Looking for honest advice from anyone who works in culinary arts.

>>8476132
I work supplying cheese to resteruants. I asked advice from one of my chefs on joining the biz. He said
>Start young, it's back breaking arduous work as you will be dishwashing, chopping and cleaning exclusively on your feet
>Culinary school isn't worth it but community college programs are worth checking out.
>Be hungry, be hard working, and understand margins, waste, and pantry management and you can make it.

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>Voluntarily wanting to work in a back breaking environment making 40k a year for the rest of your life for your boss who doesn't give an inkling of a fuck about you

wew lad

>>8476306
What's wrong with pursuing a life of good honorable labor in a field you are passionate and exemplary at? If you think just because there's somebody up the line making more profit than you that it's not worth it then you are dumb. There is always somebody profiting off you. The boss owes the bank, the bank owes a bigger bank etc.

>>8476132
LMAO just go get a job at a restaurant washing dishes and work your way up nigga, it's that easy

its not too late op get that out of your head
people can start at 40 years old if they want

follow your dreams OP I just got promoted to wash lettuce

>>8476132
I was in the same situation as you.
>>8476489
This is the answer.

DESU though, It's hard work, margins are awful compared to almost everything else, most of the people you work with are going to be assholes, and you are gonna have to take a lot of shit.

on the upside, you get to learn things constantly (unless you work in some shithole), you will always have work, and most other things in life will probably seem easy. Oh and you'll probably get fit unless you eat constantly. Don't do it for the money though. There isn't any.

>>8476306
>implying labor is shit
it's honest rewarding work and it makes a human being out of you, give it a shot.

"I'm 23"
I got out of the army at 22 and started working on becoming a chemist. 23 to start cooking isn't a big deal.

>>8476132
You could start now, I started when I was 20 and I am 25. Anyone in the business will tell you cooking school is a joke, including graduates; you can learn everything on the job and pay is shit. It's hard work, your coworkers will mostly be felons and drug addicts so there is high turnover so you will be covering shifts left and right. I worked the past 14 days straight; every day off i have been called in. "just say you can't" you deny extra hours and you get your hours cut, plus you typically need the overtime pay anyways. You have to love it, talking unconditional love like what normal people reserve for girlfriends or whatever. Te nature of the work makes it easy to get addicted to something; I smoke and when i get home i drink myself to sleep so I can even get some sleep before I go in at 8 after getting out at 1am. It's not for normies but I love my job no matter how stressful it is

>>8476132

I've had a different experience working in kitchens than most people here. It was still hard work, with fairly low pay, but the overall experience was good.

I made a career change when I was 28, out of Forestry, and into cooking. With only college pizza/flatop cooking experience, I landed a job at a moderately fine dining restaurant in Vermont. It was kind of a tourist town, so during the summer, fall, and winter we were busy...from Feb. through April not so much.

I worked 45 - 50 hours a week, up to 65 or 70 during overtime periods. Within two months I went from Prep to Garde Manger to cooking grill and sautee on the line. We also catered events, made hor'doerves, butchered pigs and made charcuterie. I did all this with little experience other than being a regular home cook. I worked hard, worked smart, paid attention, etc. An example of some dishes I would prepare were grilled wagyu steak with smoked red wine sauce, marinated, grilled hanger steak with roasted vegetables, house made bratwursts. I cooked 150+ roasted lamb chop dishes for new years eve once. That was intense.

It was certainly not at the caliber of the high end restaurants in big cities, but for Vermont, it was pretty damn good. My coworkers were mostly nice, we had good times over beers after busy but relaxed services. The head chef was an alcoholic pot head, but he was fair, and didn't bother us after service during our drinks.

I would suggest, if you want to get into culinary, try some of the more low key, but nice, restaurants around the county first, before jumping into the big city industry. Fuck that "gotta be young" shit. I was 28 when I got into and ran circles around the younger, less enthused employees.

Also, I got out of that after two years. It was too much working evenings and my wife worked days. Now I run a small business confection production and cook as a personal chef on the side, still in Vermont, and am very content.

Be ready to hate your life in new ways.

>>8476306
>>8478721
What if I actually like cooking though? And honestly, I kind of like labor too. It always makes me feel satisfied and accomplished at the end of the day. Like I actually did something that I can feel the results of.

Also, for you guys who work in kitchens, how shit is the pay, really? Just a little above minimum wage? Would it be possible to have a family on a wage like this, or would it not be a good idea since the wage is shit and I would be away from them all the time?

>>8479211

You might like cooking, but that doesn't mean you will enjoy cooking things you have no control over all day everyday for people you won't even see enjoying the fruits of your labor. Get a trade, and enjoy cooking at home for people you care about. People say "do what you love and you will never work a day in your life" and it is bullshit. Doing what you love usually sucks the enjoyment out of it...

>>8479211
The best paying gig I had paid 15. Currently making 12+tips. I don't know how my coworkers have kids and shit