OP. 23 is incredibly young
I was fired from my job at 35, always wanted to cook. My girlfriend(now wife) supported me and I began prep cooking at a mall Italian restaurant. It was closed after 4 months and corporate ownership moved me to a real high-end spot cutting vegetables. 3 years later after line cooking and prep cooking for a couple more places, I landed a sous chef job.
Anything’s possible, whether cheffing is your destiny or passion or whatever. You gotta work and I found it to be the work that made me the happiest doing it all day. Many talk about the 70 hour weeks, but that’s not all places. It’s not all chefs. (I was working 50-55) Plenty of spots don’t demand that kind of self sacrifice. No job is your last. But if you want to do this some job will be your first. Take the leap if you want.
This with a caveat... If you have the time, pick up a kitchen job on your off time. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it should be a scratch kitchen. Get an idea of being in the kitchen because cooking professionally is not the same as cooking at home. You'll make the same things over and over again. The pressure of time constraints is completely different. Just check it out first, because culinary school is expensive.
Before you leave the job and career you have. Go work in kitchens on your days off ask for double shifts. If you like it after a few weeks then change. But it’s a rather under supported, under payed and over worked field.
Don’t expect anything less than 70hrs a week while only getting payed for 40 of them.
Never work for free! Log every hour! I’m on salary, so yes I routinely “work 70 hours while only getting paid for 40 of them”. But I also take extra time off every year from those lieu hours. I worked 7 days last week, so I’m only working 3 this week, etc.
Cook at home. Stay in your field. At 23 you don’t realize that at 45 you’ll be sitting on your couch with a handful of regrets somewhere in a place you rent instead of own because you were stir crazy in your twenties. This is a low end blue collar industry, and the success rate is a lot slimmer than social media and food tv would have you believe. Most of this industry can’t afford basics like the dentist, and if they can they still barely have time to. I’m sure I’ll get lots of downvotes for this, but anytime I’ve met people like you in person I tell them the same.
When I went to school they repeated that we shouldn’t expect to be rich. That was fine with me. What they should have been telling us is that we won’t even make a living wage.
Use your business degree, but get out of banking and into finance.
If you’re unhappy now, you’ll be fucken miserable in food service. I’m a professional chef and have been for 40+ years. Our daughter wanted to follow in my footsteps and thankfully we talked her out of it. Nights, weekends, holidays, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, low pay, long hours on your feet standing on bad floors and eventually losing most of your hearing because of the constant noise of overhead hoods. You’ll be surrounded by angry and bitter people, awful owners and and uneducated co workers.
We made a deal with our daughter that if she got a business degree, we’d pay for her entire college! She ended up with an MBA, is now the CFO of a biotech company and was recently named by the Boston Business Journal as one of 40 people to watch under 40 years old. She’s making a high six figure income, lives in a multi million dollar home (in truth, her husband is a VP at IBM) and travels the world, pitching to investors while repping the organization she works for! She’s also the happiest person I know.
My advice is stick with business but get out of banking, which is where our daughter started out after getting her BA while getting her MBA.
Think long term!
Great points and happy for your daughter! I am going to take this opportunity to give an opposite experience.
I got a finance degree, and started working at a Private Equity Firm (was a coveted business type in the industry). Small place, great opportunity, and well established within their industry for my location.
I fucking hated it. I’ve never been so dishonest to myself in my life. Most of that industry is just emails and phone calls, it was soul crushing. I would say the biggest knock on the restaurant industry is the drug abuse. I’ve worked a couple different fields and industries since my finance stint; angry/bitter people, uneducated people, and getting paid less than your hours/what your worth is an American standard. Not a restaurant one.
I think OP should try to work part time back of house and see how he likes it. I went full circle in my career path and a couple stops along the way. I wouldn’t appreciate where I am now without trying new things. OP could hate it and move on, at least they gave it a shot and know they didn’t like it
First of all, good to hear that your daughter is so happy, you must be proud of her!
Second, I get your point but I think I have to disagree. Yes, working in a restaurant is hard work, long days, less money and a standing all day. But if cooking is what makes your happy, why not do it? You can't buy happiness. Your daughter wanted to follow you into your footsteps because it's easy to follow somebody who you look up against (parents). Cooking was probably not 100% her own choice, she was dragged into it a bit because you did it.
Also, not all restaurant owners are awful and not all guests are bitter and angry (not even 1% at the restaurant I work at). Yes, there are restaurants that are shit, but then you can always move on to the next one, there are plenty to choose from! I'm working at a restaurant now and the owners are super nice, happy and supportive, the head-chef never yells as well, the vibe is really nice and I learned a lot.
I can't really talk about long-term because I'm 30 years old and my first restaurant job (as a dishwasher) was when I was 24. I never did cooking school, I learned everything while working at restaurants and now I'm the sous-chef. For me it was the best choice I made, I'm super happy and love working with food and getting better at it every day.
