Culinary Career

[malcolmk14]

I've got a business background and am strongly considering going to Culinary school, as well as doing a wine program to become a sommelier. I'm just not sure where to start looking for something like this. I hear Vancouver has a couple good schools in this area, but I was hoping to get some input from anyone who has done something similar.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[BlackArcher101]

Depends what your final goal is. What do you plan on doing with all that?

Are you going to open your own restaurant? Manage a restaurant? Become a Chef? Manage the front house only?

[malcolmk14]

My eventual goal is to become a chef and open/run my own restaurant.

[dj_rice]

U could go to SAIT and take PCK = Professional Cooking to start then apprentice and do the Red Seal


I took PCK years ago but decided to opt out of the Culinary Industry

I was like you also, wanting to become a chef and owning my own restaurant but I eventually gave up that dream

[hrdkore]

umm i think its best if you find a job in the culineary field, because there's so much to know and learn, or u could apply to culinary school but that will take some time i guess and it's very expensive.. but no garantees you'll be making big bucks when you're starting off

[Stine]

your not making big bucks to start...lol

Do you have any cooking background? if you do then you can take the apprentace course from SAIT, less in class time but same outcome but only if your comfterable with learning lots in just a few weeks of school, french is BS when it comes to food....

[Davetronz]

In hindsight, I could have handled a career as a sommelier.... Yup, definitely no complaints if that is what I chose to do for work.

[The Element]

First you should read the book, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Experience working in a professional kitchen would also help you decide if a culinary career is what you really want to pursue, before you enter a culinary school.

[BlackArcher101]

I second the recommendation of working in a kitchen before dedicating further time and money into the career.

Another thing you need to think about is how you will fund the restaurant. From what I hear, it might be harder to borrow money to start a restaurant without having a good amount of experience. Failure is high with new restaurants so they are more likely to lend money with someone that has a proven head on their shoulders. That or you may have to partner with someone that has it.

[dj_rice]

That is true but even if he gets into a restaurant....with no experience or knowledge, hes gonna be prolli doing dishwashing or doing prep and yeah you gotta start at the bottom but doing it this way, it will take him alot longer to decide if he wants to become a chef, than to go to school and learn the tricks of the trade


If you want to strictly become a chef, than PCK at SAIT, NAIT also has a Culinary Program, or you can go French Culinary Institute in NYC

If you want to own/start a new restaurant, SAIT has a Restaurant Management program also

And just cause you see tons of celebrity chefs who have multiple restaurants around the world doesn't mean its going to be easy


For a city bustling like Calgary with such a melting pot of cultures, I'd go with a Spanish themed restaurant that serves tapas more like a resto-lounge as I havent seen any in Calgary, Tapas are slowly becoming a huge hit so far in the USA

[malcolmk14]

I have a solid amount of cooking background, but nowhere near what I'd like. As well as supervision and a some kitchen management in a chain-type restaurant. I have a solid understanding of how a kitchen runs, and I'm a very quick learner.

Regarding funding the restaurant - that is not an issue. I'm not thinking about the funding at this point, as I plan on learning everything there is to know about the industry before I even consider opening my own restaurant. Opening a restaurant without experience is one mistake I will not make. I've seen what happens when people jump into something as time-consuming and intense as running a restaurant.

As far as going in with no experience or knowledge. I understand there's a ton of learning involved, and to be honest I know the failure rate of restaurants is very high. I'm not looking for the glamorous life of Gordon Ramsay or Thomas Keller, I'm interested in learning as much as I can, even if it means starting at the bottom. I have always had a passion for food and wine, and working with one or both as a career would not even seem like work to me.

I really don't expect this to be an easy venture. I'm not some wide-eyed kid with some pipe dream of his own TV show and three-star restaurant (although that would be nice), I'm very realistic and I fully understand the amount of work that goes into building something from the ground up.

Thanks for the book recc element, i'll check it out.

Anyone have any experience with, or know anybody who has taken/is taking, a sommelier program?

[malcolmk14]

as far as tapas goes, try JaroBlue. there are plenty of others also, but that's one of the better ones.

[drewboy]

Originally posted by malcolmk14
I have a solid amount of cooking background, but nowhere near what I'd like. As well as supervision and a some kitchen management in a chain-type restaurant. I have a solid understanding of how a kitchen runs, and I'm a very quick learner.

Regarding funding the restaurant - that is not an issue. I'm not thinking about the funding at this point, as I plan on learning everything there is to know about the industry before I even consider opening my own restaurant. Opening a restaurant without experience is one mistake I will not make. I've seen what happens when people jump into something as time-consuming and intense as running a restaurant.

As far as going in with no experience or knowledge. I understand there's a ton of learning involved, and to be honest I know the failure rate of restaurants is very high. I'm not looking for the glamorous life of Gordon Ramsay or Thomas Keller, I'm interested in learning as much as I can, even if it means starting at the bottom. I have always had a passion for food and wine, and working with one or both as a career would not even seem like work to me.

I really don't expect this to be an easy venture. I'm not some wide-eyed kid with some pipe dream of his own TV show and three-star restaurant (although that would be nice), I'm very realistic and I fully understand the amount of work that goes into building something from the ground up.

Thanks for the book recc element, i'll check it out.

Anyone have any experience with, or know anybody who has taken/is taking, a sommelier program?

Malcolm your dumb. give up on the dream, quit. Quit now, hahahaha.

[dannie]

There is a restaurant in Bragg Creek called the Bavarian Inn. One of the servers there is a sommelier. I am trying to remember his name, and it is not coming to me at the moment. From what I can remember of our conversation on schooling, doing the courses offered in Canada was a HUGE waste of time. He trained somewhere in Italy for a number of years.

I would try talking to any sommeliers in the city. There is a great one at Teatros as well.