Quote: (02-19-2014 11:26 PM)paninaro Wrote:
The culinary schools are valuable because you learn about the science of food and cooking (caramelization, temperatures, etc).. flavors like umami; food safety; and also costing. The last item is what few aspiring chefs think about -- restaurants are a business, and you better know down to the penny how much that dish cost to produce and how to price it.
All this is true. My best friend is a chef and did really well at it. He was exec chef for a big chain and did great because he was good at food costs, managing people, and generally running a kitchen. I was talking to him about it and he said one thing that stuck with me: "you cooking dinner in your kitchen and me cooking 300 meals a night are totally different things". The thing with any job is that it's not about the fun part, it's all the shitty parts that have nothing to do with why you got into the gig in the first place. Food cost and labor are the 2 gigantic headaches you'll have to accept as exec chef. OTOH, it could be a springboard into something else, and having management skills is the real key to advancement in any career. You'll make way more money managing other people than doing the work yourself.
Actually, I just went back and read what thedude wrote, so don't listen to me, do what he recommends.