Working in a restaurant is a common first job for many people. However, if you truly have a passion for food, you might consider turning it into a career. But how do you get into the food industry? How do you go from waiting tables at your local diner or gastropub to your own cooking show or restaurant? This is a competitive industry, but if you are determined, you can be a success.
Figure Out What You Want to Do
First, you should think about the different types of jobs that exist in the food industry and which one you see yourself doing. Of course, your career will probably evolve and change over time, as most people’s do, so you may start out in restaurant kitchens and move into writing cookbooks or begin with a catering company and later become a private chef.
If you’ve got a five- or fifty-year plan, that’s great, but for now, don’t worry too much about your entire career trajectory. Figure out what position you want to aim for now so that you can place yourself on that trajectory. Maybe you know how to grill the best burgers and that has led you to want to learn more about grilling other types of meats in your quest. Start with what you like and branch out from there.
Culinary School
A real chef, many people will tell you, learns on the job. If that’s true, why would you bother to go to cooking school? The reason is that cooking school gives you the foundation that you need to pursue a culinary career, whether that’s working in a restaurant, becoming a food writer or setting up your own catering business. Culinary school does not make you a chef, but it does give you the principles that mean you don’t have to reinvent the wheel once you are in your own kitchen.
If you’re worried about the cost, keep in mind that you can use some of the same routes to pay for culinary school that you would for college. This can be an expensive education, and federal loans might not cover it all or you may not qualify for them, but you can also take out private student loans. These often offer favorable interest rates and repayment plans.
Embrace Your Industry
It may be hard to believe, but there are would-be directors who don’t watch many movies, would-be writers who don’t read much and would-be chefs who don’t revel in food. You can approach your craft this way and even be successful by some metric, but success will be more elusive, and you’ll never enjoy the field you work in as much as someone who genuinely embraces it. If you want to work in the industry, you should immerse yourself in an appreciation of food.
Shop at farmer’s markets. Try some gardening yourself, even if it’s just a tiny container garden on a balcony. Eat out, from high-end restaurants to street food. Cook for your friends. Read food blogs and books about food. Work on your palate. Try to figure out what ingredients are in a dish just by taste. Open yourself to trying unusual and challenging flavors. Learn everything you can about food, even outside of the classroom and work.
Photo by Louis Hansel – Restaurant Photographer on Unsplash