# Advice on next step



## icee20 (Jan 10, 2015)

Good day Culinary Pros,

I am a 2 year post graduate of a culinary school in Saint Louis, with a CC and I have been getting a little discouraged about my career lately.  I worked at a national chair restaurant for my internship, spent a year and a half in a casino (Buffet, all aspects, then Grill prep) and finally my current job is in a top rated Children's Hospital.  My problem is I feel like I am going no where, I am working the Cafe grill line which is little to no real cooking, even if I were to work back of house, what they do is mostly the same thing I did when I cooked buffet at the casino.  I was always told Hospitals are a good place to start, but I don't feel so.  Could you give me some advice on what I should do next?  I want to actually get that knowledge you get from working under a Great Chef.  

thanks everyone


----------



## travis thomas (Aug 9, 2014)

You should start applying to some real deal restaurants I mean I am sure you get decent experience from where you work but you can always find a new place that has better opportunities for learning. You also need to evaluate your goals in the restaurant business. Start there... I am still young but have mapped out the next year of my life to be mostly unpaid learning in some of the best restaurants. If you want to become head chef in a hospital that is awesome but first figure out your goals, maybe map out some chefs you would like to contact and work or intern under. That is just my advice I am a line cook that has no culinary school background but I am working my way through CIA's The Professional Chef...  

Good Luck


----------



## trainmeup (May 23, 2013)

I would recommend doing some research about the restaurants in your area and then I'd try to meet with the Exec Chef, submit a resume and try to put some hours in. Currently I'm working two jobs because I love what I do and I am new to the area I live in and I want to learn the personalities of the kitchens. I am leaning more and more toward one of them and they just presented me an offer today. Basically make yourself available to them. Once your there #1 listen to Chef #2 listen to the people that have spent time working under them and in multiple kitchens at multiple levels #3 get your hands dirty and execute what they tell you HOW they tell you (thats the mark of a good cook and teammate) #4 SHARE what you can bring to the table. People who really love this industry and food enjoy talking about it, telling their experiences and sharing their knowledge. I've heard that hospital kitchens pay pretty well, is there the possibility of catering luncheons or other events within the hospital to put a finer twist on plating and get some less pedestrian mise en place? Perhaps you can try to learn more and get operational knowledge? If you really want to go to the next level and your in a small town or an area where there isn't a good food culture then I'd say pack your knives and go on an adventure. Recently I went to Paris and cooked and ate and cooked some more and it was amazing! If I could I would pack up and head over to there for a few years but I am currently on a different adventure in small town America. Good luck. Work hard and the next level is attainable.


----------



## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Hospitals are only good because they are 8 hours a day and  5 days a week. You will never learn cooking in a hospital .you will only learn assembling. Most raw thing you will cook is chicken , and more chicken  then everything into steam table or hot boxes. In many settings their roast beef comes cooked and their scrambled eggs come in a bag that gets thrown into boiling water.


----------

