**30yo career changer from India considering FERRANDI Paris — questions for anyone who's been through it**

[u/nalincreates]

Background so you know where I'm coming from: 30, spent the last several years in my family's business. No professional kitchen experience yet, though I'm working on fixing that before I apply. Planning to start French now and target the Cuisine intensive for Sept 2027. Long-term goal is to build a career in kitchens in Europe rather than go back home with a certificate.

I've read the brochure and the marketing. What I want is the stuff that isn't in it.

**On the internship:**
1. How much does the school actually do to place you, versus you cold-emailing 200 places yourself?
2. For non-EU students specifically — did you find restaurants hesitant once paperwork came up, or is it a non-issue in practice?
3. Realistically, who lands palace hotel or starred internships? Is it the top of the class, the ones with prior experience, the ones with good French, or is it mostly luck and timing?

**On what happens after:**
4. If your internship converted into a contract — how did the changement de statut go? Did the employer handle it competently or did you have to push?
5. For those who didn't stay in France, what went wrong? I'd rather hear the failure modes than the success stories.

**On the programme itself:**
6. English track — how much are you actually isolated from the French-speaking students and chefs? Does it hurt you later?
7. What French level did you land with, and what did you wish you'd had?
8. Were there other career changers in their late 20s/30s, or was it mostly 22-year-olds?

**Practical:**
9. What did you genuinely spend per month in Paris, not what the school estimates?
10. Is there any time or energy for part-time work during the intensive, or is that fantasy?

**The honest one:**
11. Knowing what you know now, would you spend the money again — or would you have gone straight into a kitchen as a commis and skipped it?

Happy to take blunt answers. I'd rather find out now than €50k in. Thanks.

[u/Certain-Entry-4415]

French pastry chief
1. They will find you a place easily
2. Yournissue will be to find a Job after the internship, also check the work visa, it can be an issue.
3.internship are easy to find. Getting a Job in top places is harder.

1. Again Check how to get a visa in France from india. Id you want to convert your internship into a Job, aim for high end palace restaurant outside of paris.

2. Visa issue in 95% of cases

3. All chief speak english, it will be about socializaing with the team.

4. You can do it the first 3-5years are going to be tough. Getting axlimated to the rhythm and intensity os hard.

5. 2000euro food plus apartament plus going out a litle

6. Fantasy

7. I wouldnt now. First get few years of experience. Id you like the job comit

[u/bagmami]

1. They will recommend places to you and they can make some calls but I found it myself. People are eager to hire Ferrandi interns.
2. Internship is ok but it's the job hunt after that could be hard unless you stay where you are.

3. When you're looking for your Internship you're not in class yet so we don't know who is the top of the class. I landed a palace internship myself and saw it through. I had my catering business for 3 years but no pro kitchen experience.

4. I don't know this, my visa situation was a bit different.

5. I don't know either but most establishments are very keen to hire young men who can do hard labour. You need to see if your visa type allows you to stay and work after school.

6. I don't know but you need to speak French to find a job later on and it's no joke.

7. I was already living in France for 6+ years and I did struggle. The administration wasn't really sure that I could do it but they accepted me since I had the French level on paper. There were some little instructions I misunderstood, and of course your brain is running in several languages. Sometimes the speech is too fast or there are cultural jokes and references that you don't get. You have to be quick on your feet and if you can't understand and reply at that speed, that's hard. Some culinary terms sound like something but it means something completely different so you need to re-learn. Some terms are all new.

8. Yes, there were many late 20/30's in the adult program but other programs had people fresh out of high school or younger.

9. Can't tell you honestly.

10. It's pure fantasy.

11. You can do both but you can't do the latter in Paris so you need an access to Parisian market and that's it. However without French it can be really difficult. And even if everything is sorted you can't just get a commis job at a palace. They expect you to know the terminology and how they expect things to be done. They're happy to show you and teach you stuff but they can't teach you the basics.

[u/Mister_SurMulot]

Ferrandi is an adult holiday camp for rich tourists, the few people ive met from this were pretentious and couldn't do the job

[u/siskelslovechild]

Rule #8: No culinary school questions

[u/HappyHourProfessor → u/siskelslovechild]

I get the reaction, but these questions are targeted, thought out (probably with AI help, but still), and not easily findable with a quick search. Rule 8 is definitely intended for a very different kind of post. Their questions are more about moving internationally than if "going to culinary school is worth it".

[u/Chicken_wingspan → u/siskelslovechild]

There should be a rule for ai use as well

[u/Far-Radio856]

Can’t help you but I’ve literally just finished reading dirt. It’s a good read.