This might be one of the most honest posts I’ve ever written and also the most difficult. Many people ask me what culinary school was like and I always hesitate because I hate sounding negative. I don’t want to burst any bubbles. Food is IN right now and culinary school sounds mysterious and exciting. I’m living the dream, right? Â Before you envy me, I have some opinions about school that I think you should know. I’m going to tell it to you straight. If you currently work in the food industry, this post might be offensive and for that I’m sorry. Everyone has a perspective and this is mine.
I had great hesitations while writing this. What will my chefs think? Will I sound like I’m whining? All of my frustrations, resentments, and fears rose to the surface. But then again, so did my feelings of pride and accomplishment. Culinary school was the most brutal experience of my life but I gained so much. Not only did I learn to create beautiful food but I gained confidence. To gain that confidence I had to be ripped from my comfort zone and torn to shreds, only to be built up again. Not unlike boot camp.
A Typical Day
Here is a typical day at school: I’d arrive at 6:15am, get changed into my chef’s outfit, help the sous chef with mise en place and then be seated in class by 7am. For two hours we’d take notes as the chefs prepared 3 courses: an appetizer, an entree and a dessert. At the end of the lecture we’d gather around the front, sample the food and head into the kitchen. There were never enough tools to go around so the next 20 minutes would be a war zone; a battle for towels without holes and saute pans that weren’t warped. If we weren’t watching our stations closely, ingredients and equipment would magically vanish. There often weren’t enough burners and we had to watch carefully to make sure the heat wasn’t accidentally turned up or down (or the pan “accidentally” moved to a different burner in the back). For two and a half hours we would rush rush rush to prepare the food we had tasted while the chefs yelled at us to move faster. At 11:30am our station had to be spotless and the food had to be perfectly plated. After our food was approved we would spend the next few minutes eating our three course meal (unless we had to fix one of our dishes) but there was no time to savor anything because that kitchen had to be absolutely spotless by the time we returned for our afternoon lecture at 12:30. Burners soaked and scrubbed, floor swept and mopped, all dishes cleaned, ingredients put away. Our afternoon lecture finished at 2:30pm and that was it. But not really because evenings were spent reading textbooks, typing up recipes and practicing knife skills.
I’m not going to lie. It was completely exhausting and I was a wreck half of the time I was there; one giant bundle of caffeinated nerves. I’ve had anxiety issues though the years and this put my nerves to the test (shout out to my good friend Xanax). I cracked under the pressure on more than one occasion but usually kept it to myself. And then one day in the final weeks I had a complete meltdown. It was mortifying. There’s no crying in the kitchen? I wasn’t crying in the kitchen; I was sobbing in the kitchen. Did that make me weak? In the eyes of my classmates and chef instructors, yes. In my own eyes, no. It made me human.
The List
Do you want to know what culinary school is like? Here we go. This is a list, because I’m into lists lately.
- Culinary school is not some mecca of foodies. It’s mainly full of students who are just out of high school or in their early 20s. They may or may not have a passion for food. The sole purpose of culinary school is to teach students how to work the line in a restaurant. There’s not at lot of in-depth discussion about ingredients or food history.
- Culinary schools are for-profit institutions and they want your money. When you meet the director of admissions, he or she will tell you that you’re a perfect fit for the school. What you need to know: You’ll be paying a large sum of money ($30,000-$100,000) and you’ll most likely have to take out a student loan. Keep in mind that health insurance is not included. When it comes time to pay back your loan you will be working for just above minimum wage in a field that offers little advancement. You will be paying off that loan for a very long time.
- 90% of what you learn to cook will be French cuisine. The French have excellent techniques but don’t expect a lot of variety in the classroom.
- You will be eating a three-course fine dining meal for lunch every single day. It sounds delicious, right? It is. All the butter and cream you could ever want in your life. Paula Deen has nothing on French chefs. But it gets rather… heavy after awhile. And so do you.
- You will not get to work with every ingredient. Students work in teams and not everyone gets to prepare every dish. I never touched lobster, I only filleted one salmon. No one prepared pork belly because it was never offered to us.