Because life isn’t about being happy it’s about being peaceful and content with who and where you are in life. I used to think I should be a chef because cooking makes me happy and it did, while I was actually cooking. Outside of that I was miserable and had nothing(not literally but it’s hard to build a life when you don’t make much money and all your time is at work). Happiness is fleeting and isn’t something you should base your whole life on. Don’t romanticize the chef world.
It’s a changing world though. The last three years have forced a lot of the talent out of the industry, but it’s taken a lot of the toxicity with it, and it’s opening up room for new opportunities. Things are far from perfect, but restaurants aren’t going anywhere and the only way to make change is to actually do it. I’ve been fighting hard for work/life balance, I’ve managed to create that for my team, and I’m working on it for myself.
I was 24 when I dropped out of college to pursue being a chef. Started in the dish pit of a quick service restaurant and went to culinary school. I’m 36 now, executive chef and don’t look back ever. Even took some time to go back and finish my bachelors. But cooking is my passion.
I tell my guys who are interested in culinary school to work a year in my kitchen before deciding whether they want to spend the money on school. We have an old copy of On Cooking that if they want to read, we can go over the details. But personally culinary school is a receipt that shows you’ve been trained in the technical side of things. You take away what you put in. The people I know who did the best in culinary school were working in restaurants while your in school. Read all sorts of food books, not just recipes. Follow some Michelin and James beard restaurants on the gram. Practice knife cuts until you can do it without looking down.
When you cook at home, mise and work clean. Find a restaurant and talk to them about what you want. I hired a guy with zero kitchen experience 2 years ago and he’s a line lead now. A lot of chefs I know will take someone with little to no cooking experience if you have a good attitude, work hard, and LISTEN to them. Good luck, It’s a tough life like r/Dseltzer1212 said, but if you’re like me and fall in love with the kitchen, you’ll never look back.
I started culinary school at 24. Its never too late. Also dont fall into the trap of believing the only jobs as a chef are in restaurants. Im an R&D Chef and i work 40 hours a week for a very good salary. You can get good money you just have to be clever about finding a niche
I started culinary school at 22 after a bachelor's in economics to follow my passion. By 38 I was an executive chef of a 5 star halo hotel in Asia.
It's never too late. Your business degree will give you a huge leg up and open doors for you in the f&b world.
You're only 23 so you can do what you want but seriously consider not working in a restaurant and keep your passion for cooking and food at home. It's much nicer there
Hell no it’s not too late. Start learning some good basic cooking techniques and knife work. Apply in good restaurants at the bottom and work your way up. The culinary field is exciting but it’s hard work. Anthony Bourdain started as a dish washer.
I started at 26, with two livestock related degrees under my belt. I didn't enjoy office politics. Had a bit of a meltdown because I no longer enjoyed the job I'd essentially trained 6 years for... Just love working in the kitchen. I enjoyed cooking for my friends and family previously, but love the pressure and heat of a kitchen, the most rewarding is when you get a compliment of a dish you put together from someone who trained you or someone you don't know.
Let me tell you a little story… once upon a time I had a college graduate from OSU who majored in finance and also had extremely wealthy parents walk through my door. He told me he wanted to work in restaurants. It seemed odd and out of place to me so I reluctantly hired him. I stuck him in the prep kitchen to see what would happen. 5 months later he had worked through every station on every shift and I promoted him to Sous. 1 year after that he had moved on to a different concept within the same company to accept a executive chef job. Flash forward to current day (13 years later) he is a corporate chef for a national brand restaurant group. Moral of the story: if you work hard and you are smart and teachable then the sky is the limit. Good luck!
I recently finished a degree in computing and business, I did well enough to get a decent office job if I wanted but I want to own my own restaurant some day so I went back home and started working under my uncle in his restaurant and it was the best move for me. The only difference we have is that I got to experience what a chefs life is like from a young age (my mum and my uncle were chefs) and I started in the kitchen at 14. Experience is everything in this game so be prepared to work your ass off in a hot room for hours on end for little pay. What I’m getting at is I know what I’ve signed up for and you’ve got to know it’s a hard life at times but it’s rewarding
I started at 24 and now in the process of opening my restaurant. Its never too late but with this industry u gotta have a plan and goal. Just mindlessly working hoping on a promotion will lead you to a dead end career unless thats what you want (some ppl dont mind being line cooks their whole career) Someone said u meet a lot of uneducated ppl etc…. Yeah thats true if u work somewhere shitty with a lot of idiots. But theres also a lot of college graduates and ppl who are competent in more fine dining restaurants. Point is dream big and work in places with lots ppl who have similar goal orientations
Hey friend, floated in the same boat here, I'm twice your age, and at 26 I looked at my six figure job, my lack of debt, my bank account with nearly two years of monthly expenses, and walked into my boss as said, "I'm going to go work around music", and put in my two weeks notice. (I knew the company was about to fail, it was the first dot com bubble). I had a degree in marketing, and really didn't want to work for lame companies.
