Commis Internships

[RAHiggins1]

I'm considering skipping the formal and costly culinary program (and skip algebra and grammar tests) in lieu of maybe a part time internship at someplace that has an actual brigade. I'm not afraid to peel ginger and broccoli (or scrub pots) for free a couple of days a week to get my current skills refined.

I cooked in the Marines for 4 years, managed waffle houses for 6 year, was a line cook at Jocks & Jills for half a year (never eat there again) and a few other places in between. I am eager to expand what I know. I typically only have to be shown once on presentation. Execution I am not worried about, I know the 5 mother sauces.

My wife bought the CIA's current textbook for me to read & reference, but for me nothing is as good as good ol' hands on, on the job training.

I guess my real beef with culinary schools is that they are designed for kids fresh out of high school or college and my interests lay solely in the confines of the kitchen.

I also would not mind apprenticing with a good caterer.

Edited due to poor thought processes.

Edited December 27, 2007 by RAHiggins1 (log)

[Doodad]

I'm considering skipping the formal and costly culinary program (and skip algebra and grammar tests) in lieu of maybe a part time internship at someplace that has an actual brigade. I'm not afraid to peel ginger and broccoli (or scrub pots) for free a couple of days a week to get my current skills refined.

I cooked in the Marines for 4 years, managed waffle houses for 6 year, was a line cook at Jocks & Jills for half a year (never eat there again) and a few other places in between. I am eager to expand what I know. I typically only have to be shown once on presentation. Execution I am not worried about, I know the 5 mother sauces.

My wife bought the CIA's current textbook for me to read & reference, but for me nothing is as good as good ol' hands on, on the job training.

I guess my real beef with culinary schools is that they are designed for kids fresh out of high school or college and my interests lay solely in the confines of the kitchen.

I also would not mind apprenticing with a good caterer.

Edited due to poor thought processes.

←

You and me both. I am at a point in my life that I have some free time I would like to use it to learn things. As well, I have already completed college and changed careers once with all the requisite training.

Edited December 27, 2007 by Doodad (log)

[JimmyWu]

-Keep searching the paper....research those in need.

-Find the best in your area and tell them like it is...you'll wash pots, dice onions, whatever it takes, trail/trial.

In the end you have to ask yourself "What is it I want to do in the food industry" and form a game plan.

-Jimmy

[Jakea222]

Hey I was out of undergrad and worked for 10 years in the real white colar world before taking on the new world of food. I started looking at cookbooks. I started cooking what was in them - then I ran into a CIA trained caterer who was a former investment banker before the CIA.

Read - The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman - Mike is a good guy even though he hangs out with that nut Anthony Bourdain (CIA grad). They both are very nice people. I tried the career on before selling everything and moving to NY to go to the CIA - OK I know the non CIA people will yell - but it took me a while to pick a school....here is what it came down to. I am older, I don't have as much time as these young punks out of HS to learn enough to get where I wnat to be, which school has the best reputation as far as name sake on a resume that will open doors for an older chef...The CIA. I went in at a time they said they had "non traditional" students coming in - we had 3-4 that did not ahve degrees and doing something else for a living. I believe that the CIA gives everyone that graduates somewhat of a heightened sense of pride. The campus alone gives first time visitors a strange and overwhelming feeling. The people that work at the CIA and especially graduates call the best culinary school in the world, out of respect for the other schools it is probably a debatable topic. I can say that graduates have a huge step up on other chef training programs for one of the following reasons. Being a graduate myself I was instructed by some of the best chefs in the world in the short, 2 year program, time frame I was there. I was lucky enough to have 3 Certified Master Chefs and a Certified Master Baker in my rotation at the school. That is not to mention the European chef instructors that had certifications from the country they were once from. No other school can say that they have that kind of arsenal. While on extern I had the opportunity to work for a CIA Alumni who had externs from all over the U.S., and many of the local culinary programs he said was like a CIA Alumni school because most of the instructors were all CIA trained. And while my 2 years flew by, I graduated before I knew what had happened. But the core values of a CIA graduate, sticks with you as soon as you start looking for a job. The first is the sense of perfection in everything that you do in a kitchen, which in turn affects all other parts of your life. The instructors at the CIA are perfectionists. The class recipes that are performed while a student are done perfectly, or not at all, or until you do it right. This mindset sticks with you every time you do anything. Second is the pride you have as a graduate. This sometimes can be seen in the world as ego, but I think it is taken the wrong way in some respects. We or at least my classmates were very hard on ourselves when we did not get the desired result....But I can tell you that I ran a dinner the other night - my star FoH girl came back asked me it the dessert had any alcohol in it and I said no - yelled back for her to stop had to ask my little line chefette if she put any vanilla extract in the whipped cream and when she said yes - I told my server to tell the person NOT to eat it. (vanilla is extracted with alcohol) I think other programs will teach but not to the degree the CIA does. They beat in you to know things and I knew that becasue I thought it through in a fraction of a second - so I am happy to discuss my journey with you anytime - would even be happy to meet with you and show you anything about the CIA you want to know - it was wonderful and I would never trade it for anything - well, maybe that exec salary I once had.....Cumming GA

