Cooking as a Career

[ZenTaurus]

I'm currently 18, a first-year in college, and I'm just wondering if I could get some answers about a question that has been bothering me for a while now.

I love food, I always have. I love eating and trying new and different foods, finding and trying new restaurants and different ethnic foods, cooking, baking, learning new techniques in the kitchen and seeing how mixtures of different ingredients work or don't. I love the smell of food, the sight of it, and above everything else, I love seeing someone take that first bite of food that I've prepared for them and just close their eyes with a look of happiness.

I've never worked in a professional kitchen before, but I am going to this summer come hell or high water. Up until a few years ago, I had the (blissfully ignorant) dream of "learn to cook well, find out my favorite area, be it baking, french cuisine, seafood, etc., and open my own restaurant/cafe/bakery/shack on top of a volcano accordingly" Then a few years ago, I read Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, and generally started taking an honest look at what the profession would be like. The above plan got crushed pretty quickly when the general consensus seemed to be "get ready for years of soul-crushing poverty, minimum wage, and wrecked knees, and then when your body finally gives out from endless 80-hour weeks, you're out of the industry and out in the cold" Not exactly the most cheery portent out there, no?

Then, maybe a year ago, I started to lurk the forums here and saw so many examples of people of all ages who were in the industry and loved it, despite all the hiccups (i.e. the triumphant return of those old favorites, soul-crushing misery, powdered kneecaps, and minimum wage) Even with all this, food is what I want. Food is the only thing that I am passionate enough about to honestly see myself spending a lifetime at it and still loving, despite my best efforts to convince myself otherwise when I read kitchen confidential and the other uniformly negative resources.

tl;dr = start reading riiiiight...now!

My real question then, is whether it is possible or not to make a life out of working with food. I want it to be, more than anything else in my life right now, I want to be able to be around food my entire life, and without starting to hate either it or myself along the way. (then if it is, hopefully I can figure out how, as well, haha)

So...is it?

Edited October 28, 2009 by ZenTaurus (log)

[mattsea]

I can't wait to see the responses to your question!

I have basically the same question as you, except that I'm 26 rather than 18, and I wonder if I've left it too late to make a change anyway.

[piperdown]

It's a tough life, there is no question about it. You work long hours, you get paid crap, and unless your friends are also cooks with weird schedules, then forget about seeing them often if ever. That being said, of course there is a way of making this a career and a a life without losing passion and desire. I've been cooking for about four years now (so still new to the industry), and I still love going to work every day. Now I don't love every minute of work, but I still love the work.

There are lots of careers in the food industry without being a line cook, because that's not a job for everyone. I have friends that hate the pressure of working the line, so they do other things such as catering (not to say that catering is at all easier, it's just different). I have a friend that quit working in a restaurant to work for a charcuterie shop. There are a ton of options.

The first step though is to actually work in the industry. Find a kitchen job, and work for a bit. You'll quickly learn whether you like it or not. If you do, well congratulations and condolences. If you don't well at least you know and you can stay in school and find another profession and cook as a hobby.

To the second poster. I was 30 when I made the switch from being a. I do think I started too late to ever be the chef I want to be, but it's never too late to do what you love. It's a young persons business, but I still don't regret the switch (except when I look at my bank statement).

Edited October 28, 2009 by piperdown (log)

[greenmountain]

You are still very young, and although I am only 29, I have been doing this for almost ten years. It seemed like a good idea, but after climbing the ladder to chef, I got out quickly, as I had no time for family, myself, or even holidays, which are all important. I have started college again, to major in food science/dietetics/nutrition, so I will still have a career based around food, but I will hopefully give my knees and back some time to heal before I become too old. I am still cooking full time while in school, and I do love this job I am in more than any other job I have ever had, but I have no responsibility. So the money is livable, but if you want to make over 35k a year, you will have no life, unless you work for corporate or state kitchens. Always remember that you can change your profession at any time. Knowing how to cook in a professional kitchen, and do it well, is a skill that will always get you a job.

[BKYLN]

It is very possible, but now that you know that...if you start questioning whether or not you really want to do it, I would say you don't. I figured it out when I was 19...and even and that age I was 100% certain that I never wanted to work anywhere other than a restaurant for the rest of my life.

[mattsea]

I just can't imagine myself ever being 100% certain about anything!