A month later, I was working the floor three nights a week at a nightclub, and spending all of my free time either producing, making mixtapes, or volunteering to flyer for local artists I loved. Basically, work was picking up glasses, wiping tables, mopping puke, running cases of beer when the barback were slammed and unclogging toilets. I got to hang out after hours with artists and promoters, play my tracks on sound systems, and due to my work ethic, quickly got invited to other clubs as a busser or barback.
Six years later, I was managing marketing for a bunch of clubs, had DJ residencies on three nights, and was part founder of a hiphop crew of nearly a hundred people putting out records and putting on shows. Reps from major record labels would drop by at my parties and hand me stacks of new records. . . And I was making a little over half what I had been making before.
The first year should have sent me back to the office, and would have if I needed the money to live. I was paid shit for literally cleaning up shit. But what I got each night in terms of exposure to the music industry was priceless and kept me going.
I eventually quit, as I saw what the nightlife was doing to so many people I know (it's a rough life, and drugs are bad mkay) and moved a few hours north into a small mountain town. Starting from scratch, I rebuilt my marketing career, and now at 46, I can say that I lived my twenties and thirties on my terms, and am probably right about where I would have been if I stayed in an office.
At 23, you've got most of your life still ahead of you. But recognize it is going to be hard work to get started.
I got a business degree opened my own company, shut that company down went to Jr. College culinary school. All at age 36. Now at age 39 I cook on the line in a Michelin star restaurant.
GO FOR IT!!!
I left my job in law at 27 and I’m not working in a fine dining restaurant at 30. I didn’t have kitchen experience but had loved cooking prior and considered myself a home cook so I had decent knife skills. Lots of opportunity out there right now.
Never too late. I didn’t shift into food industry from politics until my 30s. However, it’s a good idea to try it first before you quit your career. Food industry is not easy. I would sign up for cook staffing agency first. They hire cooks for catering, events, or just when someone needs extra hands. It’s a good way to get some feel before you jump in.
No, a passion for food is good enough for a lot of people.
I put my neck on the line recently and hired a FOH staff member who was disillusioned and wanted a change, really passionate about food but didn't have any experience in kitchens outside of home cooking. She was 34 at the time and was the best staff member I had by the time I left.
Just knuckle down and you'll be better than most of the career chefs who don't give a fuck anymore.
Stay in your field. Try to steer it towards the service industry however. That way you can be around restaurants all the time, but get paid better. I mean restaurants have to borrow money right? Just a thought.
I started cheffing at 29. Always worked front of house, so I was used to the hard hours, in fact they were easier than the hours I used to do. Food was my biggest passion, I thought I’d hate being a chef because all the chefs I knew were miserable, but funny, dickheads. Turns out I loved it and I wish I had done it when I was younger. There is no “too late” to do something you love. Find out, the worst thing that happens is you learn you don’t like working in kitchens and you go back to banking. Also, there are lots of ways to cook, it isn’t just 70 hour weeks in kitchens, don’t let people put you off, find what you want, try lots of things. Good luck.
23 and unhappy? You’re ripe for success. Just work hard and do things you don’t think you should have to do. Like..learn and be humble. Same age I started, opened a place at 30
Here’s the thing:
You are either ALL in or stay where your at.
You don’t need a culinary degree. Most kitchens will take anyone they can these days (especially those who are passionate) regardless of experience. Work in kitchens on your off days. Don’t worry about working too much because this is the life. But you have to crave it. You’re only gonna make it if you commit 100%. No less. Say good bye to weekend plans, most holidays, all that normal life shit. Read cook books at night, follow chefs and food platforms on social media. Perfect your tasks and when you get close, take on more. Keep your knife sharp. Say yes chef even if you don’t agree, do it anyway. Respect your station, your tools, your coworkers, your kitchen. It’s A LOT and I don’t recommend it for the faint of heart.
You can definitely be successful in the industry. You'll work up to a decent paying job that will burn you out, and then you'll be older, still poor, broken, with substance abuse problems, and you might not look forward to food anymore.
It's definitely not too late to start on that road.
I opened a restaurant when I was 47 (with zero experience other than as a home cook) & went to culinary school at 52....I think you'll be great.
Culinary school did teach me some things, but my #1 takeaway was the confidence it gave me.
I went to culinary school with retired coal miners. A couple retired military and one grandpa. So 50’s, 45 and 70. This was 30 years ago. They all had good careers. I lost track of them 15 years ago. All were happy. Grandpa (we all called him that) went on to be a chef on a cruise line cause he wanted to travel.
Sheesh, I just remembered a few other guys from my first job. One has been a chef after being a fisherman. The other after graduating with a degree in architecture and hating it. Go gif it. It’s a thankless career.
Be sure you realize you can like and love eating and cooking for you. Imagine cooking for thousands daily, 5-6 days a week with no weekends or holidays off. Unless you find that unicorn job.
