careers in the food/drink industry

[Smoke]

i posted a similar thread in the careers forum, but didn't get much of a response...

does anyone here (or know someone) who's studying to become a chef or a cook? or is one already?

and how's the competition for such jobs in the GTA area? is the pay decent? i'm assuming it depends on what kind of restaurant you end up working for, and i'd aim to be at one of higher-class places...

i've been looking into the culinary management programs at george brown...any info is appreciated....

[Initial_C]

my father graduated from george brown. and I have an acquaintance who's also in george brown now doing the baking program. george brown is highly regarded but competition is stiff. pay is variable from like $8/hr to $22 an hour. average is about $15/hr I've heard.

if you want to work at a higher class place though, I would suggest in enrolling in a more prestigious culinary institute. don't get me wrong, George Brown is fine. Once graduated, you can easily become a sous-chef at Caseys or Milestones or what not. But if you want really higher-class places, then you might want to invest in studying in more prestigious schools.

[duckdown]

my father graduated from george brown. and I have an acquaintance who's also in george brown now doing the baking program. george brown is highly regarded but competition is stiff. pay is variable from like $8/hr to $22 an hour. average is about $15/hr I've heard.

if you want to work at a higher class place though, I would suggest in enrolling in a more prestigious culinary institute. don't get me wrong, George Brown is fine. Once graduated, you can easily become a sous-chef at Caseys or Milestones or what not. But if you want really higher-class places, then you might want to invest in studying in more prestigious schools.

Holy!

Graduating from George Brown will only land you a sous-chef position at a Caseys?

That's brutal

[Initial_C]

actually, to graduate and getting to be a sous-chef is pretty good if u've had no prior experience (which is what I'm assuming).

[Smoke]

thanks for the reply

yeah, i've had no prior experience, but getting to be a sous chef isn't bad at all, even it's with a casey's or milestone's....

which school would you suggest enrolling in? i mentioned george brown because that was the only school that came to mind, and it's the closest school to where i live...

and wouldn't a co-op program help more in getting into a higher-paying restaurant as opposed to just taking the courses, no matter which school i end up going to?

[rabcede]

a george brown dipoloma will NOT just get you a job at milestone's or caseys. it really depends on your own drive and dedication to your career. i graduated from culinary management and after i have had jobs at many better restaurants in toronto. and by better i am not solely basing that on reputation in the city, but that is a factor.

I have never worked for a chain restaurant (like milestone's etc..) and i don't think i ever will. i do know people who have gone that route and into hotels etc... that's just what they chose to do with their career. i decided not to and have been lucky to work with and beside some of the city's better chefs and been exposed to a 'higher end' cuisine and ingredients.

i used my education at george brown simply as a starting block. if you have no experience or very little, you're going to get the basic skills and knowledge at george brown/humber/liason and even stratford. you might get more exposure to 'higher end' ingredients and chefs at a more prestigious school - but if you look for that in your early working career, you'll learn at work anyways.

i realized that the cost at george brown was a much better value than going to a higher priced but more prestigious school since i did have some prior experience and already knew that i could get more hands on training and make money at a job.

i also know that george brown has made some improvements in the last few years (i finished in 2000) and it might even offer more to their students now than when i was there.

that being said - the hospitality industry, and more specifically jobs in the kitchen are VERY HARD work. if you've never worked in a restaurant - i recommend getting a part time job jsut to see what its like and get a taste. if you don't hate it immediately, then go for it as a career. good luck, if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[Smoke]

i don't know where to start since i have a ton of questions :lol:

it's great that you were able to work at many of toronto's better restaurants, but would you say that it had more to do with your prior work experience as opposed to taking the courses at george brown? i definitely understand that i'm coming into this shorthanded already, and it doesn't really help that i'm an older person now, but i'm willing to put in the time and effort if it means getting into one of the upper-scale restaurants...i'm just trying to put everything in a timeframe....

