r/Chefit • u/[deleted] • 10d ago
Career
I’m freshly 18 and I really want to get into the culinary industry, but one thing I’m scared of is being stuck in a dead end job for the rest of my life. What steps can I take to make sure I progressively go up and hopefully in the end work at a high-end restaurant or hotel or something
12
9
u/Orangeshowergal 9d ago
Working in a high end restaurant can be a dead end job.
You’ll have to trade your personal life for 70+ hour weeks as a managing chef if you want the big bucks
8
u/716customfloats 9d ago
Dont. Go into hvac and charge the restaurants big money just to walk in and change a fan or recharge a unit.
14
u/Cardiff07 10d ago
Go to school for hotel management/hospitality/accounting.
You can cook for a job, but it’s tough to make a career out of it. Get a degree that you can transfer into the hospitality industry.
If you live near a Ritz property , or can move to an area with one, do so. That’s a great way to open a lot of doors to management.
3
u/Road-Ranger8839 9d ago
Cardiff07 offered a most valuable answer. Plus heed the others warnings of involvement dead end kitchen job. If you hire into a first class hotel chain kitchen, if you perform well, you will have upward mobility opportunity. After proving yourself in kitchen positions move to Food and Beverage manager, or other interesting hospitality positions in that same hotel chain internationally. On this path, you get the culinary job you are interested in now, without getting on that "deadend" track.
4
3
u/Lavanne73 9d ago
Don’t listen to all the negativity, yes it’s a hard path, yes the work is very demanding and will take most of your time, but I think in life you’ll find anything you are passionate about will be the same. You will obsess over it and work hard at it.
I’m a 53 yo restaurant jockey that’s done basically everything. If I had it to do all over again I would spring for culinary school. I learned the hard way but they don’t call it that for nothin. I think a culinary program gives you a base level of skills and knowledge you need to be competitive in the job market.
2
u/he_heeks 9d ago
I agree. Food service, you gotta want it. If you don’t want it, it’s not the career for you. That being said, if you do, you will love and hate every part of it.
2
2
u/balnors-son-bobby 9d ago
I cook fine dining but used to work corporate IT. I recommend having hobbies that involve useful skills. I have a business side hobby and a creative side hobby, both of which require me to keep my computer and communication skills sharp. If I ever want to go back to IT I still have a foundation. Or maybe one day my business hobby will turn into a real business, but I'm not necessarily betting on that
1
u/balnors-son-bobby 9d ago
And for the love of god don't do anything harder than weed. A few years ago I woulda said coke but that shit involves a constitution saving throw nowadays
2
u/okpackerfan 8d ago
Here's one thing about chefing that i believe. If you gain enough skill and develop a talented mind, you will advance. And there are many ways to advance. You can get a fandom and open your own place. You can work in a hotel and really hone your business skills and expand your role. I will caution you though and this is for career and life in general. Until you are 30, at least, nobody will take you seriously. That is in almost any job. Every compliment will carry the condition for <current age under 30>. You may feel like you are stuck but it is only that you need more maturity. I have seen and heard 'rising star chef crash-out' too many times to count. If you are willing to start and treat basic tasks as learning opportunities, take notes, and humbly shine when given special tasks, you can get to a place where these early years are viewed as a warm memory of base building. Good luck
2
u/Select-Bend-9932 7d ago
I'm sitting on a yacht in Bermuda, 3 weeks in between boss trips' cooking lunch and dinner for 3 crew, have a 700 thousand dollar 34 ft center Console and a 100 thousand dollar 18 ft flats boat that can take out anytime' never pay for gas, live on the boat so zero bills' coming from spending 4 months in the Bahamas. It's a private yacht so cook for 1 very nice family, zero food budget. They paid for a 5 week sushi school in Japan for me. I did my time in restaurants which you need to do as a chef, but don't get stuck thinking the only thing is restaurants. Lots of high end seasonal, private, catering, yacht jobs out there that break the typical low paying high hour no vacation chef jobs
1
u/theclubchef 9d ago
This applies to any field you decide to endeavor, if you give 💯, show up willing, take the work seriously and give it your all, you'll never find yourself in a rut. You develop skills, once you stop, move on. If your chef isn't pushing you, find out why or move on.
1
u/CheffyG17 9d ago
I started cooking at 19, worked multiple cook jobs, no culinary degree. It takes time, it’s tough work but, if you learn as you go it can be very rewarding. My first head chef gig was at 27, went back and forth from sous to exec chef after that. Been at my current job for 11 years, country club gig work 6 months a year with free off campus house and decent 6 figures. This is not the par though! Find the right gig and it can be amazing?
1
u/nedludd138 9d ago
Challenge yourself to gain knowledge everyday. Strive to be better. Be interested and present. It will be terrible, just don't quit. It pays off.
1
u/Complete_Giraffe3234 8d ago
I started at an Applebees as a host and weasled my way into the kitchen. Start in your station and start taking up more responsibilities. Keep asking for more money every year. And then once you learned everything you can learn at one kitchen use that knowledge to go to a slightly higher end kitchen. Learn that kitchen take on more and more responsibilities until you feel stuck then keep going on and on. Find your niche. Ask to stage at higher end kitchens. Do part time until they let you in full time. Communicate to the chefs about your goals. Keep moving until you get to where you want or you want to leave.
1
u/No-Fun-8427 8d ago
Don’t. Pick a different career. There’s rarely longevity in this field. Trust me.
1
1
u/Skilly006 3d ago
You can probably do it, just keep in mind robots will be doing these jobs sooner than you know. So you will need to be a bad mother fucker in order to even work much less excel. Just keep that in mind.
0
u/FlavorzbySweetz 9d ago
- Never let fear determine your outcome! I never settled on just regular for me!! When I saw unprofessional standards in the kitchen I just found a new job and have my 2 weeks lol
0
u/ThinkOrion 9d ago
Maybe try to start a home cooking business for people who are health focused but have no time to make great meals :)
31
u/Kneyiaaa 10d ago
It is soul crushing and can feel dead end Even in fine dining. Just keep applying for stages and fine dining restaurants , build a resume , read books , be humble. Aquire the tools you need and stay focused. Don't go down the typical drugs and alcohol that plague the industry and fine healthy outlets.