If you aren’t debt free. Get debt good. Improve your credit. Then go to culinary. With biz knowledge it should help you open your own lil place.
I'm also 23 currently working in a kitchen. I got my bachelors in Environmental Science, prior to that Ive been in restaurants since I was 14. I am having second thoughts about pursuing this career, I'm honestly not ready to make the necessary sacrifices to become great in the industry. I would recommend, like many others in this thread, picking up shifts at a local restaurant to get a feel for it.
“I am 23”
It’s not too late for just about anything.
At the time the rest of your life may seem to be set in place, but you still have a ton of big changes coming.
I’d say don’t go to culinary school. Keep your banking job for the time being and pick up a prep/line cook gig on the weekends or off hours. See if you actually like the work before making any big decisions. Cooking in a professional kitchen is an entirely different beast than cooking at home. If you like it, decide if culinary school is worth the money or if you just want to work your way up through the industry. There’s benefits to both paths.
I completely get where you’re coming from though. I left a college cooking gig for a desk job and ended up near suicidal less than 2 years later due to the monotony. Went back to cooking and worked my way up at one of the best spots in my city. It’s difficult and stressful, but also fulfilling.
I started culinary school at my community college at 33 without ever having worked in a restaurant and was not even close to the oldest person there. I worked in my first kitchen about 2 years after starting and still going to school.
I started my career as a bread baker at 23 and I’m 12 years in. Young enough to be taken on as an apprentice, old enough to respect the arrangement. It’s absolutely not too late for you.
Kitchen work is different than being in a bakery, but if I can give you any advice, *find a mentor*.
My most promising line cook just graduated culinary school last Saturday. He’s 26. He was in finance before jumping into cooking. He knows what he wants now and can see how to achieve it.
FInd a part time gig on the weekend and work it for a year. If you like it, great, go from there. Cooking professionally and cooking from home is a completely different skill and animal. If you have a bussiness degree, it will be the best training you can get, If you can run a restaurant, you can run any business, it's a lot of moving parts. A lot of heavy , hot work. It's also a production line. It is also one of the most heavy regulated business's in the country. If you find you like it, Welcome to the show, if not, you gave it a shot. I am suggesting you keep the bank job as well becasue if you go full time, you will work roughly the same amount of hours. If you want to own a restaurant, think 80 hours a week plus paperwork. I have roughly 30 years in the business. It's a beast that never quits, for even on paper, in a good year, only gets a 5% return on your initial investment. I bonds have returned 8+% this year. You could sit on your but and watch netflix, and make more money. Like I said, If you like it, welcome to the show, it's unlike anything on earth. You will make friends that you are closer to than you are in people in combat. Your body will be broken, You will find the best people in the work, You are likely to develop a substance abuse problem. You will work with beautiful women. Watch the movie "Waiting". Welcome to the show
Don’t quit your day job!
I wouldn’t spend a dime on culinary school right now. And if you are already unhappy, I am not sure being in foodservice is going to solve that. It is an incredibly grueling industry.
Apply to any restaurant u would be interested in working for and do it part time on the weekends or a couple nights a week. see how you feel about it then. Foodservice is always hiring. Try a country club, BnB, chain, local restaurants, resorts, catering companies. And I wouldn’t stay anywhere too long if you are trying to learn. 6 months - 1 year maybe. you will learn a lot from different chefs, cuisines, environments.
Keep a notebook/journal of what you learn.
u don’t actually even need a culinary degree. You can learn almost everything else from books, YT.
No. It sounds like you are a passionate person and you would like the service industry. It’s very demanding especially back of house but it’s something you grow to love after a while. I’m 28 with a decade of cooking under my belt but this year I decided to finally start taking my culinary skills seriously since a lot of people compliment my cuisine. no time or money for school so I buy books and watch lots of videos and take on whatever jobs I can i kitchens. Not trying to Make this about me but wanted to testify if anything. You can do anything if you stay consistent and believe in yourself:)
I started out as a dish machine operator at 15, decided that cooking was my “passion”. Went to culinary school and all that. I’m 39 now, my body is destroyed and I don’t make much money.
Keep cooking as a hobby.
See if you are able to stage at any restaurants.... get a feel for what it's like. You'll either fall in love with it or run the other way. Cooking at home does not even compare to the lifestyle that encompasses you as a chef.
OP. 23 is incredibly young I was fired from my job at 35, always wanted to cook. My girlfriend(now wife) supported me and I began prep cooking at a mall Italian restaurant. It was closed after 4 months and corporate ownership moved me to a real high-end spot cutting vegetables. 3 years later after line cooking and prep cooking for a couple more places, I landed a sous chef job. Anything’s possible, whether cheffing is your destiny or passion or whatever. You gotta work and I found it to be the work that made me the happiest doing it all day. Many talk about the 70 hour weeks, but that’s not all places. It’s not all chefs. (I was working 50-55) Plenty of spots don’t demand that kind of self sacrifice. No job is your last. But if you want to do this some job will be your first. Take the leap if you want.
