Thanks to Food network, I am going to start culinary school. So are there any chefs around that can giv me some tips for school? How much do I really need to know about cooking before I start? Etc etc Thanks in advance.
Culinary Institute of the Pacific which is run by the UH system at Leeward community college. Not exactly the French Culinary Institute, but oh well...
What matters is getting your foot in the door. Be prepared for a demanding career with lots of long hours and lots of hard work. But it is fun too. I just fired off an e-mail to my wife, asking her to pass on what you might expect at school. She graduated from La Varenne Ecole d' Cuisine in 1986.
i think mike posted elsewhere that she was injured... i could be wrong, but i believe that is what he said.
I'm not a chef but I go to school with a bunch of em. Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. They got some other campuses too. I don't know how highly (or low) rated the school is but you don't need SAT scores to get in!
Yeah, she got injured on the job. She was working a restaurant outside of DC, a place called "The Castle," which no longer exists. She was working with an apprentice, showing him how to make some dough for some desserts they were making. She was mixing the dough in one of those huge 40 quart Hobart mixers. The machine has two on-off switches, one on either side. She turned it off to reach in and feel the consistency of the dough. Her apprentice didn't realize she turned the machine off, so hit the other power switch while her hand was still in the mixer. She pulled her hand out, but not before the arm came around again and caught her wrist between the dough hook and the side of the mixer. Basically, she shattered every bone in her wrist. Luckily, she didn't lose her hand. She ended up with a 20% disability, which was enough to make her end her career. After it happened, she started getting calls from the hospital where she had surgery, saying she owed them money. She said insurance should cover it and the hospital told her she had none. Essentially the restaurant had embezzled her (and everyone else's) insurance premiums, workmen's comp insurance, et al. They were going out of business and decided to risk their employees' health by stealing from them. She managed to get the state of Maryland to pay for her surgery under the "uninsured workers' fund" but didn't get anything for career retraining because the workmen's comp covers that. She worked at Galileo for about six months after that happened, but found that the injury prevented her from doing a lot of the more delicate work required for desserts. She really misses it.
wow mike that is really unfortunate...and then to top it off her restaurant was scamming her <and everyone else> behind her back without any knowledge. what a joke that companies get away with that...and i bet nothing ever happened to the owners that embezzled. i bet she makes you some nice desserts at home though
Thanks for the info Mike. Sorry to hear about your wife's injury. I know from personal experience what it's like to deal with something like that. I just clicked your sig line and sent the petition. Kind of odd for a former Marine to be doing, but I've always been a bit different.
Thanks. It's not all bad though. Her knowedge of the culinary arts has benefitted both of us. Of course, it means that most of the restaurants we end up going to are expensive. Former Air Force sergeant here.