- You need to move fast all the time. Cooks who work the line are supposed to move with a sense of urgency. There’s no leaning on counters, chatting, or sitting. If you have nothing to do you’re supposed to be cleaning. There’s no rest at culinary school. It’s a completely different experience than cooking at home.
- Only smokers get to take breaks. I’m not exaggerating. I actually started smoking again at school because it was the only chance I had to relax in a very tense environment (don’t worry, I quit the second I left the building). The same is true at a restaurant. If you go outside for a cigarette, it’s fine. If you go outside for a fresh air break, you’re in trouble.
- There’s no time for injuries. If you cut or burn yourself, you keep going just as you would in a professional kitchen. In the first week of school I sustained a 2nd degree burn on my hand from hot stock. Within 20 minutes I was making pie dough with the other hand.
- Ladies, say goodbye to your femininity. The outfits are incredibly baggy and unflattering, your hair will be in a bun, your nails will be short and polish-free, and no makeup or jewelry is allowed (with the exception of a plain wedding band).
- Vegetarians are not tolerated. If you’re a vegetarian, don’t bother with culinary school. You’ll be laughed out the door. Many chefs are actually offended by vegetarians and vegans. Don’t expect a lot of sympathy if you have a food allergy, either. I intentionally did my externship at a vegetarian restaurant because I wanted to learn healthier techniques. Judging by the reaction I got you would have thought I’d told my classmates I was going to work with cannibals.
- “Health food” is a dirty word. We spent exactly one day dedicated to healthy food at school. Actually, it wasn’t even a day. It was an afternoon “Spa” challenge where we had to create a dish with calorie restrictions. You don’t go to culinary school to learn about healthy cuisine. There are, however, specialty schools such as The Natural Gourmet Institute. I know nothing about these schools but maybe they’re more open minded? Â I hope so.
- Culinary school is often a competition between classmates. There is very little camaraderie. Students typically work in groups and if one person goes down, the whole ship can go down. Everyone makes mistakes while training and resentment builds quickly.
- Chef’s way is the only way. Do you like grilled asparagus? If Chef does not like grilled asparagus, it’s bad. End of story. Do you have a particular way you like to cook hard boiled eggs? It doesn’t matter if it works, it’s wrong. That’s how a home cook prepares eggs.
- You never talk back. If you have a question when something doesn’t make sense or say anything other than “YES CHEF!” expect to be yelled at and/or ridiculed. I witnessed countless contradictions between lectures and never received clarity. Why is something done a particular way? Because that’s how it’s done.
- Work will become your social life. Almost all culinary schools require a restaurant externship regardless of whether you plan to work in the field after graduation. Mine was 6 months and I worked the line for over a year in total. Make no mistake, you’re training to work in a field that mostly consists of evening, weekend and holiday shifts.
On The Plus Side…
Ok. Â That was a whole lot of negativity, so I’m going to counter with some positives:
- You will learn how to make incredible food. You’ll be preparing breath-taking dishes you once thought were entirely too complicated. That is a wonderful adrenaline rush.
- You’ll have unexpected experiences. I got to visit The White House and listen to Michelle Obama speak. I got to meet numerous celebrities in the food world including Marcus Samuelsson, Tom Colicchio, Shirley O’Corriher, Jose Andres, Cat Cora, Carla Hall and many others. I spent an entire day assisting Graham Elliott and Elizabeth Faulkner at a charity event.
- Not all chefs are crazy. For every Gordon Ramsey there is a Jacques Pepin. Our time at school was divided into Phase I and II. Phase I consisted of three passionate, wonderful chefs who wanted us to succeed and were willing to be mentors. They laughed with us while pushing us to work harder and be the best we could be. Phase II was full of anger, shouting, and little to no mentoring. What were they so angry about? Was it because they were treated poorly and turnabout is fair play? I’ll never know. I wish I could have ended the experience with Phase I. Maybe the positive memories would seem like more than a faded dream.
Would I do it all again?