If you guys are around Alpharetta - If you want to come in and shadow, let me know

Edited March 9, 2008 by Jakea222 (log)

[RAHiggins1]

Hey I was out of undergrad and worked for 10 years in the real white colar world before taking on the new world of food.  I started looking at cookbooks.  I started cooking what was in them - then I ran into a CIA trained caterer who was a former investment banker before the CIA.

Read - The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman - Mike is a good guy even though he hangs out with that nut Anthony Bourdain (CIA grad).  They both are very nice people.  I tried the career on before selling everything and moving to NY to go to the CIA - OK I know the non CIA people will yell - but it took me a while to pick a school....here is what it came down to.  I am older, I don't have as much time as these young punks out of HS to learn enough to get where I wnat to be, which school has the best reputation as far as name sake on a resume that will open doors for an older chef...The CIA.  I went in at a time they said they had "non traditional" students coming in - we had 3-4 that did not ahve degrees and doing something else for a living.  I believe that the CIA gives everyone that graduates somewhat of a heightened sense of pride.  The campus alone gives first time visitors a strange and overwhelming feeling.  The people that work at the CIA and especially graduates call the best culinary school in the world, out of respect for the other schools it is probably a debatable topic.  I can say that graduates have a huge step up on other chef training programs for one of the following reasons.  Being a graduate myself I was instructed by some of the best chefs in the world in the short, 2 year program, time frame I was there.  I was lucky enough to have 3 Certified Master Chefs and a Certified Master Baker in my rotation at the school.  That is not to mention the European chef instructors that had certifications from the country they were once from.  No other school can say that they have that kind of arsenal.  While on extern I had the opportunity to work for a CIA Alumni who had externs from all over the U.S., and many of the local culinary programs he said was like a CIA Alumni school because most of the instructors were all CIA trained.  And while my 2 years flew by, I graduated before I knew what had happened.  But the core values of a CIA graduate, sticks with you as soon as you start looking for a job.  The first is the sense of perfection in everything that you do in a kitchen, which in turn affects all other parts of your life.  The instructors at the CIA are perfectionists.  The class recipes that are performed while a student are done perfectly, or not at all, or until you do it right.  This mindset sticks with you every time you do anything.  Second is the pride you have as a graduate.  This sometimes can be seen in the world as ego, but I think it is taken the wrong way in some respects.  We or at least my classmates were very hard on ourselves when we did not get the desired result....But I can tell you that I ran a dinner the other night - my star FoH girl came back asked me it the dessert had any alcohol in it and I said no - yelled back for her to stop had to ask my little line chefette if she put any vanilla extract in the whipped cream and when she said yes - I told my server to tell the person NOT to eat it.  (vanilla is extracted with alcohol)  I think other programs will teach but not to the degree the CIA does.  They beat in you to know things and I knew that becasue I thought it through in a fraction of a second - so I am happy to discuss my journey with you anytime - would even be happy to meet with you and show you anything about the CIA you want to know - it was wonderful and I would never trade it for anything - well, maybe that exec salary I once had.....Cumming GA

If you guys are around Alpharetta - If you want to come in and shadow, let me know

←

I would be interested in putting in some time on the weekends. I've got stuff going on right now, but I'd love to get back in the kitchen so to speak. It would be a month or so before I could make time though. I'll PM you.

[Jakea222]

I will tell all of you right now - the food network is not the food industry. half the recipes they show won't work - most books have many recipes that won't work or are not practical.

DooDad had the experience this week to work a BIG gig with us at the club. While he left as excited as he came in - we did not sugar coat our jobs at the club. I have been at the club for a little over a year and one girl that came in all gang busters, saw us 2 days really less than 10 hours and we never saw her again. So is it not glamourous. It is hot, and chaos is all over. Chefs are the control to the chaos. We are the air traffic controllers, cheerleaders and family to the crews that we call employees.

Why do we do it - I have no idea. The hours suck, the home ife is strained. I am burned bruised, cut and worn. I love the results though. The job satisfaction is what you make of it. Now my knees are killing me I am going to get off this stupid machine -

DooDad - you did great and we hope to see you on Sunday!!

Edited April 3, 2008 by Jakea222 (log)