# Is being a Chef stressful? And how much opportunities are out there in the way of entrepreneurship?



## zeusophobia (May 1, 2011)

Hi, I'm thinking about going into culinary at the tech school close to where I live. I just want to know if cooking is a stressful job and what kind of opportunities there are once you have 5+ years under your belt. Thanks


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

5 years ??  5 years is nothing . What kind of places and what quality of places?? 

Are  we talking upscale, country clubs, hotels, restaurants, fast food  glorified  fast food(Applebee, Red Lobster etc) Old age home, corp food service.?

    Stressful  YES again  depending on positions and your job catagories and requirements . Other jobs are stressful to, but they compansate you well in most cases for the stress endured.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

Welcome to Cheftalk firstly. You'll find an amazing amount of information here at the tap of a keyboard.

If it were just about cooking then it would be a great industry to be in, but unfortunately there's so much more to our jobs than just that.

The industry is very stressful, and the pay is poor, the hours are terrible and it can affect everything from your personal life to your financial situation as well.

We do what we do for the love of the craft.

The industry is not for everyone.

My best advice for you is to seek out a job in the industry to see what it's like.

The more experience you have the better you are at handling the workload.

After five years, you would still be considered a rookie, but, of course, that would depend on what knowledge you have acquired and where you worked.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

OK. I'm going to disagree on that "time" issue. Five(5) years is a good long time. Culinary tech school is a cool place to learn. "Stress" is a funny kind of thing. One thing to one person is something completely different to someone else. The pay is absolutely fantastic, after you've been unemployed for a few months. The hours zoom bye after your cable and phone have been turned off for a while. The entire food-service industry is just another industry. It's got it's good and bad just like everything else. Don't get into it because it looks cool on TV; big mistake. The cooking industry is wide open and diverse in different opportunities. Take your courses, learn about different styles, cuisines, techniques et al. It's all good. Make sure your eyes are wide open.

Oh yeah, something else, if your next question is _"What kind of knife is the best? What should I buy?"_ Let me tell you, _"SEARCH"_ is your friend. There are maybe seven thousand threads on that subject here, with fantastic answers from all of the experts. Go look them up and you won't have to wait for an answer. You could spend the whole day reading and learning. It's a beautiful thing.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Zeus,

You mentioned entrepreneurship  . . .  

I would suggest that no matter what type of business you are thinking about, you really need to back

up your experience with some business education. If not you will depend on someone else

and you will never find the time to go back and learn when you have the business responsibility.

You must research! The myths will always be around. One in our field is that 90% of start up busineses

fail with in the year. not even close and they go on and on.

Good Luck

panini


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## klef dnb (May 1, 2011)

Hi Zeus, 

About the stress.... I think it's not stressful at all. It's really hard work but I find it really rewarding. The most rewarding thing I have ever done. 
You have to love it...It's like doing some sport, you have to be committed.

I sweat, cut, burn myself every single day and I go to bed with a big smile on my face... Wear that scars proud!


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

IceMan said:


> OK. I'm going to disagree on that "time" issue. Five(5) years is a good long time. Culinary tech school is a cool place to learn. "Stress" is a funny kind of thing. One thing to one person is something completely different to someone else. The pay is absolutely fantastic, after you've been unemployed for a few months. The hours zoom bye after your cable and phone have been turned off for a while. The entire food-service industry is just another industry. It's got it's good and bad just like everything else. Don't get into it because it looks cool on TV; big mistake. The cooking industry is wide open and diverse in different opportunities. Take your courses, learn about different styles, cuisines, techniques et al. It's all good. Make sure your eyes are wide open.
> 
> Oh yeah, something else, if your next question is _"What kind of knife is the best? What should I buy?"_ Let me tell you, _"SEARCH"_ is your friend. There are maybe seven thousand threads on that subject here, with fantastic answers from all of the experts. Go look them up and you won't have to wait for an answer. You could spend the whole day reading and learning. It's a beautiful thing.


Again, I will refer you to the last line in my comment that it all depends on what venue you worked and what knowledge was attained there.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

agree with Panini. To go in your own venture reqires some sought of business accumen. Accounting, law, finance should be in your portfolio.


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