When you attend culinary school, you’re told of all the amazing opportunities that being a cook presents: you can travel the world, run your own business, make a fortune working in foreign countries, or even become a celebrity chef. Unfortunately, reality is quite different. If culinary instructors told you about the abuse, sexual harassment, low rate of pay, the required and unpaid hours of prep, long days, split shifts, canceled shifts, broken equipment, burns, cuts, swollen knees, stress, nepotism, and random crap that goes on in the food service industry, I think most people would drop out before their second term.
Making a career in the food industry requires more than just a love of food, cooking, or people. It requires you to get used to not sleeping or eating regularly, working 8-12 hours on your feet without a break, and putting up with things that should just not be the way they are. Sure, not all jobs in the field are like that, but you’d be hard pressed to find a workplace that doesn’t have at least one of these issues.
The issue least mentioned in culinary schools is the seasonality of the job field. In the restaurant world, don’t expect to get holidays off. Do expect to get random weeks of very short shifts, or no shifts at all. If you’re in an area that gets a lot of summer tourists, you’d be smart to save your pennies for October – March. Banquet operations tend to do a ton of business from November to December, but it slows January through May. That’s a long time to be part time employed, especially if you’re not wanting to live check to check.
I think Three Six Mafia said it best:
You know it’s hard out here for a pimp
When he tryin to get this money for the rent
For the Cadillacs and gas money spent
Will have a whole lota bitches jumpin’ ship
