Culinary Institute

[NoNo]

I went to CIA for lunch last summer and was very impressed by the whole operation and atmosphere. As stated, Johnson and Wales is a pretty well-respected culinary school. My cousin went to Connecticut Culinary Institute. Not sure how he picked it, but I've been impressed with what he's learned. And because he chose the Italian track, he got to finish his training in Italy, which is a good deal in my book. Except that the restaurant he got placed in used him for slave labor. Minus that, it was a great opportunity

[smilingcat]

Well in any serious restaurant, you start as a prep then move up to being a line cook. And yes being a line cook is slavery!!

Not everyone gets to be a chef (top dawg)
sous chef (second top dawg. the one who actually keeps the place from falling apart)

at 14 she has some time... Have her help out in the kitchen with the prep work. Learn good solid knife handling skill will go a long way and will give you a head start.

[Melalvai]

Thanks for all the replies and links! This is very helpful.

[NoNo]

Well in any serious restaurant, you start as a prep then move up to being a line cook. And yes being a line cook is slavery!!

Not everyone gets to be a chef (top dawg)
sous chef (second top dawg. the one who actually keeps the place from falling apart)

No, this was beyond normal stuff. The school required x-amount of hours per week, and these guys paid no attention to that. It wasn't uncommon for him to work all day without a break, and some days were a good 14-16 hours. They would eat in front of him but never allow him to eat. He wasn't allowed to ask questions. From what he described, they could have been on Kitchen Nightmares, with spoiled food and really unsanitary conditions. They were supposed to provide housing, and gave him a tiny room with a bed with no sheets and a stained pillow. We sent a package with sheets and stuff and they stole it. Amazingly, when he got back to the States and reported them to the school, the package magically appeared!

[ehirsch83]

CIA is the top culinary school in the US.
It's degree will go much farther then Johnson and Wales in most culinary circles.

[Zen]

A good place to start might be high school. Many school systems have technical/trade institutes as a hs curriculum.

I took a night class at a local tech/cooking school/hs. The chefs, the facility and the food were all quite impressive.
A low cost/no cost way to get started.