Edited October 28, 2009 by mattsea (log)

[MattyC]

You know, i've thought about kinda this very same thing, years back. Right now i'm 26. I had other choices, other careers I could have changed to and taken. But I think it all comes down to one thing, and it's love. Love of what you do. I'm going to tell you right now, a lot of that stuff you read, the burns, the long hours, the aches, the poor pay - it's true, and most cooks/chefs go through any if not all of that in their careers. But we still do it. At the end of the day, after all of the yelling, the injuries, the highs, the lows, the times during service you have so many tickets, and so many orders you can't even think, to the boring times you need to take apart the oven and clean, or get down on your knees and scrub down some shelves - at the end of the day, I wouldn't want it any other way.

I'm going to tell you that you probably won't make any money either. You bust your ass for not a lot. There are tons of other jobs, easier careers, where you can earn for more for doing far less. IMO one of the few industries where you give so much, mentally and physically for not really a whole lot.

I think it takes a certain breed to really WANT to be put through this. There are people who cook as a job, and then there are people who cook because they enjoy it. The ones that don't really care will complain, say it's too hard, etc. But others will stay with it because it's rewarding.

I worked with a man at my last job.... probably about 6 months ago. He was of the same mind - meaning, he loved food, it had always been a passion of his, but this was his first real kitchen he had cooked in. And man, was he not ready for it. He had visions of TV chefs, and other silly ideas, although at least you have read something like kitchen confidential I suppose. He complained, he moaned, he just didn't think it was really going to be that rough. At the end of his first 2 weeks though, I asked him how he really felt about it - and he paused for a minute, and he said he was really happy. He had never really expected it to be this rough, it was his first kitchen after all, and despite how I got after him for screwing up all the time, he wouldn't change a thing. he left every day, learning something new, and proud of himself when he got through it all.

I guess after all my blabbing on, what i'm getting at is this: Pretty much anyone cooking in a restaurant is crazy. We do this to ourselves. We work in a job that pays like crap, where injuries are a given, where it's stressful and draining, where more often than not you will work inhumane hours and develop aches that won't go away - but we are happy. I don't know of a whole lot of people who can honestly say that. We are outlaws and thugs, artists and chemists.

And won't lie, even i've questioned myself once or twice, but the times where someone has really been made happy by what i've done, someone shaking my hand for a great meal, or someone asking me to come out to a table to thank them for a great time, seeing what it does to someone, makes it worth that, and any doubt goes away.

Give it a shot. Try your hand in a kitchen. Maybe you'll end up as insane as the rest of us.

[KarenDW]

A career can definitely be made from working with food; by people of any age! I am just 50, and entering my 5th year of cooking professionally. Or, my 35th year of cooking professionally. Depends on when one starts counting the years of selling food that I've made.

Something to keep in mind is that working in a professional kitchen will help to develop portable life skills. Not just the important knife skills and cooking. But also organization, responsibility, commitment, how to work hard. I've always told my kids that if they can work in a kitchen, they will rarely go hungry, no matter where in the world they are.

Also, not all professional cooks are restaurant chefs! We are teachers, kitchen managers, food stylists, research cooks, recipe testers, sales people, personal chefs and private caterers.

My recommendation is to give cooking a big chance. Use your days off to learn about growing food, the chemistry of baking, the importance of art and culture, and to look after your body. It's all good.

[vice]

There are lots of careers in the food industry without being a line cook, because that's not a job for everyone. I have friends that hate the pressure of working the line, so they do other things such as catering (not to say that catering is at all easier, it's just different). I have a friend that quit working in a restaurant to work for a charcuterie shop. There are a ton of options.

Also, not all professional cooks are restaurant chefs! We are teachers, kitchen managers, food stylists, research cooks, recipe testers, sales people, personal chefs and private caterers.

I was hoping that the subject of alternate trajectories in food industry would come up. Like the some of the others who've posted above, I've recently been pondering the idea of leaving my current career to work with food again. I'm at a point where I'm young enough (mid-20s) and with few responsibilities tying me down, so such a change is relatively easy now to how it might be in a few years' time. And yet, while it's been about a decade since I worked in kitchens, I still remember what life can be like as a professional cook, and am thus proceeding cautiously.

But what of the alternatives? How does one get a job producing charcuterie, say, or testing recipes? What are the paths to get there: culinary school, apprenticing, starting out doing something distantly related and hoping to cross over at some point? Are there different steps one should take in pursuing a restaurant career vs. other aspects of food production? Those of you out there working in the food industry but not behind the line, how have you done it?

[ZenTaurus]

Thank you all so much for your responses, I couldn't have asked for better ones.