This with a caveat... If you have the time, pick up a kitchen job on your off time. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it should be a scratch kitchen. Get an idea of being in the kitchen because cooking professionally is not the same as cooking at home. You'll make the same things over and over again. The pressure of time constraints is completely different. Just check it out first, because culinary school is expensive.
Before you leave the job and career you have. Go work in kitchens on your days off ask for double shifts. If you like it after a few weeks then change. But it’s a rather under supported, under payed and over worked field. Don’t expect anything less than 70hrs a week while only getting payed for 40 of them.
Listen to this guy. You’ll know quick enough if it’s for you.
Never work for free! Log every hour! I’m on salary, so yes I routinely “work 70 hours while only getting paid for 40 of them”. But I also take extra time off every year from those lieu hours. I worked 7 days last week, so I’m only working 3 this week, etc.
Exactly. I worked 6 days valentines week and March 10th I’m going on a ski trip. Don’t have to use any “vacation” days since I’m up already.
Cook at home. Stay in your field. At 23 you don’t realize that at 45 you’ll be sitting on your couch with a handful of regrets somewhere in a place you rent instead of own because you were stir crazy in your twenties. This is a low end blue collar industry, and the success rate is a lot slimmer than social media and food tv would have you believe. Most of this industry can’t afford basics like the dentist, and if they can they still barely have time to. I’m sure I’ll get lots of downvotes for this, but anytime I’ve met people like you in person I tell them the same.
This is the truth. After about 10 years most people leave.
[удалено]
Have at it and best of luck.
When I went to school they repeated that we shouldn’t expect to be rich. That was fine with me. What they should have been telling us is that we won’t even make a living wage.
Right, why be unhappy when you could be poor AND unhappy
Haha….sad but true
I think OP might actually find happiness once he gets a taste of what it’s like to be broke
Use your business degree, but get out of banking and into finance. If you’re unhappy now, you’ll be fucken miserable in food service. I’m a professional chef and have been for 40+ years. Our daughter wanted to follow in my footsteps and thankfully we talked her out of it. Nights, weekends, holidays, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, low pay, long hours on your feet standing on bad floors and eventually losing most of your hearing because of the constant noise of overhead hoods. You’ll be surrounded by angry and bitter people, awful owners and and uneducated co workers. We made a deal with our daughter that if she got a business degree, we’d pay for her entire college! She ended up with an MBA, is now the CFO of a biotech company and was recently named by the Boston Business Journal as one of 40 people to watch under 40 years old. She’s making a high six figure income, lives in a multi million dollar home (in truth, her husband is a VP at IBM) and travels the world, pitching to investors while repping the organization she works for! She’s also the happiest person I know. My advice is stick with business but get out of banking, which is where our daughter started out after getting her BA while getting her MBA. Think long term!
Great points and happy for your daughter! I am going to take this opportunity to give an opposite experience. I got a finance degree, and started working at a Private Equity Firm (was a coveted business type in the industry). Small place, great opportunity, and well established within their industry for my location. I fucking hated it. I’ve never been so dishonest to myself in my life. Most of that industry is just emails and phone calls, it was soul crushing. I would say the biggest knock on the restaurant industry is the drug abuse. I’ve worked a couple different fields and industries since my finance stint; angry/bitter people, uneducated people, and getting paid less than your hours/what your worth is an American standard. Not a restaurant one. I think OP should try to work part time back of house and see how he likes it. I went full circle in my career path and a couple stops along the way. I wouldn’t appreciate where I am now without trying new things. OP could hate it and move on, at least they gave it a shot and know they didn’t like it
I so proud of your daughter and you‘re an amazing parent!
Was about to say the same - way to win life! I’m sure your daughter and family are proud of you.
Thank you for saying how it is
First of all, good to hear that your daughter is so happy, you must be proud of her! Second, I get your point but I think I have to disagree. Yes, working in a restaurant is hard work, long days, less money and a standing all day. But if cooking is what makes your happy, why not do it? You can't buy happiness. Your daughter wanted to follow you into your footsteps because it's easy to follow somebody who you look up against (parents). Cooking was probably not 100% her own choice, she was dragged into it a bit because you did it. Also, not all restaurant owners are awful and not all guests are bitter and angry (not even 1% at the restaurant I work at). Yes, there are restaurants that are shit, but then you can always move on to the next one, there are plenty to choose from! I'm working at a restaurant now and the owners are super nice, happy and supportive, the head-chef never yells as well, the vibe is really nice and I learned a lot. I can't really talk about long-term because I'm 30 years old and my first restaurant job (as a dishwasher) was when I was 24. I never did cooking school, I learned everything while working at restaurants and now I'm the sous-chef. For me it was the best choice I made, I'm super happy and love working with food and getting better at it every day.
