Chef Louis Eguaras’s reminder: A chef’s routine is the customer’s special event. Even if you swear that you won’t eat prawn for the rest of your life, you will still need to shell it like the one you first did. Customer comes first, not your sore feet, not your hatred.
And did I mention burns and cuts? Stressed out by flooded orders and irrational customers? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not putting people off from pursuing their dreams to be a chef. I am just trying to share some insights of the real world, other than the Chefdom glamour portrayed by celebrity chefs on TV. Professional kitchen is a hectic workplace packed with adrenaline rush. A great teamwork, a smooth service, and an appreciation from the customer are certainly the fruits of labour sought after by many chefs in the industry. Don’t limit yourself in the kitchen either, because a Chef does more than just cooking.
8 comments
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August 21, 2010 at 6:52 pm
netdhaba
Hi Yin,
You have a simple yet great blog.
I am 34, a journalist, but my heart is in the kitchen.
I know, as you have said, that it’s a different thing cooking for your family and another to cook at a restaurant. However, i feel tempted to chuck my job in India and dive headlong into the world of hospitality industry. However, I need that decisive push to eject myself from the world where i am established and cushy…
In know ‘it’s better late than never’, but do you think age 34 is actually a bit too late to enrol oneself into an hospitality institute to learn the tricks of trade and then begin a career afresh? What can the practical disadvantages be if i start off this late?
August 22, 2010 at 3:29 pm
yin
it’s never too late to learn something that you enjoy. my suggestion is that, before you gave up the whole thing, you should try working in the hospitality industry (for free or part time) just to have a better feel of what is the day to day life like. if you think that you can work in the kitchen environment for long hours and earning little pay for years, then perhaps you can consider moving forward.
November 3, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Gary Koh
I am taking diploma in culinary arts. I am taking this course is because my father suggested me to take this course, because my father own a restaurant and he wanted me to take over it. After taking the course, I feel that i am interested in cooking, but the problem is, i dont have the talent on cooking. my result in theory exam is good but not practical exam. Should I continue??
November 7, 2010 at 9:21 pm
yin
if you enjoy cooking, i don’t see why you shouldn’t continue. running a restaurant is more than just cooking though. so if you really don’t have talent in cooking, you can always hire a chef to cook while you focus more on the restaurant management in the future.
November 13, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Gary Koh
thx for ur comment. base on ur experience, is it hard to handle a restaurant(small medium size)??if i take over after my studies, is it ok?or i need to gain some experience 1st?
November 18, 2010 at 8:47 pm
yin
running a restaurant is never easy. what type of cuisine does your dad’s restaurant serve? i believe your father will have a better idea on ways to train his successor.
December 2, 2010 at 5:27 am
Saule
i have been battling the idea of culinary school for about a year, but now I finally decided to apply to French Culinary Inst in NYC. I am working at a private supper club and staging at a restaurant on top of a day job and volunteering. It is all worth it, because I absolutely love what i do. However, you are right that before jumping into the hospitality one should try working in the industry to test the waters
March 10, 2011 at 4:58 am
Leena
Hi Yin,
You have a wonderful, down to earth, realistic blog here! I read a few of your postings already and I have to say, “THANK YOU for putting reality in words, hard as it may be!” So many people nowadays see glamorized television shows of the restaurant and culinary world and think they want a part of it. They simply didn’t realize all the work, grit and sweat they have to deal with everyday. I don’t think your post is “putting people off.” I think it’s putting reality in check.
It’s absolutely the most rewarding thing in the world to cook for another person, but cooking professionally and cooking recreationally are whole different ballgames. I support and encourage both, as long as people jump in knowing what it entails!
Good luck to you in everything you do and keep posting!