Vice's post definitely is a good question, however, and I'd even take it a step further. You've told me about the general, what is possible, what isn't, what can be expected, etc. Now talk specifics. Tell me about YOUR cooking career, from the moment you first picked up a chef's knife to where you are today. Did you go to culinary school? Did it all start with a fateful bake sale back in 2nd grade? Did you drunkenly stumble into a kitchen job during your youth and never leave? what have you loved, hated, what parts do you miss the most, and what are you still aspiring to?

Lay it on me.

[howsmatt]

I spent 7 years in university. I completed a B.A. in psych and then a B.ed. I taught high school for 3 1/2 years when I left to start work in a kitchen and follow my passion. I thought I would try it out and perhaps go to cooking school if I liked it. I worked under a TOP chef for those first 2 years and learned TONS. I survived under his tutelage even though in 2 years we likely fired more than 20 other cooks with far more experience than I had. He told me not to bother with cooking school and just to listen and learn. I am now 33 years old. 2 months ago I got a job as head chef and I am making the same money I did when I left teaching (minus pension etc.) Over 60 other people applied for the job. I happen to be very good at my job and I'm likely a rare example. . The important point is that you can make an acceptable living if you are able to run a kitchen. Certainly being an intelligent person who is able to manage people and has good math and English skills will help immensely. Many people who haven't gone from line cook to chef are missing these attributes and perhaps some creativity too.

To answer some of your questions:

I hate doing boring repetitive things--but hey now that I'm the head chef I can make someone else do it!

I don't always enjoy dealing with front of house staff.

I don't like the hours and the lack of time with my wife--but again, I actually had far less time with her when I was teaching. Sure I was physically home but always busy working and always tired and grumpy.

Like Bourdain you need to balance working under a great chef for crappy money and learning vs. making more money but not learning as much. If I were younger I would still be working and getting yelled at by a great chef for crappy money.

I strive everyday to learn more and try new things and get better. If people tell you cooking is tough, you should try teaching.

[KarenDW]

But what of the alternatives? How does one get a job producing charcuterie, say, or testing recipes? What are the paths to get there: culinary school, apprenticing, starting out doing something distantly related and hoping to cross over at some point? Are there different steps one should take in pursuing a restaurant career vs. other aspects of food production? Those of you out there working in the food industry but not behind the line, how have you done it?

I am a self-employed personal chef and private caterer. Mostly, my work consists of dinner parties and home parties for private clients, and catering meetings and small events for community groups. I also work for a non-profit agency which provides a weekly, free, community meal. In all of this, a large part of my work involves managing the customer's particular requirements.

My education includes a Technical Diploma in Chemistry and Physical Metallurgy (Materials Science), some business ed., and graphic arts. I spent decades working in the Graphics industry. All of this is mentioned only because the experiences have really provided learning opportunities regarding business operations and process control. My culinary education consists of several workshops, and one 27 hour intensive culinary technique course.

After several decades of volunteer & ad hoc catering, and growing up in a family where Christmas dinner was set for 40, I decided to "retire", and become a professional cook. I was 45, and had been cooking for groups since I was 15. My choice to work as a personal chef was based on the realities of the work: I would not be physically able to work 5 days in a row, and was not interested in working the dinner shift. Also, the remuneration for a personal chef is much higher (per hour) than a line cook. I relish the variety of work with which I can be involved. I feel engaged in my community when I can help small groups to use local produce to cater their events. I grow herbs to use for my private clients' parties. My business is very small, but contributes to my household income in a concrete way. For this I am grateful.

For those who are interested in "alternative" food careers, my advice includes: cook, a lot. Cook for friends, family, business associates. Take risks. Be willing to stand out in a field with a turkey fryer and make Thanksgiving Dinner. Maintain a sense of adventure. Also, go to school. A Bachelor's Degree in biochemistry or agriculture may come in handy if you want to do food research. Business education is useful for test kitchen management. A degree in Nutrition Science can be particularly useful for people wanting to work in menu or product development. Learn to write well, and keep quantified notes and recipes. Have fun!

[MattyC]

I guess i'll make another long winded post, since I kinda want to do anything to help :-p

Personally, I started out like most highschool kids, just working at local pizza/sandwich place because they would hire me. And back then, I really didn't think anything of it. I was planning on going to school for something entirely different (which was programming), and figured that cooking was just a crappy job to get me through - I wasn't raised in a super food conscious family. We ate well enough, my mom was.... an ok cook....but that's about it.

