[cowjuan]

i'm currently taking a culinary arts in high school, and i have to say it is the funnest class i have ever had. cooking is awesome.

 

[TheAudioDude]

Quote:

My humble addition.
 
 
They were magnificent.

A culinary masterpiece!  I hope you dipped those in spicy mustard... mmm...

 
BTW, did you wrap those in Pillsbury crescent rolls?

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

I haven't got a clue what iced pumpkin cookies are, but they sure look nice Dude, as always. You Americans have more 'cookie experience' than me, you're the 'cookie masters'.
 
Do you make oatmeal cookies sometimes, Dude? Going to make that next week.

Thanks!  Since I've conquered cookies, I think my next baking adventure will be tiramisu.

 
Nope, the only cookies I've made are banana, Italian, and pumpkin.  I've only started baking regularly in the past few months.

 Seems like you have a serious cookie-making talent if you do that the first 3 times you make cookies.
 
Tiramisu is something I am more familiar with; I made the classic a couple of times (also made forrest fruit tiramisu once)
Make sure your mascarpone is from a good brand, your coffee is fresh made and strong.

 
I have a love for good food.  I want to get back into making big dinners but it's always an ordeal since my kitchen is so small.
 
I'll have to find a place around here that sells Italian groceries.

 

[BobSaysHi]

Quote:

Quote:

My humble addition.
 
 
They were magnificent.

A culinary masterpiece!  I hope you dipped those in spicy mustard... mmm...

 
BTW, did you wrap those in Pillsbury crescent rolls?

Yup. I cut up the dough so I could get a couple more dogs out of a package. It's just the dough wrapped around a piece of cheese and half a hot dog. They turned out better than I expected, and I just made some more a couple of hours ago. 

 
There was almost no cleanup, and they took maybe 10 minutes to make, and 11 minutes to cook.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

I love pigs in a blanket...too bad I went vegetarian earlier last year

 

[ArmAndHammer]

It is...but if you are thinking about doing it as a career...I suggest doing a lot of research on the jobs that are out there. I think 99% of people that go to culinary school go with a misunderstanding of what the culinary field is really like. I know I was one of those people. I spent 14 months in culinary school and realized afterwards that working in a real kitchen sucked. Well...not really, but it was far from what my idea of being a cook/chef was. But if you know and that is what you want...it could be an awesome and rewarding career field. 
 
Quote:

i'm currently taking a culinary arts in high school, and i have to say it is the funnest class i have ever had. cooking is awesome.

 

[TheAudioDude]

Quote:

It is...but if you are thinking about doing it as a career...I suggest doing a lot of research on the jobs that are out there. I think 99% of people that go to culinary school go with a misunderstanding of what the culinary field is really like. I know I was one of those people. I spent 14 months in culinary school and realized afterwards that working in a real kitchen sucked. Well...not really, but it was far from what my idea of being a cook/chef was. But if you know and that is what you want...it could be an awesome and rewarding career field. 
 
Quote:

i'm currently taking a culinary arts in high school, and i have to say it is the funnest class i have ever had. cooking is awesome.

 

Unless you open your own restaurant!  I think it'd be cool to open a bakery one day.

 

[Proglover]

Dude, you could seriously make good money with that cookies in Holland, there is one store that makes American cookies in Rotterdam, things you find pretty normal, they sell like hell.
(not that I can wholeheartly recommend living in this country) 
 
 
I would dip those hotdogs with cheese and dough, in ketchup.

 

[Ttvetjanu]

I'm a chef, graduated last spring. I've worked in the "third best" restaurant in Finland, as well as trained in the two michelin starred Chez Dominique and Edsbacka Krog. It's hard work. Very. During my time in CD I worked 340 hours in a month, 5-day weeks, and this being a very strict and disciplined environment where any error is a huge error. I'm not sure if I'm happy with my choice of carreer, only time will tell.
 
As for people recommending opening your own place; I remember reading that something like 5% or so of new restaurants are successful and manage to stay open for more than a couple years. If adding to this you have little to no real experience I cannot recommend doing it. I'm personally planning opening my own place, but this will be in at least 5 years, after which I have hopefully been the head chef somewhere.
 
I still love cooking, just not sure if it is a very intelligent carreer choice (especially if you are highly motivated and aim high). Oh and, the pay is very bad.
 
