# Tired of cooking



## gus20 (Jul 26, 2002)

Hello, how are u? I have just finished my classes, my last cycle at school and I hated them, it was difficult to see all day, the chef´s faces shouting u, he has a bad personality, he is always angry, all the time; all the time people is scared about what they do. I am a little sensible and i feel very bad when someone shouts me, i feel sad and angry. I rememebr when iw as working in a JW Marriot, and i didnt like the work, i was there for 3 months, all my summer, but i didnt enjoy it. I dunno if being a cook is for me; i wonder that all the time. How can i know if that´s for me. Being 3 months working is so short for knowing that? Now my final test will be in JUly, and I´ll study for that. I have even though of finishing my career of business at the university and work in that. But i see all my books of cooking and i think, will be cooking for me? am i so strong for accept the environment of work ina kitchen? And im not sure of being able; i just wonder. Could u give me an advice please. Thanks.

Gustavo


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

Gus, my friend, that is a BIG statement! Are your feelings a result of the class? If so, then you need to move on and get over it. If you are doubting your desire to be a cook because you do not think the field is for you, then you have to ask if yourself, why do you feel this way after all this time? More importantly, would you be happier doing something else? Gus, there is nobody, not your friends, not your classmates, not your teachers that will make this decision for you. You, sir, are the captain of your ship and must move forward with intent. Without trying to lecture you (really!), it is time for you to get up from the mat, dust your ego off and finish the job you started. Remember, Gus, the best thing about having a bad moment, is that tomorrow you get to start all over again. Now, go get 'em!


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Gus, I completely agree with Jim: only you can make the decision.

But we CAN help you look at the question, by asking more questions that will help you sort out how you feel and WHY you feel what you feel.

Some chefs yell. Not all, but some, including some of the chefs who are very good chefs to work for and learn from. Some chefs yell because that's what the chefs THEY first worked for did, and they think that's how it should be. (They're wrong, but they just don't know any other way.) Some chefs yell because they don't know how to teach and they think that if they are loud, the cooks will learn how to do things. 

You said you feel sad and angry when someone shouts at you. Oh, my, don't we all.   

Some people let the sadness be the part that stays with them; some people keep the anger. Either feeling can be put to good use and to bad use. Holding on to either feeling for a long time is a bad thing to do, because it stops you from concentrating on the work. And in the kitchen, concentrating on the work matters most. We all have to learn how to feel what we feel and then go RIGHT BACK to working. 

Let me ask you: did you feel you were doing the very best you could, and were doing things the way the chef wanted you to do them, but you were yelled at anyway? Then the sadness is the right thing to feel -- but only while he's yelling. Then you have to let it go and keep working. Because if you know you are doing it right, then you should also know that the yelling isn't because you're bad. 

But did you know that you were not doing what he wanted you to do? Then you can be a little angry, but at yourself, not at him. Because you need to tell yourself that you could be better at what you do, and sometimes a little anger helps remind that you have to work harder. Not a lot of anger, and not for very long. Like the sadness, you have to say, Yes, this is what I feel now, but I'm over that now and will work hard. 

The kitchen is too busy a place to spend a lot of time thinking about how you feel. It is a place to work, work, work and try to do everything you're supposed to do as well as you can, as fast as you can.

Dealing with your feelings is not easy, and takes time. But when you know that you can use how you feel to make yourself improve, then is a good start. Then your feelings won't get in your way in the kitchen.

Next: Think again about why you decided that you wanted to cook. What were the reasons? Has what you've learned and seen in the kitchen hold up those reasons? Or is what you thought it would be like very, very different from what it really is?

Let us hear what you think about these questions. We are here to help you help yourself make your decision.


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## gus20 (Jul 26, 2002)

Hello, i decided to study culinary arts cuz since i was a boy i liekd to do it , at home, at grandmom´s home. I liked it when i saw chefs cooking at tv and i saw the fancy food like the best thing i could do, the bauties in the world, and i saw the chefs like kings or magicians who can do whatever with food. When i saw a bavarois od chocolate i used to say: WOWWWWWW, how can i make that? I wanna do that, or when i saw nice dishes i used to say the same. But at school i saw that for doing all that, nice dishes, many of them i dont liek, i had to chopp a lot, cut vegetables, and start with many things i dont understand.
At the hote while i was working, many times the cooks tryed to pull my leg, its common that with new young workers, but i got tired of chopping the same vegatbles everyday, the same thing, no more fantastic things to do but i worked hard, the sous chef told me i was hardworking cuz i worked all the time they needed me.
At school the chef has yelled me sometimes cuz i didnt turn the artichokes ina nice way, they didnt look well or cuz i cut the fish in way i shouldnt have.
But i remember i decided to study culinary arts cuz i wanted to see people happy, eating and enjoying a nice lunch in family, that was what iw anted to see, happy people eating and enjoying the life.
Those are my answers, and thanks so much for reading my article, hugs.