Once highschool ended, the summer before college I needed a bit better of a job than slinging pizzas, so my boss, the owner, said he knew an old friend who owned a restaurant on the coast who needed someone, and he had always thought I had a knack for things, so he wanted me to try my hand there. So with him putting in a good word, I interviewed for a spot in the kitchen there and got hired. While that place wasn't by any means great - often times it was even barely 'decent', but it did give me my first decent glimpse of a line in a kitchen.

Now, I wasn't the only new person who had been hired. In fact, aside from the chef and one other kid, we were all new back there. And it really started to show soon enough that most people really just didn't care, that they were like me at my first food job - just trying to get by. But for whatever reason, I started to look forward to putting out nice things, and trying my hand at more and more. Since it was pretty much, for all intents, my first 'cooking' job, I was started on the salad station... which is usually where you start anyway, at a lot of places, regardless of skill. But the chef saw that I was easily making better progress than everyone else, and for the fact I didn't want to put out stuff AS crappy as the others, he started showing me more, so I gradually moved stations and learned the majority of that line pretty quickly.

Now, the summer was over, and it was time to move into the dorms for school, and back to what I thought I wanted to do. Now, fast forward a few months, and I was really realizing I just wasn't that interested with what I was going to school for. It kinda become apparent that I was missing my time on the line. So I finished up my first year, and found a simple line job. The summer passed.... and I didn't go back to school. Do I regret that? Yeah, sorta. I knew I was wasting money on what I wasn't happy doing, and I knew that. Over the course of the year I had a decent IT job, and had helped out with a few other PC odds and ends, and realized I couldn't stand it, that it was just TOO boring for me. So instead of going back to school right away, I wanted to really think about what I wanted, and since I at least knew I liked cooking so far, I decided to just do that for a little time off while I thought about it.

Fast forward a little bit, and I come to my first job where I actually learned a valuable thing, and that is dealing with high volume. I ended up getting a job at a family restaurant/bar, with about 300 seats, and with that place on a busy night, I don't think I have ever been so stressed out in my life. Nobody truly understands the meaning of 'headache' until you have 60+ tickets hanging in your window, a line of tickets probably about 20-30 long streaming out of the printer onto the floor, and a line of 4 people, 2 of which don't know what to really do since they are new. It was rough, but eventually I ended up becoming the head there, working directly under the owners, since I was one of the few people that actually gave a damn about what left the window.Now, not to say I was putting out great food, I had been cooking for the most part pub food until now, and while I did a decent job of that, I still felt like I hadn't really started 'cooking' yet. I stayed there for a few years, and while at work the food was pretty commonplace, along the way I had suddenly become realy curious about food, so in my off time I started trying to cook a lot of new things, eventually putting a lot of that on special at the restaurant with great feedback.

Fast forward more time, and by now I really had outgrown that place. My 'hunger' to cook real food, and wanting to move away from the bar scene was intense, so I really started thinking about moving on. And randomly, out of the blue, a friend I hadn't talked to in months, said there was a small fine dining restaurant where he was working, and he was becoming the new head chef, and wanted to bring me on board since out of all the people he knew, he figured I would be the fastest learner, and knew I actually cared about what I was doing. I saw this as my chance, so I gave my notice and started up over there.

Now it wasn't easy. Going from never making a homemade soup and cooking bar food to having to make soup from scratch every day, to making things like veal stock and demi, to learning how to trim and cut meats and butcher poultry - it was a crash course for sure. We did everything there from scratch, and very quickly shot up to sous. It was also in part by learning things in my own time - I wasn't content to just learn while I was at work, I read, i cooked, I did everything I could while I was at home to keep learning. While there I was exposed to a lot of challenges too, like pairing for the sommelier of el bulli while he was in the states, to themed dinner parties, to a whole lot of things, and I really learned how to figure out a lot due to being thrown to the wolves, for a lot of things. But even there, after a while, I noticed I was starting to take charge of things, to correct the chef on how to do things, to come up with specials and plan menu items. It wasn't because I thought I was better than he was, it was because my need to learn was so great I was learning things at a great rate, faster than the chef. So once again, I needed to move on, because if I stop learning where I am, I don't think its worthwhile.

Now we are almost to where I am. For a year, year and a half, after I left there, I hopped jobs a little. I was on a mission to find places where the chef was talented and had something to show me, and I took what i found, even if it meant taking pay cuts - I was doing it for the knowledge. And I learned a great deal. Some chefs had trained in france, one in italy, some came from good culinary schools where they had taught at one point, others were like me, who had learned from the ground up on their own. Some had awards like "best chef of -", and some didn't really care for that kind of thing.