And I'll add to this that I'm currently unemployed because I left my work due to being burned out.
Quote:

It is...but if you are thinking about doing it as a career...I suggest doing a lot of research on the jobs that are out there. I think 99% of people that go to culinary school go with a misunderstanding of what the culinary field is really like. I know I was one of those people. I spent 14 months in culinary school and realized afterwards that working in a real kitchen sucked. Well...not really, but it was far from what my idea of being a cook/chef was. But if you know and that is what you want...it could be an awesome and rewarding career field. 
 
Quote:

i'm currently taking a culinary arts in high school, and i have to say it is the funnest class i have ever had. cooking is awesome.

 

 

[Zida]

Quote:

I'm a chef, graduated last spring. I've worked in the "third best" restaurant in Finland, as well as trained in the two michelin starred Chez Dominique and Edsbacka Krog. It's hard work. Very. During my time in CD I worked 340 hours in a month, 5-day weeks, and this being a very strict and disciplined environment where any error is a huge error. I'm not sure if I'm happy with my choice of carreer, only time will tell.
 
As for people recommending opening your own place; I remember reading that something like 5% or so of new restaurants are successful and manage to stay open for more than a couple years. If adding to this you have little to no real experience I cannot recommend doing it. I'm personally planning opening my own place, but this will be in at least 5 years, after which I have hopefully been the head chef somewhere.
 
I still love cooking, just not sure if it is a very intelligent carreer choice (especially if you are highly motivated and aim high). Oh and, the pay is very bad.
 
And I'll add to this that I'm currently unemployed because I left my work due to being burned out.

Sure most restaurants fail, but that is because most are uninspired and don't really have anything to offer. Make sure to find something that is missing in your city, do it very well in a good location, keep your prices reasonable, and do what you need to to get your name out there. Just make sure your's has reason to be the anomaly that succeeds.

Also- 17 hour days are completely unreasonable. Average kitchen hours /are/ longer than other industries, but IMO more than 10 on a regular basis is pushing it. Find somewhere better.

 

[Proglover]

Quote:

Sure most restaurants fail, but that is because most are uninspired and don't really have anything to offer. Make sure to find something that is missing in your city, do it very well in a good location, keep your prices reasonable, and do what you need to to get your name out there. Just make sure your's has reason to be the anomaly that succeeds.

Also- 17 hour days are completely unreasonable. Average kitchen hours /are/ longer than other industries, but IMO more than 10 on a regular basis is pushing it. Find somewhere better.

American style cookies and that sort of things, are missing in my city. Good gourmet burgers also.

 

[Ttvetjanu]

Yeah, I did leave... Sad thing is that I only got paid for 8 hours...
 
I've heard that trainees at Per Se in New York (probably the best restaurant in the US) sign up for 3 month periods where they work 5 days a week, 6am to 1-3am. The two other days are for rest. It's like slavery...
 
Quote:

Quote:

I'm a chef, graduated last spring. I've worked in the "third best" restaurant in Finland, as well as trained in the two michelin starred Chez Dominique and Edsbacka Krog. It's hard work. Very. During my time in CD I worked 340 hours in a month, 5-day weeks, and this being a very strict and disciplined environment where any error is a huge error. I'm not sure if I'm happy with my choice of carreer, only time will tell.
 
As for people recommending opening your own place; I remember reading that something like 5% or so of new restaurants are successful and manage to stay open for more than a couple years. If adding to this you have little to no real experience I cannot recommend doing it. I'm personally planning opening my own place, but this will be in at least 5 years, after which I have hopefully been the head chef somewhere.
 
I still love cooking, just not sure if it is a very intelligent carreer choice (especially if you are highly motivated and aim high). Oh and, the pay is very bad.
 
And I'll add to this that I'm currently unemployed because I left my work due to being burned out.

Sure most restaurants fail, but that is because most are uninspired and don't really have anything to offer. Make sure to find something that is missing in your city, do it very well in a good location, keep your prices reasonable, and do what you need to to get your name out there. Just make sure your's has reason to be the anomaly that succeeds.

Also- 17 hour days are completely unreasonable. Average kitchen hours /are/ longer than other industries, but IMO more than 10 on a regular basis is pushing it. Find somewhere better.

