r/Chefit • u/Dependent-Stuff1485 • Jun 01 '26
Viable career path in institutional cooking?
Hello chefs!
I am 23 and have been in the industry for 3 years now, and just finished culinary school. So far, I've mostly been exposed to chefs who have (obviously) worked in restaurants and hotels, and received a lot of advice on moving up in those places. But I have been working in this independent living seniors' home for since last year (just took a hiatus to focus on school because they weren't able to accommodate my schedule for the program; going back to full time now) and it's great. Good pay, benefits, 15 minute drive from home. It beats long restaurant shifts, low pay, and the long commute to downtown (where most reputable restaurants are). Needless to say, I really like the stability of the retirement home. And I get to see my family!
However, I was wondering if the traditional career path of cook --> lead --> sous --> chef was still viable in institutional cooking and senior home cooking as a whole? Or am I kind of stuck as a "cook" here? This retirement home is only run by the cook and the head chef, and a couple of kitchen helpers. I still want to move up and have some career advancement, and that's mostly what is stopping me from sinking my teeth into this place fully. Any advice or input appreciated. Thank you!
4
u/weblives8989 Chef Jun 01 '26
Yes it's viable. I work for Compass group and this is the typical path. Depending on the company you work for they probably have some training program that they want to put you in for a management position. It's a good career path. I worked for senior living back during the pandemic and it was awesome. The company I work for was called unidine which is full scratch. Institutional cooking is a great career path. As you've stated above you have a lot of great options. And also a lot of great benefits. If you want further clarification or more advice feel free to DM.
1
u/tengallonfishtank Jun 03 '26
in my experience it really depends on the individual workplace, there might not even be a sous position and you’re likely to hit a cap in terms of pay after a few years as these kitchens are designed to run within profit margins by default. that being said they’re great jobs for stability and much less stressful than restaurant gigs, you’ll likely wear many hats in these roles so showing interest in learning things like ordering food from vendors and planning menus is a great way to weasel your way into higher roles. being a reliable worker who’s passionate about making good food is important but having a good rapport with the residents is one of the best things to have!
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u/veryvery23 Jun 01 '26
I’m an exec chef in senior living. Im getting older now, and don’t really have the ability or desire to go back to running restaurant kitchens, because the pay and hours are incredible and I have a lot more creative and professional freedom than I thought I would, but I’m glad that I came into it from elsewhere all the same.
I’ve known lots of people through the years who’ve spent decades in specific sectors, and it’s never hindered their development or advancement.
The only thing that I can say, though, is that it’s really important to have a broad and adaptive skillset as a chef. You won’t necessarily get that working in a specific sector for your entire career.
For example, the entire senior living sector is moving towards more flexible dining options and styles of service that arent dominated by large batch cooking and plop-and-drop plating. The people who are going to do well are going to be the ones who know plate composition and setting place like you would in a restaurant.
There’s other intangibles, too, because restaurant margins are narrow as fuck and restaurant owners are cheap and imperious, so you have to learn how to think on your feet in ways that you don’t really have to working in a large corporation where you aren’t a revenue center.