That’s a really tough question. Reading through my list you’d think the obvious answer would be no. However, I’m not sure I’d be where I am today had I not gone back to school. At the end of the day, I learned a tremendous amount of technique. My L’Academie degree has given me a certain amount of street credibility that has definitely provided job opportunities. But I’ve also been incredibly lucky and it might not have turned out so well.  There were many nights when I feared my only options would be working the line or returning to a dreaded desk job. Was it worth a year of misery to be as happy as I am now? Yes. Were there other ways I could have achieved the same goals? Probably. Can I honestly recommend culinary school to you? No. Does that mean you shouldn’t go? Of course not. Only you know whether it’s the right decision for you.
If you’re thinking about attending culinary school, go work for free (“stage”) at a restaurant on evenings and weekends. Many places will gladly take you on. You might be chopping 50 pounds of onions or unloading giant bags of flour. You might be peeling shrimp for 5 hours. But you’ll get a feel for the restaurant environment and you’ll be better informed about what you’re getting into. If you cringed when I mentioned evenings and weekends, you need to seriously reconsider your desire to go to school.
My final thoughts.
I realize this is all a bit harsh and I won’t be surprised if some commenters chime in with better experiences or even accuse me of having an attitude problem. All I can say is that this was my experience at one school. I can’t speak for your school. And truthfully, I do have a bit of an attitude. My passion is for food and not for the industry. Some people have a passion for working the line; they love the chaos, the heat, and the hours. And that’s awesome. I want to relax in the front of the restaurant while they cook me fabulous meals. I’m not wrong and neither are they. We just have different perspectives. I wasn’t built for the line. So what? I love taking my time in the kitchen and never want to rush the experience ever again. I want to savor these skills I’ve learned and thank my lucky stars because school is a thing of the past and life is wonderful.
Stephanie says
Your assessment is absolutely honest…and that’s really what us career chefs/cooks/bakers really need. My culinary classes featured a mix of young kids who had no idea how to cook an egg, but wanted to get a degree “easily”, people who wanted to directly be on Food Network, homemakers or older women and men who just wanted to do this for “fun”, and the career kids (like me) who actually cared about what they were doing and wanted to learn. A lot of classmates were only in for their self and had egos that could kill an elephant. There was a lot of sabotage, a lot of hate, and a lot of stress. Twice people fed me mushrooms because they didn’t care to know that I had a severe allergy and I guess thought I just didn’t like them. I spent all day shaking and 2 hours on the school’s bathroom floor throwing up after those incidents.
It’s a rough life, especially when you’re working in a restaurant and going to school at the same time..no rest. It also gets a bit buggy because every single chef has a different way they want things done so you could chop an onion one way and then get yelled at the next day by a teacher because you didn’t chop it their way. I also cried a lot, gained scars, and also a lot of hate for the people I was someday going to be in the industry with. But I did meet a lot of great friends, work with amazing chefs, and gain a better outlook on myself. I do not regret my culinary schooling, but it was the sort of hell only crazy people would go through. Thanks again for your honesty!
Grubarazzi (@Grubarazzi) says
I really appreciate the honesty in this article. I am currently working full time and going to school full time, and I often fantasize that when I am done with all of this madness I am going to spend a year in culinary school. It is a romantic notion although I also know it is nothing to fantasize about. Really, I just want to cook. It’s my release. I don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on culinary school to learn… I should already know that staring at my current student debt. I certainly respect and admire that you accepted the challenge and stuck with it. That says a lot about you as a person and as a chef!
Oh, and for a girl with a handful of pretty intense food allergies… I’m thinking the forced butter and dairy consumption could get pretty ugly. LOL
claire @ the realistic nutritionist says
So even after reading this I can’t imagine wanting to go anywhere else or do anything else. Is that normal? haha! I love this though, thank you for your honesty!
