How to Become a Chef

Video Transcript

"That's what I ask. "Are you sure?" For me the answer is simple. Come to school. I always suggest check it out first. Do a little bit of research. Make sure this is what you want to do. If you've been watching the food channel you're probably barking up the wrong tree for it's a different world out there. Look into what you're doing. Education is going to be important but also knowing by doing the work. Getting a job as a dishwasher, busser, waiter or something like that and see what we really are all about. It's not all the glitz and glamor that you see on television so that's where I, of course, being now an educator, and even when I was in the industry in the public sector. I always said, yeah it's great that you're doing this but you might want to get a little education also. Not many people make it. And it's a tough world. It's a tough job. And knowing what you're getting into before you start putting out the money for school and of course here at Wyotech it's not quite as expensive, it's actually probably about a tenth of the cost as one of the private schools. The better known, nationally known schools like Johnson and Wales or some of the art institutes or the Culinary Institute of America. We can put you through in two years what it costs for a semester at some of those places so even with that expense make sure you know what you're doing. That's my advice first. If you like cooking. If you've got the aptitude the rest of it will come to you. Our business is apprentice based still even though there are technology things. We're still pretty old school when it comes to that. You've got to prove yourself. When you graduate at our program you have the ability to be certified as a culinarian which is basically a cook. To be considered a chef takes a lot of proving and as I was saying in my little spiel about how I started out, I was a dishwasher. And not to make it sound like in the old days going to catch the school bus and walking up hill both ways in snow waste deep or whatever but I'd wash dishes by hand. I was the busser, I was the boy. And you just learned to appreciate every step as you go along."