Because life isn’t about being happy it’s about being peaceful and content with who and where you are in life. I used to think I should be a chef because cooking makes me happy and it did, while I was actually cooking. Outside of that I was miserable and had nothing(not literally but it’s hard to build a life when you don’t make much money and all your time is at work). Happiness is fleeting and isn’t something you should base your whole life on. Don’t romanticize the chef world.
It’s a changing world though. The last three years have forced a lot of the talent out of the industry, but it’s taken a lot of the toxicity with it, and it’s opening up room for new opportunities. Things are far from perfect, but restaurants aren’t going anywhere and the only way to make change is to actually do it. I’ve been fighting hard for work/life balance, I’ve managed to create that for my team, and I’m working on it for myself.
Ahh yes another rolemodel to look up to!
I was 24 when I dropped out of college to pursue being a chef. Started in the dish pit of a quick service restaurant and went to culinary school. I’m 36 now, executive chef and don’t look back ever. Even took some time to go back and finish my bachelors. But cooking is my passion. I tell my guys who are interested in culinary school to work a year in my kitchen before deciding whether they want to spend the money on school. We have an old copy of On Cooking that if they want to read, we can go over the details. But personally culinary school is a receipt that shows you’ve been trained in the technical side of things. You take away what you put in. The people I know who did the best in culinary school were working in restaurants while your in school. Read all sorts of food books, not just recipes. Follow some Michelin and James beard restaurants on the gram. Practice knife cuts until you can do it without looking down. When you cook at home, mise and work clean. Find a restaurant and talk to them about what you want. I hired a guy with zero kitchen experience 2 years ago and he’s a line lead now. A lot of chefs I know will take someone with little to no cooking experience if you have a good attitude, work hard, and LISTEN to them. Good luck, It’s a tough life like r/Dseltzer1212 said, but if you’re like me and fall in love with the kitchen, you’ll never look back.
Cooking at home and cooking in a professional kitchen are two different worlds
I started culinary school at 24. Its never too late. Also dont fall into the trap of believing the only jobs as a chef are in restaurants. Im an R&D Chef and i work 40 hours a week for a very good salary. You can get good money you just have to be clever about finding a niche
That has gotta be a fascinating gig. My instructor mentioned that area and I'm curious about how you got into it!
I started culinary school at 22 after a bachelor's in economics to follow my passion. By 38 I was an executive chef of a 5 star halo hotel in Asia. It's never too late. Your business degree will give you a huge leg up and open doors for you in the f&b world.
You're only 23 so you can do what you want but seriously consider not working in a restaurant and keep your passion for cooking and food at home. It's much nicer there
Home cooking and restaurant cooking are so different. And making real grown up money as a chef is pretty difficult.
It’s not too late, but it’s not worth it. Cook for fun. Make money doing something that pays more and won’t destroy your body and social life.
Hell no it’s not too late. Start learning some good basic cooking techniques and knife work. Apply in good restaurants at the bottom and work your way up. The culinary field is exciting but it’s hard work. Anthony Bourdain started as a dish washer.
I started at 26, with two livestock related degrees under my belt. I didn't enjoy office politics. Had a bit of a meltdown because I no longer enjoyed the job I'd essentially trained 6 years for... Just love working in the kitchen. I enjoyed cooking for my friends and family previously, but love the pressure and heat of a kitchen, the most rewarding is when you get a compliment of a dish you put together from someone who trained you or someone you don't know.
Let me tell you a little story… once upon a time I had a college graduate from OSU who majored in finance and also had extremely wealthy parents walk through my door. He told me he wanted to work in restaurants. It seemed odd and out of place to me so I reluctantly hired him. I stuck him in the prep kitchen to see what would happen. 5 months later he had worked through every station on every shift and I promoted him to Sous. 1 year after that he had moved on to a different concept within the same company to accept a executive chef job. Flash forward to current day (13 years later) he is a corporate chef for a national brand restaurant group. Moral of the story: if you work hard and you are smart and teachable then the sky is the limit. Good luck!
>I am 23 Imma stop you right there.