Where I am now - well lets see. I use a lot of modern ideas and techniques (Chef Blais and Chef Achatz are two people I respect a great deal, if that tips you off), but I also have french style roots due to some of the people I have worked under. This past summer I helped open a small upscale cafe, but have since moved on from that to try my hand at something else. I have two cooking related tattoos on myself - a small chefs knife on my left wrist, and a whisk on my right wrist. I work a lot of hours, although most of it is by choice, i tend to not leave the kitchen till what I want to do is done. I'm nowhere near where I want to be, I have a LONG time before I get anywhere near that, but i'm happy, in the end, with the choices i've made. After all the chopped finger parts, and bad burns, i'm happy with it all. If I can suggest one thing if this is the path you take - follow your heart and learning. Don't always take the path of money, because in the long run you will be much better off. I don't regret any pay cut to work for a great chef in any way shape or form.

Like others have said, maybe life on the line isn't for you, but that doesn't rule out food at all. If you try it and don't like it, find something you find you are interested and just go for it. Find a place that does what you like and try and get in, no matter what entry position it may be. I actually just finished reading a book called 'The cheese chronicles'. It's about a woman who is known for her knowledge of cheese, who gives places like the french laundry lessons on it, and started off by pestering a cheese shop back in the day to become cashier, just to make it in the door. There is so much in the world of food, that if that's where you want to be, you'll find a place.

I hope for you zen this might give you a little insight and help, and for everyone else reading it, I hope I didn't bore you lol

Edited October 29, 2009 by MattyC (log)

[ZenTaurus]

Matty, thank you so much, that was exactly what I had been looking for (it also hit very close to home, as I'm coming to the the same college/real-life juncture you were before you decided to leave o_0)

[SaladFingers]

I became a chef 3 months ago, aged 24. I graduated from university in 2006 and wasted two years in menial labour, not having a clue what to do. So I decided to go back to university and gain a masters qualification. At this point, I didn't have a clue how to cook (I could barely boil a kettle) but I had lots of free time and gradually discovered I really enjoyed learning how to cook.

A year later, I'd been cooking every day for myself; making bread, jointing chickens and just generally gaining ambition to learn more than I could teach myself.

So, I quit university and immediately set about finding work in a restaurant. I arrogantly assumed that I would naturally progress very quickly in the restaurant because I considered myself relatively intelligent and therefore capable of mixing it with people who had no qualifications but who were better cooks than myself.

My head chef permenantly talks to my like I'm a naughty child. In the academic world I have lived in, I have always been treated like an equal; spoken to with respect and made to feel like I have something to offer. The absolute opposite is what I have experienced during my first 3 months in a kitchen - I am criticised relentlesly - I'm too slow, I have a terrible memory, I'm nervous, I don't automatically know how to do everything - I'm made to feel like shit - And yet on my way home each evening, I remind myself of why I'm putting up with it - I want to learn how to cook.

I have made a lot of sacrafices to work where I am - I've left home - I get paid less for 5 days work than I did for 2 in my last job - my rent is astronomical - And I scarcely see my friends now. But I WILL become a good cook, if it's the last thing I ******* do!

I start college soon, where I am desperate to learn lots. Don't know if anyone from England can vouch for the collegic system. I don't get to do much prep in my current workplace, so I am seriously conisdering taking on a second job in a bigger place. Prep is where you learn how food goes together isn't it and I'm not doing enough to satisfy me. I think I'll be much happier in my job if I can see that I am learning lots. That's the economy of this industry, I think - knowledge/skill. If you're not gaining in them, then you're best of stacking shelves in a supermarket.

[chromedome]

I was hoping that the subject of alternate trajectories in food industry would come up. Like the some of the others who've posted above, I've recently been pondering the idea of leaving my current career to work with food again. I'm at a point where I'm young enough (mid-20s) and with few responsibilities tying me down, so such a change is relatively easy now to how it might be in a few years' time. And yet, while it's been about a decade since I worked in kitchens, I still remember what life can be like as a professional cook, and am thus proceeding cautiously.

But what of the alternatives? How does one get a job producing charcuterie, say, or testing recipes? What are the paths to get there: culinary school, apprenticing, starting out doing something distantly related and hoping to cross over at some point? Are there different steps one should take in pursuing a restaurant career vs. other aspects of food production? Those of you out there working in the food industry but not behind the line, how have you done it?

It's been my observation that the route you take to get there is not usually the primary factor. Oh, there may be some career paths that require very specific training/experience to get into, but as a rule it comes down to you and the passion you bring. Most times, you'll need to make it happen for yourself.

