1] Job Responsibilites: What are the major
responsibilities of this job?
If you're Head Chef: Orders, a lot of ordering food, menu pricing, running entire kitchen, not much prep, teaching. Training sou chefs.
2] Describe a day of your life. What would you typically do on a work day from dawn to dusk?
"Get to work, turn on all equipment, start prep, if you're by yourself. Everyone else starts working at about the same time, prepping. Lunch, reprep. Dinner, cleanup. [worst part, watching what you're going to have to clean] Head chef, show up, watch everyone else, yell. Quality control. "
3] What education/training was required for this position? What if any are the needs for more education/skill training after getting this job?
"Culinary \Arts program, Journeyman ship, Blue seal, red seal, is all the education you need. Work as much as you can work. Cook as much at home as you can."
"Two year program, pricing is different everywhere, it will be expensive. You have to buy everything, knives, before school was paid for, 3000 already spent, clothes, etc. Text books. It's really fun, best part about it, you get to eat the most amazing food at like 8 in the morning. \but you're a vegetarian, that's going to be hard. You might want to go to a vegetarian school. "beef stock, chicken, fish, oh, its miserable. Then you get to tate stuff like Beurre Blanc, mm, so good"
4] How does your current position relate to your future career? Is it a stage along the path? What does yoru career path look like?
"on route". "Current position relates, because I'mm cooking." "Pretty easy career, cooking, as long as you're cooking" "lot of learning as you go. Learn a lot of hands on stuff from other people. You'll always start at the bottom, crawling your way up. It's slow, but you'll get up there. [not climbing]"
5] What is the most rewarding part of this job? What is the most challenging part of this job?
"Feeding people, making them happy with food, when you send out an order, they're just like oh my god, so happy with food. Just unable so speak it's so good."
"Organizing your brain, no writing, just all in here." [taptap]
"If you start to panic, you're done"
"Have to deal with dumb people, that don't know how food is supposed to be cooked. But thats just a chefs point of view."
6] Where did you go?
"NAIT, Edmonton Alberta. It was really good, very good program, one of the best in Canada. Its huge. Fund raisers for culinary arts program, 4 mil, all new everything. Kitchens, equipment, everything"
7] What did you do?
"Two weeks just learning vegetables, soups, soup and veg. Two soups everyday, two ways to cook potatoes everyday. I now know sixty ways to cook potatoes. Butcher class, short order class[work on the line, fast]. Breakfast, lunch. Baking class. Meat class, range [sauces, grill]. Garde Manger, salad dressings, cold food, salads, platter foods. Serving at restaurants, fine dining service. That was first year.
Organizational behavior. 'working as a team'"
8] How much do you work?
"Lot of hours, lot of free work. Between years, working in summer for no pay. You'll be working a lot, but part of the job. long days, 16 hour days. I love working in the kitchen. "
9]High demand?
Yes, always be able to get a job, especially in alberta, 'more' in alberta. Lots of job opportunities, almost everywhere.
"Really try to choose, if you want to bake, Head Chef, etc., earlier you choose that, the better. You really want to find your niche in he culinary world. Expand on that, go where you want to go with that. Baking, catering, whatever, find it. Don't just be a line cook, you'll be one of those dirty old men, but a woman. Never left the line."
"If you really want to do it, you can do it, lisa. Its a lot of work, but you can do it. Everyday I learn something new. It's very rewarding."
"Don't work on a cruise ship. Do not work on a cruise ship. Everyone's going to be like, go work on a cruise ship! Do not. Its terrible. They say you'll be able to see the world, but you don't. You aren't even allowed otu of the kitchen, not allowed to sea the people, anything. You'll make big bucks, but it's terrible. Not where you want to go. "
"Hotels, thats my biggest suggestion.If you wanna go big quick, learn a lot fast, work in a big hotel. They always have breakfast, lunch, dinner, so many positions you can learn from in a hotel. In restaurants, stuck in one place for a long time. hotels are really fun, classy. Hotels are always classy."
"Your going to see some disgusting things."
"You should work at the Bluebell. You would learn so much. It would blow your mind."
"Oh, you're vegetarian. That's going to be hard. Owning a restaurant will be hard. It's tough. You have to have something really different and amazing. You cant repeat stuff. Then you'll just be like the chain restaurants. Unless your the first Vegan chain restaurant. A big Vegan chain would blow my mind."
