Thanks to the media and Food Network specifically the culinary world is shown through rose-colored glasses. Children and adults alike are shown a world where the life of a modern day chef is akin to that of a rock star. Even the most complex dishes are easy to make by everyone, and while that may be true if you understand flavor profiles, have knife skills, and understand various cooking methods and techniques, the world of the typical professional cook is far from glamorous.
There are a good number of professional chefs on television that have paid their dues and deserve the attention they are receiving. Their foods are spot-on and they have a genuine interest in educating the general public. Others bank on their chipper or over-the-top personalities to get in the limelight which is fine, but it is not a realistic picture of what the industry is really like. The art of cooking and creation of dishes is not entertainment. There are no bleachers or television crews in your average kitchen. There is no whimsical attitude as the 300th plate of the evening travels to the pass with 2 Ã’Ò½ hours remaining for the day’s dinner service. The real world is not like that.
Most professional cooks do not get into the business for the money. Hourly line cooks make between $8 and $11 per hour and will very rarely see a 40-hour workweek. Salaried cooks make on average $25k to $45k and work a minimum of 60 hours per week, thus making the top tier of the non-management chefs earning around $14 per hour. Forget about spending time with family and friends during the holidays and on weekends, you will most likely be working.
Cuts and burns are as commonplace in the professional kitchen as are making the same few dishes on your station for hours at a time each day. Speed and flawless execution are skills you must possess because the each diner expects a plate of perfectly cooked food to appear on their table in the same amount of time it takes to cook a McDonalds hamburger. The professional kitchen is intense. There are not 15 people calmly going about their business. In a restaurant that does 500 covers a night, a four-man line doing all the cooking.
On the bright side, those opting to pursue a career in the culinary arts will learn job skills that can transfer anywhere in the world. The opportunities available to those with cooking skills are virtually endless. One can opt to cook in an upscale hotel to a privately owned restaurant to a neighborhood dive bar. You can cook in a seafood restaurant or a brick oven pizza shop. Skills transfer anywhere.
Those who opt for a career in food production have a genuine interest in food. In my time as a professional chef I have had the opportunity to create some exciting dishes my diners have loved. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented people in the industry and work with ingredients I could only dream about in my home kitchen. Those were the experiences that were valuable to me.
I never watched the Food Network and dreamed of glory, expecting kudos from family and friends for what I chose to do. I knew the field was hard work with little to no glory.
I must admit however that when I cook for family and friends and they truly enjoy what I have created, that feeling is worth more than all the money in the world.
Paul Rados is a former professional chef living and working in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados