Don't Work Here, Work There!

Before graduating from the Culinary program, our instructors encouraged us to choose one restaurant in the Madison area and stick with it for five years. At the time, I thought highly of my instructors and took in their sage advice whenever the moment presented itself. Little did I know, I never followed through with it.

After I graduated and received my degree from Madison College, I immediately threw myself into the deep dark abyss. I took up a kitchen stage at a restaurant callef L'etoile, one of Madison's few fine dining restaurants. And if you're unfamiliar with what a "stage" is, it's an unpaid internship at a kitchen. In other words--you're performing free labor for a free meal.

I had no idea what I got myself into, and in my young, naive mindset, I was still in culinary school mode. Meaning that I expected the executive chef to hold my hand throughout the entirety of my first shift--but I could have never been more wrong.

Long story short, I was yelled at, I had to remake 10 out of 16 appetizers, and I nearly cut my thumb off before dinner service started. A friendly reminder: chefs in a fine dining restaurant are picky, and they will not hesitate to point out your mistakes in front of an entire crew.

So, if you ever do plan on entering the culinary industry, here's a little nudge to let you know what options are out there:

1. Fine Dining

I'll start with the one that we're all familiar with: this exquisite form of dining requires only the best of plate designs, and if it isn't obvious enough it needs to taste good. But as I mentioned before, chefs in fine dining restaurants are meticulous about how they want their food prepared. They can spot the tiniest mistake on a plate before it's sent out to the dining room, and when they do send it back, it's not a pretty picture--but can you blame them?

Let's get one thing out of the way first, every chef in the fine-dining scene is where they're at because of their talents and have been recognized for their achievements. They've worked hard to gain fame in their local community, and if it isn't enough, people travel hours and even make reservations one year in advance to claim a seat at their restaurant. So, if you ever decide to enter the kitchen in a fine dining restaurant, don't say I didn't warn you.

2. Contemporary Casual

These kitchens usually play around with more exotic flavors, farm-to-table, and surround their restaurant with one single theme: eco-friendly. There's a trend going around in most restaurants that meat is either scarce or a sacred, terrifying thing that should never be allowed in the kitchen. Instead, you'll be replacing meat with things such as vegan meat (i.e. menu items listed as impossible), cauliflower, or black beans to make black bean burgers. Don't get me wrong--I have nothing against replacing the rich, beautiful protein that is meat. These are only observations that I've noticed in the past.

If I may add one more thing, you will have more fun working in this kind of kitchen. While it isn't laid-back, it beats having to work under a top-tier chef who is constantly yelling in their kitchen.

3. Cafe

Say goodbye to your morning weekends--because once you step foot into this kitchen--every breakfast cafe will require you to get up at six in the morning to prepare a load of potatoes, pancake batter, and sort out thin strips of bacon for a multitude of bizarre customer demographics.

Like most kitchens, these require you to move at a fast-paced with a higher than normal volume of tickets printing every two minutes. The only exception is that quantity prioritizes over quality; thankfully, with the informal laws of modern operations (i.e. prep work), half of the breakfast foods you send out only need to be warmed. You will only need to cook pancakes, bacon, eggs, and maybe omelets, but don't let my sugar-coated thoughts fool you. I only say this because when I was working in a breakfast cafe, I made sure to over-prepare everything--and I mean everything.

4. Pop-up Restaurants

Let's take a minute to appreciate the beauty of pop-up restaurants--these are restaurants that move around different locations, and if you ever decide to look the restaurant up on google--I bid you good luck. Pop-up restaurants only consist of a small staff that includes three to four kitchen staff members, which includes the chef and three waitstaff members. Here's the hidden secret: if you find yourself working for pop-ups, the max number of customers you will be cooking for comes up to twelve--maybe fifteen if the chef is feeling generous.

But there's a catch, much like fine dining, pop-up restaurants focus very heavily on quality, and the tiniest detail down to the plates and silverware will play a great deal on the restaurant's title. Bottom line, pop-up restaurants will look good on your resume, and if I'm being honest, your knowledge on the different types of ingredients will expand.

5. Food Trucks

These beauties can transport themselves to any location and provide the most delicate, flavorful cuisine. There is a demand for food trucks, and seeing how they can be intimidating at first, there's a major advantage: YOU ARE THE BOSS!

Don't get me wrong being the boss is great, but being the boss has its disadvantages, too. While you're busy whipping up the best of your recipes and reaping the compliments from your customers, there's still the obligation of running a "business." Your bills, monthly food truck rental space, and permit won't pay for themselves--they need you to pay for them! A word of advice if you decide to do a food truck, employ maybe one other person who knows their way around the kitchen and has food knowledge.

There you have it, the different options of kitchens you can choose from. But be forewarned, cooking good food is easy to come by; however, being a determined cook is difficult.