Here is a chronicle of my beginnings as culinary student- one of my lifelong dreams coming to fruition.
I'm not your average culinary student either… well, for starters, I'm freshly (sort of) graduated from MSU with my Bachelor of Art's in Apparel and Textiles with a cognate in Interior Design (whatever the hell job that gets me). How many people out there go get their Bachelor's and then an Associate's degree? Someone who figured out they can be whatever the hell they want to be a little too late. I'm not going to bore you with details, you can check that out on my personal blog:
www.thechocolatetease.blogspot.com.
www.thechocolatetease.blogspot.com.
I've searched high and low for years for the answer to the question 'Is Culinary School Right For You?' or 'Is Culinary School Worth It?' I've seen and heard a lot of answer which included it being an expensive waste of time, you eventually start out with low pay, you can just learn to cook on YouTube. My first day of class last Saturday came my real answer: Anything you aspire to do is right for you. Anything that gives you another step towards your goal and you love it is totally worth it. There's no quiz, no magazine article, no hater on that haterade that can analyze whether or not something is your forte. Only you can figure that out when you experience it.
My dreams are to own a bakery/café, an event planning business, a restaurant, a nightclub, and eventually a hotel. I want to be a Master Chef and cook the best damn food you and your friends have ever tasted. After these two years I want my Master's in Hospitality business, that's just what I want to do. I don't care about becoming famous, I care about hordes of people gathering in one place because my food is delicious and my businesses are freaking awesome. Your goals may be similar or different- either way, you need to decide. Will a bunch of articles and quizzes shape your future or will you?
I'm also not rich, don't have rich parents, don't have any scholarships. MSU wiped me out in financial aid. Schoolcraft College is much cheaper, but it still costs money, and I'm investing in myself. I'm not making big money either, I just put myself on a monthly payment plan and budget it out. I've sacrificed a few things to start my journey. Five credits ran me over $800. When I move to twelve credits, I'm afraid to find out what the price will be but that's not stopping me. I bought my $40 checkered pants, my $60 personalized chef coat, my $249 chef hat (kidding! There was a misunderstanding over the phone. It was a cheap $2.49 hat), my $40 book (thanks Amazon!), $60 non-slip shoes, and about $60 in supplies including two quality knives. Money is absolutely an issue, but somehow I'm doing it. I'm worried like all hell, but I'm staying positive for now.
After that major issue, there are other things you need to think about. Location is one. I'm banking on my boyfriend to drop me off and pick me up from class because I don't have a car, and some genius decided a bus line shouldn't run past this school. Next is time. One you're past the initial Basic Skills and Techniques class (which I'm in) to get into the school, the actual program is intense in terms of schedule. I take three classes a semester one at a time, each for about five weeks. The problem is that they have times like Tu-F 6:30am - 10:20am… I'm really going to have to be nice to my boyfriend if I want to keep my job. I need the money so I can't just quit my full time. It's going to be hard, but I already knew that. Try to make a plan for yourself. Unfortunately, my job is a 9-5 desk job type thing, so there's only so many hours I can get in each day. The next thing I try to factor in is my passion. Do I want this enough that I'm going to come to class four days of the week at 6:30am? Hell yes. I'm paying the money. I want to get this done. Another thing is, what will I learn that I can't learn on YouTube or some website? You get better instruction, experience, and you get graded. Everyone needs to be critiqued, and not just by Momma. YouTube can be a great supplement, but it can't take away the value of true education. Also, getting your degrees and certificates will help you to earn more. Make sure your school is accredited and all that. Schoolcraft College's reputation is amazing. When I walked into that building, I saw that everything was true. You don't have to go to Le Cordon Bleu, but make sure you're getting the excellence from the teachers that you deserve. Eventually, people think about the money and what the future will hold. I'm thinking the food industry will never die. People will always like to eat. Of course I Google'd the salary like you probably did. On average, a professional chef apparently makes 44,000 something, and that's before moving up the ranks. Personal chefs $200-500 a day, private chefs up to $80,000 a year. You can make serious money in this industry, you just have to work for it. With any job, you can't get too hyped up by the glamour because the ones that really want it know the hours are going to be hell for the pay but that's where passion > trials and tribulations.
That's it for my intro post… sorry for the length, but you needed to know what this blog was all about. I'm going to write about my time at culinary school and anything related to my culinary goals. I've been looking for a blog that would show me what it's like, and this is my gift to you. Even if you have no intentions of ever becoming a chef and just thought it was interesting to see what happens in culinary school, I hope you enjoy this and find it useful. To aspiring chefs, you can decide if culinary school the right choice for you by living vicariously through someone if that's what you want. Or, you can go out there and get it yourself. I dare you.
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