i'm considering taking the basic 2-year culinary management program...let's say i came in with no experience whatsoever, and made it through while working at a chain restaurant doing kitchen duty (swiss chalet for example)...will that be enough to get me into something better than a chain restaurant? i'm not sure "better" is the right word, but i have a feeling we share similar views about this....

or what if i just completed the program without any work experience whatsoever....will that be enough? probably not?

also, since i will not be taking co-op, will it be possible for me to get a better part-time job in between semesters?

and finally, how do you see the competition for kitchen stuff shaping out in the coming years? do you see the demand for chefs/cooks rising or declining?

ps - if you don't mind me asking, where do you work now?

a george brown dipoloma will NOT just get you a job at milestone's or caseys. it really depends on your own drive and dedication to your career. i graduated from culinary management and after i have had jobs at many better restaurants in toronto. and by better i am not solely basing that on reputation in the city, but that is a factor.

I have never worked for a chain restaurant (like milestone's etc..) and i don't think i ever will. i do know people who have gone that route and into hotels etc... that's just what they chose to do with their career. i decided not to and have been lucky to work with and beside some of the city's better chefs and been exposed to a 'higher end' cuisine and ingredients.

i used my education at george brown simply as a starting block. if you have no experience or very little, you're going to get the basic skills and knowledge at george brown/humber/liason and even stratford. you might get more exposure to 'higher end' ingredients and chefs at a more prestigious school - but if you look for that in your early working career, you'll learn at work anyways.

i realized that the cost at george brown was a much better value than going to a higher priced but more prestigious school since i did have some prior experience and already knew that i could get more hands on training and make money at a job.

i also know that george brown has made some improvements in the last few years (i finished in 2000) and it might even offer more to their students now than when i was there.

that being said - the hospitality industry, and more specifically jobs in the kitchen are VERY HARD work. if you've never worked in a restaurant - i recommend getting a part time job jsut to see what its like and get a taste. if you don't hate it immediately, then go for it as a career. good luck, if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[rabcede]

- i don't think that i got my first 'real' job (which was at Mildred Pierce Restaurant) mostly because I had previous work experience (it was at a summer YMCA camp and at the ex over the summers in high school) I did have quite a bit of volunteer experience that I gained while at george brown, so maybe that helped? but i do know that the fact that I enjoyed and really tried to do well helped me keep that job and move forward from that.

- don't feel that a lack of experience will keep you from getting into a 'higher end' restaurant right off the bat. there is stiff competition out there for general cooks and kitchen work, but from my experience, all kitchens out there are always on the look out for good and competent staff. and don't feel that being older will hamper you either (i just happened to be in a class where all the better students had returned to school or this was our second diploma/degree).

- don't just go for that 'swiss chalet' job, send out resumes to any restaurant you want to work at ( big or little, well known or not), you never know. you just might catch them on the day that someone quits. turn over in restaurants is quite high and even though there are many ads as there are in the paper, many positions get filled before they get to placing ads - remember, placing an ad in the star (for example) can run a company anywhere from $75-100 or more for only a weekend, so smaller restaurants will often place an ad in the paper as a last choice. dont' forget there are more than just restaurants out there; also check out catering companies (often pay better) too

- as someone who has and will still be in the position of looking for staff, I will always go with someone with experience and not just school, so yes, i think some work experience will help you - also, i will always prefer someone with some school/education over someone with only work experience

- you can get a part-time job any time you want, even during school. every one of my friends had part-time jobs while we went to school - we all worked weekends and some nights. the good thing about this program being hands on a lot, is that there wasn't that much homework. (i don't know if its the same now)

- i think there will always be a demand for cooks/chefs and anyone in the hospitality industry. people are more often looking for the easy way out (ie: eating out, ordering in, getting take-out) many people haven't even learned how to cook, i mean really cook, not just heat up. and there will always be a need for GOOD kitchen staff anywhere.

i think i answered most everything. anything else?