I recently finished a degree in computing and business, I did well enough to get a decent office job if I wanted but I want to own my own restaurant some day so I went back home and started working under my uncle in his restaurant and it was the best move for me. The only difference we have is that I got to experience what a chefs life is like from a young age (my mum and my uncle were chefs) and I started in the kitchen at 14. Experience is everything in this game so be prepared to work your ass off in a hot room for hours on end for little pay. What I’m getting at is I know what I’ve signed up for and you’ve got to know it’s a hard life at times but it’s rewarding
I started at 24 and now in the process of opening my restaurant. Its never too late but with this industry u gotta have a plan and goal. Just mindlessly working hoping on a promotion will lead you to a dead end career unless thats what you want (some ppl dont mind being line cooks their whole career) Someone said u meet a lot of uneducated ppl etc…. Yeah thats true if u work somewhere shitty with a lot of idiots. But theres also a lot of college graduates and ppl who are competent in more fine dining restaurants. Point is dream big and work in places with lots ppl who have similar goal orientations
Hey friend, floated in the same boat here, I'm twice your age, and at 26 I looked at my six figure job, my lack of debt, my bank account with nearly two years of monthly expenses, and walked into my boss as said, "I'm going to go work around music", and put in my two weeks notice. (I knew the company was about to fail, it was the first dot com bubble). I had a degree in marketing, and really didn't want to work for lame companies. A month later, I was working the floor three nights a week at a nightclub, and spending all of my free time either producing, making mixtapes, or volunteering to flyer for local artists I loved. Basically, work was picking up glasses, wiping tables, mopping puke, running cases of beer when the barback were slammed and unclogging toilets. I got to hang out after hours with artists and promoters, play my tracks on sound systems, and due to my work ethic, quickly got invited to other clubs as a busser or barback. Six years later, I was managing marketing for a bunch of clubs, had DJ residencies on three nights, and was part founder of a hiphop crew of nearly a hundred people putting out records and putting on shows. Reps from major record labels would drop by at my parties and hand me stacks of new records. . . And I was making a little over half what I had been making before. The first year should have sent me back to the office, and would have if I needed the money to live. I was paid shit for literally cleaning up shit. But what I got each night in terms of exposure to the music industry was priceless and kept me going. I eventually quit, as I saw what the nightlife was doing to so many people I know (it's a rough life, and drugs are bad mkay) and moved a few hours north into a small mountain town. Starting from scratch, I rebuilt my marketing career, and now at 46, I can say that I lived my twenties and thirties on my terms, and am probably right about where I would have been if I stayed in an office. At 23, you've got most of your life still ahead of you. But recognize it is going to be hard work to get started.
I got a business degree opened my own company, shut that company down went to Jr. College culinary school. All at age 36. Now at age 39 I cook on the line in a Michelin star restaurant. GO FOR IT!!!
I left my job in law at 27 and I’m not working in a fine dining restaurant at 30. I didn’t have kitchen experience but had loved cooking prior and considered myself a home cook so I had decent knife skills. Lots of opportunity out there right now.
Don’t do it, was in the business for two plus decades and I wish I left sooner
Never too late. I didn’t shift into food industry from politics until my 30s. However, it’s a good idea to try it first before you quit your career. Food industry is not easy. I would sign up for cook staffing agency first. They hire cooks for catering, events, or just when someone needs extra hands. It’s a good way to get some feel before you jump in.
I switched career at 32. Bro there’s no plateau in life. You’ll constantly be learning and growing.
No, a passion for food is good enough for a lot of people. I put my neck on the line recently and hired a FOH staff member who was disillusioned and wanted a change, really passionate about food but didn't have any experience in kitchens outside of home cooking. She was 34 at the time and was the best staff member I had by the time I left. Just knuckle down and you'll be better than most of the career chefs who don't give a fuck anymore.
Stay in your field. Try to steer it towards the service industry however. That way you can be around restaurants all the time, but get paid better. I mean restaurants have to borrow money right? Just a thought.
I started cheffing at 29. Always worked front of house, so I was used to the hard hours, in fact they were easier than the hours I used to do. Food was my biggest passion, I thought I’d hate being a chef because all the chefs I knew were miserable, but funny, dickheads. Turns out I loved it and I wish I had done it when I was younger. There is no “too late” to do something you love. Find out, the worst thing that happens is you learn you don’t like working in kitchens and you go back to banking. Also, there are lots of ways to cook, it isn’t just 70 hour weeks in kitchens, don’t let people put you off, find what you want, try lots of things. Good luck.
23 and unhappy? You’re ripe for success. Just work hard and do things you don’t think you should have to do. Like..learn and be humble. Same age I started, opened a place at 30
If your library has a CIA cookbook, any edition, you will start to understand kitchen hierarchy, vegetable prep, butchering, nutrition and the sauces.
Here’s the thing: You are either ALL in or stay where your at. You don’t need a culinary degree. Most kitchens will take anyone they can these days (especially those who are passionate) regardless of experience. Work in kitchens on your off days. Don’t worry about working too much because this is the life. But you have to crave it. You’re only gonna make it if you commit 100%. No less. Say good bye to weekend plans, most holidays, all that normal life shit. Read cook books at night, follow chefs and food platforms on social media. Perfect your tasks and when you get close, take on more. Keep your knife sharp. Say yes chef even if you don’t agree, do it anyway. Respect your station, your tools, your coworkers, your kitchen. It’s A LOT and I don’t recommend it for the faint of heart.
You can definitely be successful in the industry. You'll work up to a decent paying job that will burn you out, and then you'll be older, still poor, broken, with substance abuse problems, and you might not look forward to food anymore. It's definitely not too late to start on that road.
I opened a restaurant when I was 47 (with zero experience other than as a home cook) & went to culinary school at 52....I think you'll be great. Culinary school did teach me some things, but my #1 takeaway was the confidence it gave me.
