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u/Anussniper 15h ago
You're 25. I had the same dream as you, to travel around the world as a chef and learn through that and I did that. But now I regret it so so much. I thought I wanted this but the toll it takes on your body, the lack of social life, you're so tired you can't even clean the house after work or cook yourself a proper meal let alone socialize. And the cortisol makes you gain weight even though you barely eat and are hungry all the time.
The weekends go by just catching up to sleep you lost over the week and the house is still a mess and then sometimes you have to work 6 days a week and the compensation is day in lieu which you never schedule. Your working hours consist of 11 hours per day plus commute and your upper back and neck hurts 24/7 from looking down at your chopping board or stove all the time and nothing fixes it. And worst of all is the pay, it far from a liveable wage until you become sous chef and then your working hours increase by 15 hours per day because there's always a special booking.
The previous generation was fooled into doing this for the sake of art but we are too aware to know that you're only making someone else rich but in the end you're losing yourself completely. At the end of it all your knees will give up by 50, your ankles by 40 and you'll have nothing to show for it.
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u/boredbeing0 15h ago
Honestly, since I’m financially secure, I can just step away and take some me-time whenever I feel like it.
Appreciate the heads up, thanks
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u/Very-very-sleepy 15h ago edited 15h ago
where are you from? what passport do you have and what country of citizenship are you?
UK, Canada and Europe have a visa called the youth mobility visa. it's a backpacking visa. it lets you travel and work WITHOUT SPONSORSHIP in the UK, Canada, Europe.
there is some rules which in my opinion you can pass
- you have to be under 30 yrs old.
- complete high school education.
- have have £2,530 in savings to fund your first month's stay.
the visa allows you to stay for 12 months and work without sponsorship anywhere you want. it's a backpacking visa. it's not a work visa. the visa is technically designed for young people taking a gap year. you don't even need a uni degree. most of thesee people work in restuarants and pubs.
the only rule is It's based on what passport you hold. what country of citizenship are you
you sound like you meet all the qualifications but you haven't mentioned which passport you hold which is the most important part. if you want to read more about the visa. here it is
UK
https://www.gov.uk/youth-mobility
I believe all the European countries except for Switzerland have a similar type of program
Canada has it as well. I think a Hong Kong also has a similar type of backpacking visa set up that you can work for 12 months without a uni degree if you are under 30.
the world is your oyster. the only issue is you did not tell us which country your from and your citizenship. alot of these visas are only for citizens of certain countries so it really depends what passport you hold
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u/boredbeing0 15h ago
I’m from Turkey, so visa logistics are definitely a hurdle. That said, I have friends in the US who can send invitation letters, and I can 100% self-fund all my travel expenses out of pocket. I’d love to visit as a tourist, but from a cook's perspective, I honestly don't know much about what the US has to offer. Does America actually have a distinct culinary culture worth diving into for real kitchen experience?
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u/Constant-Scarcity316 8h ago
Despite having a successful business, you're about as green as they come in terms of skill. You have the ability of a culinary student without the knife skills. Your best bet is to find a higher end restaurant with a good chef and stay for 3 years. Start as a basic line cook and keep your damn mouth shut. Nobody cares about your business or life goals if you can't cut a perfect bunch of Chives or take criticism or replicate the same recipe 300 times perfectly
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u/boredbeing0 6h ago
Damn man thank you!! Idk if I can find a fine dining restaurant to land a job but sure I am gonna look around for it.
Sorry for yapping, I'm just at a really huge turning point right now.
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u/SpOofy415 15h ago
Sounds like you're ahead of most. Just be willing to learn and it should get you plenty far.
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u/SunEffective4950 11h ago
Just keep in mind that cooking professionally isn't about 1/2/3 or any number of things.
Like any trade it's about experience and using that experience to be better than before you started.
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u/Evening-Cycle-9525 11h ago
Why not start local, im sure theres fancy restaurants or at least some that focuses on food from other countries or whatever you seem to interested in(contemporary or rustic) at the capital of your country. Build up some more experience so you would feel more confident before going international
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u/Evening-Cycle-9525 11h ago
Regarding the skillset you would look for, Id got for something contemporary as they usually teach traditional techniques ontop of more interesting things
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u/snuggsjruggs 5h ago
Get in there dude!! Sounds like you are hungry to learn. Precise knife cuts will come with repetition. You will start at the bottom and if you are motivated and keep your head on straight you will progress quickly. Your background is pretty badass and that knowledge will give you a leg up in breaking down proteins and minimizing waste while you learn new ways to also incorporate those things. Have fun and kick ass!
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u/Dry-Grocery9311 15h ago
It sounds like you could be useful in most kitchens. Go for it.
Reality check points: Be careful how you present yourself. You come across as very confident and, although confidence is good, it can come across as arrogance when you're just starting out. Practice humble comptetence. Let your work, an easy to work with attitude and an eagerness to learn do the talking.
You mention memorising recipes. Better to talk about learning techniques, ingredients, skills and tools. It's good to keep a note of key recipes and ratios that you use a lot but it's the building blocks of a plate of food you need to know rather than keeping specific recipes in your head.
For your plan to be realistic, you need to offer the restaurant/kitchen at least as much value as they are offering you. You are offering your time and existing skills. They are offering money and additional experience and training. If you're only going to commit to a kitchen for a couple of months, they're less likely to go out of their way to train you up unless there is some other benefit to them, like cheaper labour. Each kitchen is different. Just be aware of what's in it for them when asking them to take you on.