Gustavo


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## flash (Dec 7, 2001)

You have heard some good advice here, from sympathetic people who don't yell at you--that's cheftalk for ya. Here is another piece of advice, hope it helps.

Cooking is a HUGE field, and you do not have to work in a kitchen. Think of another interest you have, perhaps one that you are equally passionate about. Then figure out a way to combine these interests. You mention a business degree, that would be awesome!!! Maybe you could get into consulting, or open a small Kitchen store and once that get going perhaps offer simple classes (sauces, stocks/soups etc.) that you could teach to locals interested in learning from someone who went to a culinary school but won't yell at them. You also mention seeing people happy and enjoying themselves eating a good meal. There are probably no other people in the world more enthusiastic about cooking and eating than kids, so perhaps you could teach kids cooking skills and make cookies and things. That would be awesome, kids are soooooo cool, and in their eyes you WILL BE a magician, a king of culinaria, an alchemist who mixes things together and produces gold. 

I have had my share of chefs who yell, but I'm over that and will never again put up with it. And remember....


You may be sad and angry, but I got to hand it to you Gus, you deserve a medal for COURAGE!!!

love and light (the only two ingrediants you need),
flash


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

There are many ways to use the skills you have learned along with your love of food and of making people happy with it. And if you have business knowledge, too, that is just GREAT!! Listen to what flash says!

Gus, look over the posts that culinarian247 has made. He has his career in hospitality planned out -- to use all the kitchen skills he has learned AND to use his business skills. If there is a program near you that is anything like the one he is in, that's probably where you belong. He's gone farther than you, so you can follow his lead.

The things you don't like about kitchen work are, unfortunately, true just about anywhere. It takes a lot of boring, boring work before you can advance to where you want to be, creating your own beautiful dishes. It's often referred to as "paying your dues." Some people don't mind the years of boring work because they hope that eventually they will move up to "better" things -- in fact, some prefer to stay there because it is solid work, always available, and as safe as any job in the food industry. And some people like to be a part of the team that ultimately pleases the customer. (That's me! I knew I would never get to the point where I would create dishes on my own, but I was happy to add my contribution to the customers' pleasure.)

But if really you don't think you can stand all those boring years (especially after you spent money to learn), then it is best for you to find another way to use your skills. Ask your school(s) about other opportunities besides working in kitchens, places where you can use both food and business knowledge. Try working "front of house" -- that is, being a waiter or assistant manager in a restaurant. (Although I warn you, that requires a thick skin, too!) Look for some of the kinds of business flash mentioned, and try working there. You don't have to give up your dreams of making people happy -- just look for other ways that make you happy, too.

(And btw: only now, 10 years after I learned, can I turn artichokes well and quickly! It takes a lot of practice and a really good, sharp knife! So don't feel bad if you couldn't do it right. The more you do it, the better you get at doing it. The important thing for you now is _knowing how it SHOULD be done_, so that you can tell when others are doing it right or wrong.)


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## gus20 (Jul 26, 2002)

Hello my friends , thanks so much for helping me; now i´m smiling a lot, just thinking i can do other things with my knowlodge makes me happy, very happy. Yes i have to end my career of hospitality management, i think that can be the key. I love being nice with people, guests. That can work i think. Being a restaurant managemente sounds good, too. Thanks so much!!!!!!

Many hugs for u!

Gustavo


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## hfxchef (May 23, 2005)

There's going to people such as him wherever you go, my friend. It's called pressure and you must learn how to deal with it or you're going to be extremely unsuccessful as a Chef. 

Also, if you don't think cooking is for you, then explore the other jobs in this world. There's millions of them. 

I hope you make the right choice, mate. I wish you the best of luck.


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