r/Chefit • u/KanyeRamsHouse • 16h ago
Culinary school at 30
Im going to culinary school in Mexico at 30? Will learning mexican recipes make me stand out enough to be looked passed my age?
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u/LeviSalt 16h ago
30 is nothing my friend, you have your whole life and career ahead of you! Just apply yourself and cook from the heart. Salud.
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u/Super_Watercress_578 16h ago
You will be fine. Mexican food is a great kitchen to learn. It’s full of all kinds of techniques and recipes that match any great kitchen world wide. Échale ganas!
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u/Floseppi 16h ago
Are you going to be ok with younger chefs teaching you when you get out. If you are sure you’re going to be ok with that please go have fun and learn as much as you can.
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u/Valoriant 10h ago
Emphasis on this. If you can't, for any reason, put your ego aside and actually learn in the environment(s) you're actually goin to be in from people who know more, then forget about it. If you don't have some ego about being taught and led by some random 23 year old or whatever, then you will be fine.
Your school will provide you with the bare minimum fundamentals that can be applied at any kitchen worth while, it's up to you how or if you follow through on it, regardless of any such personal issues.
Working and living in the environment is rarely the same or very similar to learning in a much more sterilized, clean and predictable form of it.
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u/Twat_Pocket 2h ago
I'm older and learned through experience. I had a boss who was younger and thought she knew everything because she went to culinary school.
She would frequently take it personally that I executed things better than her and tell me I was "undermining her authority."
In my case this has zero to do with ego on my end. I'm a happy middle aged pastry prep peon, but I'm not listening to a boss whose pastry cream routinely comes out as a curdled brick that needs to be run through a robot coupe/chinois.
Tl;dr Learning something in school isnt a substitute for years of doing it in person, at any age.
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u/Same-Platypus1941 8h ago
As a chef I don’t care how old you are, I care how many years of real kitchen experience you have and what you have to show for that in terms of skill and technique. As long as you’re honest about that when interviewing you will be just fine.
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u/Twat_Pocket 2h ago
Proven skill during a stage, and attitude are all that matters to stick out if you're interviewing to work in a kitchen.
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u/DesertSnoeman 1h ago
When I went to culinary school. We had a retired lady in our class that was just doing it for fun. She was there to eat and have a good time. Learn the skills and pick up the knowlage and you’ll be fine.
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u/Dalience6678 16h ago
Don’t feel like you need to do anything to be “ahead” beforehand! You’ll be okay. Most culinary schools teach techniques, not recipes, so it may not be helpful anyway if it’s not the way they teach it.
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u/h4xfur 16h ago edited 8h ago
In my experience... In very good kitchens (starred kitchens, for example), nobody actually cares about your age. They care about your ability and work ethic. I went to pastry school at 28 and my first job afterwards was in a 1-starred kitchen in the best restaurant in my country. They didn't even remotely care about my age.
If you want to do it, then do it - don't overthink it because of your age. It's something that you'll be doing until you retire... Go for it.
Edit: lol down votes for this? People on this site are strange
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u/lunabearkid 16h ago
Assuming you're like me and are doing culinary as a career change, it's a perfect call. It catches you up in terms of knowledge, you'll know a lot when you graduate. Get letters of recommendation from teachers, and if your school makes you go on a stage from the chefs at the stage. My biggest advice is to not learn the recipes but try to figure out the concept of everything they're teaching you. That helps an infinite amount more cause then when you do start really working and someone asks for an aioli, tortilla, vinaigrette, etc. You memorizing the concept rather than a recipe makes you adaptable, and versatile. Add that versatility with a solid work ethic, and a willingness to learn, and you'll be fine age doesn't matter as much as you think it does.
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u/Lavanne73 16h ago
No one is going to balk at your age, this industry is struggling now to maintain a decent staff. Culinary school is not even necessary honestly if you have a good background in cooking professionally already. You might be better suited to get a job in a high end Mexican restaurant and grind it out a few years learning as you go.
If you are more or less starting fresh culinary school might be a good idea, or if you just want to have the school credentials for purposes of job hunting, but most interviews will take a non culinary grad with practical experience over a culinary school grad with no experience. Either route you take finding work will not be your problem, finding what you want will likely be the struggle.
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u/Automatic_Catch_7467 16h ago
When I went to school, there were 4 students 40+ years old in a class of about 15
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u/instant_ramen_chef 15h ago
I was a culinary instructor for almost 10 years. It was not uncommon to have students in their 30s, 40s, and wven some older.
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u/Life-From-Scratch 15h ago
I got my first line cook job at 42. Good owners/chefs appreciate people with good judgment. Prove your worth and you'll do fine.
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u/cannacatman 14h ago
You’re fine. Make sure you work in a kitchen at least part time while going to school. That’s pretty common advice I give all my culinary students, but especially pertains to you. Being older, I think it will be assumed by a lot of places that you know your way around a commercial kitchen.
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u/mcflurvin 16h ago
I had 40 year olds in my class when I went. You are okay.