Ping: Chefs

[Airhog]

Do we have any people here that are chefs for a living? Anyone that went to school? I enjoy cooking with a passion, but I wasn't sure what cooking was like in the real world.

[Bubba Wheels]

Read somewheres that chef school is the new law school. Enjoy watching the Iron Chef myself, but that reality show with the chef eliminations was the best...Hell's Kitchen I think it was called.

[Airhog]

I don't think you can base real life off of a reality show. They ham it up and make things more dramatic and everything. Not that I don't belive that cooking is not stressfull.

[Galaxy]

I know EF's wife is a talented chef. Lucky man. :D

[Eaglesfan27]

Do we have any people here that are chefs for a living? Anyone that went to school? I enjoy cooking with a passion, but I wasn't sure what cooking was like in the real world.
My wife is just about done a culinary arts program to become an American Culinary Federation Certified Chef. I can tell you a lot about what she relays to me (as well as ask her any specific questions.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -


Her program involved working 40 hours/week (The American Culinary Federation demands 4,000 hours of practical work) while going to class 12-16 hours/week while doing homework, tests, etc.

[Galaxy]

Dola -


Her program involved working 40 hours/week (The American Culinary Federation demands 4,000 hours of practical work) while going to class 12-16 hours/week while doing homework, tests, etc.

Sounds like a tough workload. Taking a basic culinary arts class (I'm a hotel and restaurant management major at a 4-year university), it is perheps the most demanding class I've have (yet the most rewarding and interesting).

[Eaglesfan27]

Yep, it has been tough at times. Last semester she had one day that was 12 hours of class (all various cooking classes), 3 hours of psychology (the university requires a variety of non-cooking classes.) Plus she had 3 hours of Quiz Bowl for Chefs. She also worked 3PM to 12 Midnight 5 days/week.

[Galaxy]

Yep, it has been tough at times. Last semester she had one day that was 12 hours of class (all various cooking classes), 3 hours of psychology (the university requires a variety of non-cooking classes.) Plus she had 3 hours of Quiz Bowl for Chefs. She also worked 3PM to 12 Midnight 5 days/week.

Quiz Bowl?

[Eaglesfan27]

Quiz Bowl?
That is what I call it. There is this national competition based on Quiz Bowl type questions for Chef. My wife is captain of her team (has been for the last 18 months) and they traveled to Michigan and finished 3rd in the Central Time Regional Competition last year (out of about 20 teams.)

Edit: Unfortunately, due to Katrina, it is unclear if the team will enter the competition this year due to the fact that it costs quite a bit of money to have the team travel. All of the universities and community colleges (in the New Orleans area) are reeling financially from Katrina's impact.

[Airhog]

I do have one question for her EF. Is the choice of school important? Like say as important as the law school that a lawyer goes to? I am guessing that most programs have some sort of 2 or 4 year degree attached to them. My biggest problem, is that there is only 1 cooking type school here in oklahoma city, and it is from one of those private type colleges. If I do decide to attend school, I want to make sure that the school I choose will not hinder a future career.

[flere-imsaho]

I suggest reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain if you want to know what it's like to work in the restaurant business.

[Eaglesfan27]

I do have one question for her EF. Is the choice of school important? Like say as important as the law school that a lawyer goes to? I am guessing that most programs have some sort of 2 or 4 year degree attached to them. My biggest problem, is that there is only 1 cooking type school here in oklahoma city, and it is from one of those private type colleges. If I do decide to attend school, I want to make sure that the school I choose will not hinder a future career.
I'll ask her thoughts now either tonight or tomorrow. However, I can tell you that she had a choice of 3 or 4 schools here in the city, and she didn't think the prestige was nearly as important as just getting a good education. She chose a much cheaper school than the prestigious New Orleans Culinary Institute (which wanted 22k/year in tuition!) She actually won an award for "apprentice of the year" in Louisiana beating out students from those other "more prestigious" schools, and she has been in high demand for jobs even before she has finished the last bit of her school. I suspect it depends on what you want to do after school to an extent. However, I'll ask her for her further thoughts either tonight or tomorrow (if she is out with co-workers too late.)

[Galaxy]

Get a lot of home-cooked meals?

[Coffee Warlord]

I whipped up some badass enchiladas last night. That count?

[Eaglesfan27]

Get a lot of home-cooked meals?

Only when she was off work for these past 2 months. When she is working and cooking a lot at work, she doesn't want to cook at all when she comes home. I guess she should be glad I'm not an OB/GYN.

[finkenst]

Only when she was off work for these past 2 months. When she is working and cooking a lot at work, she doesn't want to cook at all when she comes home.
that's how EF27 ends up going on a lot of non-date dinners. :)

[Airhog]

Well I did some checking, and apparently the school that offers the 2 year program is listed on the ACFC website. Im not sure if that means much though. I think my biggest problem would be not having any free time for 18 months. I would basically go to work for 8 hours, then go to school for 8 hours. I am still unsure if I could mentally make it through that. And since I have an associates degree in electronics already, I hate having to retake all of those core classes, like english and such. Lord knows I need the english work though :D