Guys I am trying to digest this thought that my little sister wants to become a Chef. She is eager to go in pastry business and pursue her goal by going to Johnson and Johnson school in Rhode Island I suppose.
I have supported her whenever I had to in front of my parents. I do want her to become whatever she wants but anything not Chef. I guess image of chef in our culture isn’t so great and I have a hard time digesting that. I have asked her to have something else on the side too in case if one thing doesn’t work out she will always have something else on her resume. It’s very difficult to go back to school once you are a graduate
She is 17 will be graduating from high school InshAllah in June. In case if any of you are wondering why on earth do I have a say in her matters. My parents do ask me for my opinions and thoughts on all the decisions that they take. 90 % of the time they do agree with me.
I started a 10 week pastry program once just for fun, gave up in three weeks (the dough never rose :(, plus opening the freezers was a killer).
Chef school is a lot of fun and has great rewards. But in most programs, she will have to handle certain food items that for religious reasons she may not enjoy, because they will teach certain dishes to the whole class and it's not easy to opt out of those. Also, she needs to have strength to open and close VERY big freezers, move equipment sometimes (not very heavy, but it all adds up at the end of the day with an aching back), move quickly, have deft hand movements - they train you to do those tho, it's fun. In baking, one of the reasons I quit was coz every second or third item we were making would call for a certain amount of rum, brandy or cooking wine in it, I couldn't taste it, and some dishes had bacon. So, if she wants to study in the west, she might want to think of all that. The teachers r very good, she will just need to feel comfortable with the stuff she handles. I think u should let her take a short certification program initially, to see if she even likes cooking that much at that pace, and if she does, she can go on to a full-time chef school program.
But I still think being a chef beats being a run-of-the-mill doctor or engineer anyday.
My croissants still come out tops. Don't ask about the sweetbreads. :(.
True enough, hmcq. However, interests and hobbies aside, one must also consider career track, pay, and other factors to be able to make an informed decision.
One of my friends also went to this culinary school in RI and then went to some school in Switzerland for advanced degrees. He makes very decent amount of money and loves what he does.
There is nothing wrong with being a Chef. I do understand that in our culture, a chef is a bawarchi but so are all the moms. DO we not respect our moms?.
If I have to do it all over again, I would give serious thoughts to becoming a chef.
Moona my sweet pastry topped with cream, Chefs have as much a career track, pay, etc, as any other profession. Some of the top ones make more than some other professions combined. Culinary arts and at the top of the chain (food). Starting salary for sous Chef is like 150K in 3 star restaurants in NYC, and chefs in 5 stars make more than some movie stars. Cooking ain't a hobby, it is a skill.