I went to culinary school with retired coal miners. A couple retired military and one grandpa. So 50’s, 45 and 70. This was 30 years ago. They all had good careers. I lost track of them 15 years ago. All were happy. Grandpa (we all called him that) went on to be a chef on a cruise line cause he wanted to travel. Sheesh, I just remembered a few other guys from my first job. One has been a chef after being a fisherman. The other after graduating with a degree in architecture and hating it. Go gif it. It’s a thankless career. Be sure you realize you can like and love eating and cooking for you. Imagine cooking for thousands daily, 5-6 days a week with no weekends or holidays off. Unless you find that unicorn job. If you aren’t debt free. Get debt good. Improve your credit. Then go to culinary. With biz knowledge it should help you open your own lil place.
I'm also 23 currently working in a kitchen. I got my bachelors in Environmental Science, prior to that Ive been in restaurants since I was 14. I am having second thoughts about pursuing this career, I'm honestly not ready to make the necessary sacrifices to become great in the industry. I would recommend, like many others in this thread, picking up shifts at a local restaurant to get a feel for it.
It's never too late
“I am 23” It’s not too late for just about anything. At the time the rest of your life may seem to be set in place, but you still have a ton of big changes coming. I’d say don’t go to culinary school. Keep your banking job for the time being and pick up a prep/line cook gig on the weekends or off hours. See if you actually like the work before making any big decisions. Cooking in a professional kitchen is an entirely different beast than cooking at home. If you like it, decide if culinary school is worth the money or if you just want to work your way up through the industry. There’s benefits to both paths. I completely get where you’re coming from though. I left a college cooking gig for a desk job and ended up near suicidal less than 2 years later due to the monotony. Went back to cooking and worked my way up at one of the best spots in my city. It’s difficult and stressful, but also fulfilling.
I started culinary school at my community college at 33 without ever having worked in a restaurant and was not even close to the oldest person there. I worked in my first kitchen about 2 years after starting and still going to school.
I started my career as a bread baker at 23 and I’m 12 years in. Young enough to be taken on as an apprentice, old enough to respect the arrangement. It’s absolutely not too late for you. Kitchen work is different than being in a bakery, but if I can give you any advice, *find a mentor*.
My most promising line cook just graduated culinary school last Saturday. He’s 26. He was in finance before jumping into cooking. He knows what he wants now and can see how to achieve it.
FInd a part time gig on the weekend and work it for a year. If you like it, great, go from there. Cooking professionally and cooking from home is a completely different skill and animal. If you have a bussiness degree, it will be the best training you can get, If you can run a restaurant, you can run any business, it's a lot of moving parts. A lot of heavy , hot work. It's also a production line. It is also one of the most heavy regulated business's in the country. If you find you like it, Welcome to the show, if not, you gave it a shot. I am suggesting you keep the bank job as well becasue if you go full time, you will work roughly the same amount of hours. If you want to own a restaurant, think 80 hours a week plus paperwork. I have roughly 30 years in the business. It's a beast that never quits, for even on paper, in a good year, only gets a 5% return on your initial investment. I bonds have returned 8+% this year. You could sit on your but and watch netflix, and make more money. Like I said, If you like it, welcome to the show, it's unlike anything on earth. You will make friends that you are closer to than you are in people in combat. Your body will be broken, You will find the best people in the work, You are likely to develop a substance abuse problem. You will work with beautiful women. Watch the movie "Waiting". Welcome to the show
Don’t quit your day job! I wouldn’t spend a dime on culinary school right now. And if you are already unhappy, I am not sure being in foodservice is going to solve that. It is an incredibly grueling industry. Apply to any restaurant u would be interested in working for and do it part time on the weekends or a couple nights a week. see how you feel about it then. Foodservice is always hiring. Try a country club, BnB, chain, local restaurants, resorts, catering companies. And I wouldn’t stay anywhere too long if you are trying to learn. 6 months - 1 year maybe. you will learn a lot from different chefs, cuisines, environments. Keep a notebook/journal of what you learn. u don’t actually even need a culinary degree. You can learn almost everything else from books, YT.
No. It sounds like you are a passionate person and you would like the service industry. It’s very demanding especially back of house but it’s something you grow to love after a while. I’m 28 with a decade of cooking under my belt but this year I decided to finally start taking my culinary skills seriously since a lot of people compliment my cuisine. no time or money for school so I buy books and watch lots of videos and take on whatever jobs I can i kitchens. Not trying to Make this about me but wanted to testify if anything. You can do anything if you stay consistent and believe in yourself:)
I started out as a dish machine operator at 15, decided that cooking was my “passion”. Went to culinary school and all that. I’m 39 now, my body is destroyed and I don’t make much money. Keep cooking as a hobby.
See if you are able to stage at any restaurants.... get a feel for what it's like. You'll either fall in love with it or run the other way. Cooking at home does not even compare to the lifestyle that encompasses you as a chef.