Reality of the Culinary Industry!!

Hi folks!

How many people out there have dreamed of being a great chef and are still slogging in the heat of the kitchen making pennies and paying off dollars to your Culinary school? I know a lot of people in this situation.

Being in the industry myself, I know this field is awesome but at what price? I was fortunate to go to a Culinary program which provided extensive training and paid externship opportunities and best of all, I didn't have to pay a penny from my pocket.

You see, what these great Culinary school don't tell you is that, a graduate from such schools are not considered 'Chefs' in the real world. A culinary school graduate from these prestigious schools pay about $70,000 as fees. As a graduate of these prestigious schools the ones who are employed by restaurants and Food companies are paid minimum wage or just $2-$3 more than minimum wages. When you apply for initial jobs after your graduation you have to start as a line cook or lower and the upward progress isn't fast for a lot of people.

As a new hire, you don't get health insurance or any other benefits for 90 days. Most of you have used your parent's money to study. If you are living with your parents at least you don't have to pay the rent. If not, the rent, car payments, repayments to the school, credit card debt, your family's expenses and other everyday expenses like gas, food etc.. The funny thing which I find very odd in this industry is, we as people who work in industry, who make the food, have to pay half price or sometimes full price to eat. It all depends on how good the company policies are for the employees who work there.

I don't mean to discourage people but I just want to let all of you know the reality of the situation. Don't mistake me, I love being a chef and being a part of this industry but I feel the need to enlighten others about what is really happening here. I have seen a lot of people who are studying or have graduated from such schools and are struggling with work situations. First of all, there are no information regarding what the industry pays for the new graduates. My advice for you is to look for information on the web, keep checking Craig's list. See the job opening ads. there. Look at the starting pay they offer for your position. Doesn't matter if you've graduated from a prestigious school. All they care about is your experience and your expertise. You will be a little bit better off if you've done some weekend jobs through a temp agency to show that you have some experience.

I can't imagine how Culinary schools charge so much and let their graduates go out without giving them an idea how things really are. Some of the graduates I see, come with an air of superiority and their ego and their dreams are shattered to find out their working hours are long, tiring, lot of yelling and pushing going on in the kitchen. Not to mention the limited space and above all these, for such a little pay. It all comes down to that. Even if you learn about it when you are about to graduate, its already too late. You are already in debt. aren't you? How many people really know about debt situation in this country? Not many, you can see that all around you. In this economy its even more relevant.

Don't get me wrong, I really respect people who have graduated from such schools. I respect all my teachers and mentors. All the chefs who have inspired me. I am not here to degrade anybody but to guide and educate others about the reality of the situation.

My life long dream was to be in the food and hospitality industry. I have my Master's in English literature but always wanted a career in the Culinary and hospitality industry.

I applied to one of the prestigious Culinary schools in San Francisco and I was elated to hear from them that I was qualified to get in. A representative called and spoke to me about my course details and fees. They even talked about scholarship which was of "limited availability". When I asked about the details, they weren't very clear about it. They would not tell me what I needed to do to get the scholarship. They just told me that I should consider paying the whole fees rather than hoping for a scholarship. The representative gave me the details about the payment plan. When you calculate and see its all combined total of high percent interest and the principle. Then, it dawned on me that I wasn't selected to join, they will welcome everybody and anybody in. Its like any other business here. It all boils down to 'How they can make money out of you'!

But these days, the situation has changed a lot. Lot of community colleges carry culinary courses and some even in the local community betterment projects like www.jobtrainworks.org . Most of them are way affordable and very practical. Organizations like Job train works cost you nothing. You don't have to sacrifice 3 years of your life and come out to start from scratch making pennies. You can learn, as well as earn. These courses are affordable. Once you see how the industry works and are still interested, you can always better yourselves. There are websites like www.Chefcertification.com were you can take courses online to earn your certificates and credits to progress in your career.

I never knew I had a love for cooking until I started to cook after I got married. I have been cooking now for more than 12 years now. I tried my hand in so many jobs. I loved to work but I always felt that I was meant to do something much greater. My friends helped me identify that for me. They always loved to come to our house for parties and dinners. They encouraged me to start a Catering service and I did. It went off very well but then space was becoming a problem. I was forced to look for another place to cook and I wasn't getting any. I live in the Bay Area, CA. So you can imagine the rent. I just couldn't afford it and I couldn't even get a kitchen to share with. I had to let go of that business. I was determined to stay in this industry. I hadn't had any formal training but I always had a dream to go to a Culinary school. After going through all the ordeal and learning about the Culinary school's exorbitant fees I was disheartened. Then I remembered an Organization formerly called 'OICW.ORG' now its called 'Job train works' which I had come across in a Job fair. They had job training in various fields like, Project build, Computer technician, RN, Office skills and of course, Culinary Arts program! I remembered it out of the blue. I called them up and after 10 days of compulsory Computer training, I was successfully enrolled in a Culinary Arts program. Best of all, I didn't have to pay a penny!!! I also got to earn while I was in this program. They have temp agencies recruiting the students as party staff. It was an amazing experience. Thus started my Culinary career. I want to share this great experience with you guys to let you know how simple it was. I also did a couple of courses through Chef certification to update myself for the betterment of my career and its all working out great.

I agree its really prestigious to study and to graduate from Prestigious schools. The alumini associations provide a lot of contacts. To come to a position and to really appreciate that status, it takes a very long time. Through the program I attended, all they wanted was 98% attendance and a compulsory computer course to get one familiarized with computers and the use of softwares. It was absolutely practical. Companies came to conduct campus interviews to recruit people. What more do you want? All they want is training, Sanitation certificate, recommendation & experience. If you had attended this program without any problems, if you have showed up to all the temp jobs offered on time and if you had followed instructions, they would have rated you. That is a good enough recommendation all by itself. Look for such organizations in your local community.

I just wanted to pinpoint the reality of the situation for the fresh culinary school graduates and for the future Culinary students who want to go to Culinary schools. Ask anybody who is in the industry at an entry level position. They will tell you how it really works. Working hard is always a key for success but making smarter decision all through the way is important too. I am sure, people who love to cook and who really want to achieve something in this industry will. For those people who haven't decided what they want to do with life and have ended up in a Culinary school, I am sorry to say, you are in for a rude awakening.

My advice to young folks out there is, try working in a restaurant during your summer or winter break. See how you like it. If you have a real passion for it, take up any job which they offer. Don't mind being a dishwasher. Most of the great chefs started off as dishwashers and have progressed from there. Everything is a learning process. Leave your ego at the door and concentrate on your passion and make intelligent and sound decisions for your future. Don't be in debt ever and please don't ever go into debt before even starting to earn. Please make sure that you have a degree at least. Before you go to high end schools which cost a fortune search for such community betterment organizations and local community colleges which make such courses very affordable. Once you really start earning and have some bank balance you can go back to your desired school.

I have given a link below regarding the salary levels, benefit coverages from a couple of years ago. Now, things may have changed so don't take my word for it. Ask around and do some research on your own.

For your reference, check out these links:

http://www.starchefs.com/features/editors_dish/salary_survey/index.shtml

I am updating this section after I saw this article by AP about the things I've written about

http://news.yahoo.com/culinary-school-grads-claim-were-ripped-off-203350240.html

Good luck!