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/ck/ - Food & Cooking

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10285597 No.10285597 [Reply] [Original]

Professional cooks please tell me about your job, I am considering a career change. What are the best and worst parts? I know that the strange hours wouldn't bother me, but I am intimidated by the pressure of a lunch/dinner rush. Should I take a (fully funded) trade school program or just get a job washing dishes and try to move up?

>> No.10285625

>>10285597
If it's fully funded and you don't have to pay back a dime? Sure, why not. If it in any way impacts you financially, fuck that, start busting suds and move up to prep.

As for career change? You must be fucking joking. Pro cooking is not even remotely like cooking at home for fun. Pro cooking is a relentless, unappreciated, underpaid, over-worked, over-stressed motherfucking bitch, and the only people that do it for a career are either a) going for career chef/ restaurateur, or b) lifers that fell into it because it doesn't drug test and it's the only thing they know how to do professionally. Considering a career change into it is some foolish shit for people that have never set foot inside a kitchen. You will end up with a drug habit or an alcohol addiction, and an absolute hatred and bitterness for every life decision that led you there.

>> No.10285638

>>10285625
Nah man, I don't have any romantic ideas about cooking professionally. I am a laid-off construction worker and I see cooking as a labor job that will be a bit less back breaking. But yeah, I enjoy cooking at home too.

>> No.10285894

>>10285597
>best part
If you love cooking you get to do what you love
The camaraderie in a good pro kitchen is second to none
>worst parts
Incredibly shit pay
Shit hours- both in the amount of hours and where they are. You're always at work when everyone else is off. No holidays, no weekends etc.
Underappreciated
Super high stress
Huge amount of injuries, both chronic (back and foot problems from standing 80 hours a week etc) and acute (cuts, burns etc).

There is pretty well no other trade where the rate of exchange between how much skill, training, and work is required to do the job well as compared to the pay/benefits/treatment you get is so out of whack. You could make two, three, maybe even five times as much as a plumber. You'd probably make at least double as much as a server.

>> No.10285957

>>10285625
>>10285894
/thread