To pick one example, unless you live in a larger centre there may not be much for charcuterie in your vicinity. If you live and breathe for the glory that is cured pork, then you will probably have to make it happen for yourself. Scrounge or build a smoker, pick up some salt and TCM, cultivate a pig farmer, and - very important - get yourself square with the local health department. Book a table at the local farmer's market, go door to door, harangue any chef in the area who'll let you into his kitchen. Work as much of a day job as you need to pay the bills, and just keep plugging. Sooner or later, you'll make a go of it.

Or not. But even failing will teach you a lot, and the next time out you'll have a better idea how to go about it.

I started in the industry at 40, after a lifetime in sales. Yes, it's brutally hard. Yes, the money is shite; even - especially - if you have your own restaurant. You do it because, in your heart of hearts, you have to. At the end of the day you may end up doing something else food-related (most of the wholesale reps around here are former chefs/line cooks who wore out on it), and that's fine too. Even if you get out entirely (and you're plenty young enough to put in 8-10 years before doing that), you'll learn a lot of portable skills. Tell me a career where efficiency, accuracy, reliability, planning, and ability to perform under pressure are not valued?

[Joisey]

OK ZT, here's 2 more cents from a lifer:

I've never done anything else that I liked. I started out as a fry cook at 17 in a situation JUST LIKE Tony Bourdain's formative years in Provincetown. Of course, the alcohol, sex and adrenaline are going to appeal to a high school kid, right? We've got the energy and have never really made money so we don't know what's good and bad. My dad was happy that I was finally applying myself to something and suggested that I check out CIA (a family friend from long ago had a son who went there). So off to CIA I went at 19, expecting the college experience of MORE sex, alcohol and adrenaline and maybe a few classes along the way.

RUDE LIFE INTERRUPTION #1.

CIA was like boot camp in chef whites (at least it was back in 1989, can't speak for it now). I was suddenly thrust into the world of hard work, lots of studying, little time for fun and getting screamed at by Chefs (which I was NOT used to). I almost washed out but too many people were counting on me to make it so I stuck it out. After fucking around (for lack of a better term) for a few years to catch up on lost partying, I started acquiring some chops as they say. I managed to get out of my podunk city and got a job at a casino in Atlantic City. Even though casino food is..well, it is what it is, it was also the big leagues for me. I was suddenly surrounded again by talented although somewhat unmotivated people and I got to see what a REAL line is like. 8 years of that prepared me for management, and I've been a chef in just about every situation since then.

LIFE REALIZATION #45: I love this career.

You've gotta accept the fact that you're not going to make any real money until later on and that you're gonna work a TON of hours and holidays. If you're used to taking weekends off to go skiing or whatever else, go be an accountant. We're PROUD of the fact that we can put a suit on and sit at a desk playing on the computer (kind of what I'm doing now while my cooks work) but I highly doubt that THEY can do what I do. It's a peculiar mindset for sure, but one that's easy to slip into. You can read Kitchen Confidential because Bourdain waxes poetic better than I ever could about the job, but suffice it to say that once it's in your blood, forget about it. I've tried getting out twice and it didn't work. The one thing I will tell you is to keep some perspective about the job...if you're in my situation, which is a journeyman chef, you need to look to the future. I am probably going to look into teaching because I'm sure as hell not going to be able to retire on what I make now.

Give it a shot. You don't have to love it after a week, after a month, after a year. Just make sure that you're always giving your best because in the kitchen all you have is your reputation and if you slack, someone will decide for you whether you're cut out for the life. Good luck.

[nbaines]

ZenTaurus thank you so much for starting this thread.

I am 24 and live on the south coast of England and have been wrestling with ideas and looking for ways into working and being connected to food in some way as a living for a long time now. I have a few commitments which has made decisions and ideas sometimes difficult due to mortgage etc, but I do have hope that it is attainable.

The comments of other avenues within the food industry is one that intrigues me also. I was Editorial Assistant on a snowboard magazine for some time and would love to make the transition to food writing but i've found it to be a very competitive market compared to that of Snowsports.

Through it all and even after reading all of Bourdain's books, MPW's Devil in the Kitchen and many many other chef memoirs and Foodie books I'm not entirely put off by the professional Kitchen.

Mattsea - i don't think i will ever be 100% about anything either but im 99.99% sure I want to work somewhere within the food industry or very closely to it.

Thank you all so much for your comments and points, I hope to read many more.