Savory Simple says
I do think it’s normal, actually. I actively followed an amazing blog before attending school called Cooking School Confidential (the content is now gone because she turned it into a book) and she documented the horrors. For some reason it just made me want to go more. Possibly because it wasn’t all so real yet but it doesn’t matter. I knew it was what I needed to do at the time. If you know, you go :)
Debra says
i have so much respect for you for sticking it out! And I am reasonably sure that the experience has contributed to both your strength as a chef and a person. Kudos! Your honest assessment of the experience is important for those who are going into the industry as a whole. With our without the degree, anyone working in fine dining is going to be exposed to this level of pressure and so it is obviously not a career for everyone with talent! I know I couldn’t handle the personal attacks! I think this was a very important post, and on my own personal side, it is just nice to learn a bit more about you. That you’ve been able to accomplish so much is truly wonderful. I have “discovered” some very decent and approachable chefs in my own little study–Bravo’s Top Chef–(that’s my entire exposure. ha!). I think you’ll be one of the “good guys” after your observations! Debra
Valerie says
Great write-up, Jen. I honestly don’t know the first thing about culinary schools, except that everyone looks so happy in the commercials. It’s good to hear about it from someone who has had first-hand experience. I once waitresses at an exceptionally busy restaurant (not a chain). I would get stressed just walking through the kitchen to grab extra plates. It was a madhouse. The chefs were awesome but it was almost as though they morphed into different people while they were working. Given my already perpetual state of anxiety, I doubt that I could survive culinary school. I already had a huge amount of respect for you, but after reading what you went through, it’s just skyrocketed. :D
Megan says
my little brother went to culinary school. he would agree with every single point you made. and i watched him go through it, so i can attest as well. He hated it. and felt like he wasted a lot of money going as well. he now is back at school doing a totally different degree, but that was his decision. He just didnt care for it all after everything…a 30k lesson learned…
Jenny @ BAKE says
that sounds horrible! you must be so proud of yourself for everything you’ve achieved!
Culinary School: Three Semesters of Life, Learning, and Loss of Blood says
Hurray, Jen. I ditto everything you said (as you know – for your readers, Jen and I were in culinary schools at about the same time and we commiserated). Culinary school was amazing – and horrible. And it is not just Jen and I who believe this. After my book came out (“Culinary School: Three Semesters of Life, Learning, and Loss of Blood;” here it is if you are interested: http://amzn.to/oqXw1R), all sorts of people wrote to say, yes, they too discovered it was not the dream they hoped for. Alas.
Savory Simple says
I figured you would like this :)
Jennifer @ Mother Thyme says
Bravo Jen! What a fantastic post! Thank you for sharing you thoughts and opinions. I love hearing your prospective and your experience. Well said!
Marta @ What should I eat for breakfast today says
What an honest post. I’ve never attended a cooking course but I’ve been thinking about it. TYhank you for sharing.
megan says
Wow, strong post. I have often thought about culinary school, but I know I do not have what it takes… The Making of a Chef, cured me of that… Kudos to you for speaking your mind and sharing your experience. I am glad you did it and others do it, that we have good food and passionate people at all stages in their careers. Cheers…
Coleen says
I wish I had read your post prior to enrolling in culinary school (back in 2006). Not that I didn’t enjoy it, make friends and learn tons, but my goodness, the extra debt! Biggest regret of my life.
Savory Simple says
It’s good to know what you’re getting into! I’ll be paying my loan back for quite some time.
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
What an amazing post. Thank you for your candor, sharing and not sugarcoating your real feelings, and for the insider’s perspective. Everything you said about it, about it sort of being like boot camp, chef’s way or the highway, break you down to build you up, that scramble hurry up hurry rush chaos, competitiveness, vegetarians are laughed at…all of that are reasons why I could never go. I love learning about food and cooking, but not in an environment like that. I would not thrive, ever. Never! in that environment. Bravo to you for making it out! And for this honest post!
sweetlab says
Sounds like a LAC experience to me! I also feel a passion for food but not for the industry. I love cake, pies, ice cream, lemon curd, etc., but I don’t have a love for working the line and plating desserts during lunch rush or during a crazy weekend night. I like to take my time with food and feel close to it. That is why I know that I won’t be working in the restaurant industry for much longer…hahaha, or at least that’s what I hope!
Savory Simple says
I thought you might recognize it! Things always looked much calmer and more pleasant in the pastry class, though. I tried to switch mid-way though and Barbara talked me out of it. How much of this do you connect with?
Rachael {SimplyFreshCooking} says
That was a great and interesting read, Jen! I feel like culinary school has been totally glamorized on television. I would have no desire to ever go through that… but no wonder your food looks exceptionally amazing! :)