 

[TheAudioDude]

Quote:

Quote:

Sure most restaurants fail, but that is because most are uninspired and don't really have anything to offer. Make sure to find something that is missing in your city, do it very well in a good location, keep your prices reasonable, and do what you need to to get your name out there. Just make sure your's has reason to be the anomaly that succeeds.

Also- 17 hour days are completely unreasonable. Average kitchen hours /are/ longer than other industries, but IMO more than 10 on a regular basis is pushing it. Find somewhere better.

American style cookies and that sort of things, are missing in my city. Good gourmet burgers also.

I'd love to move to Holland.  Coincidentally, my last name has a Dutch origin.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Sounds like it but it also sounds like a great resume booster for moving on to someplace that treats you better. That is the thing about the chef industry...it seems that to really make it, one, you can't have a family(at first), two, you have to work you butt off for little pay to in the beginning (many jobs are like that though), three, jobs are temporary...just stepping stones to the next place, until you finally, if ever, "make it". Of course there are a lot of different avenues one could take, whether it is working in a small boutique style establishment, commercial kitchens, country club setting, owning your own business, catering, teaching...I think the possibilities are vast. It's all in what you want. If just ended up not being what I wanted in life. Heck...I still don't know.
 
Quote:

Yeah, I did leave... Sad thing is that I only got paid for 8 hours...
 
I've heard that trainees at Per Se in New York (probably the best restaurant in the US) sign up for 3 month periods where they work 5 days a week, 6am to 1-3am. The two other days are for rest. It's like slavery...
 
Quote:

Quote:

I'm a chef, graduated last spring. I've worked in the "third best" restaurant in Finland, as well as trained in the two michelin starred Chez Dominique and Edsbacka Krog. It's hard work. Very. During my time in CD I worked 340 hours in a month, 5-day weeks, and this being a very strict and disciplined environment where any error is a huge error. I'm not sure if I'm happy with my choice of carreer, only time will tell.
 
As for people recommending opening your own place; I remember reading that something like 5% or so of new restaurants are successful and manage to stay open for more than a couple years. If adding to this you have little to no real experience I cannot recommend doing it. I'm personally planning opening my own place, but this will be in at least 5 years, after which I have hopefully been the head chef somewhere.
 
I still love cooking, just not sure if it is a very intelligent carreer choice (especially if you are highly motivated and aim high). Oh and, the pay is very bad.
 
And I'll add to this that I'm currently unemployed because I left my work due to being burned out.

Sure most restaurants fail, but that is because most are uninspired and don't really have anything to offer. Make sure to find something that is missing in your city, do it very well in a good location, keep your prices reasonable, and do what you need to to get your name out there. Just make sure your's has reason to be the anomaly that succeeds.

Also- 17 hour days are completely unreasonable. Average kitchen hours /are/ longer than other industries, but IMO more than 10 on a regular basis is pushing it. Find somewhere better.

 

 

[Ttvetjanu]

It certanly is. I applied for a couple jobs and have already been asked to work for a couple places with very good wages, concidering that I've only been in the field for about a year. Let's see if I'm going back to fine dining or not... It's nice to have some free time once in a while
Quote:

Sounds like it but it also sounds like a great resume booster for moving on to someplace that treats you better. That is the thing about the chef industry...it seems that to really make it, one, you can't have a family(at first), two, you have to work you butt off for little pay to in the beginning (many jobs are like that though), three, jobs are temporary...just stepping stones to the next place, until you finally, if ever, "make it". Of course there are a lot of different avenues one could take, whether it is working in a small boutique style establishment, commercial kitchens, country club setting, owning your own business, catering, teaching...I think the possibilities are vast. It's all in what you want. If just ended up not being what I wanted in life. Heck...I still don't know.

 

[mralexosborn]

If I were to open a restaurant (which is something I would like to do), I would do a "high end" fast food place. The equivalent to a Chipotle but with more diversity than just burritos, tacos, etc. I find that fast food is VERY lacking in the quality department. If you think about places like Taco Bell, Burger King, Dairy Queen, etc they all have one thing in common: seemingly great food, until you take a bite. I know this is because people are only willing to spend x amount of dollar on a burger but I think some like quality food but would rather not sit in a restaurant. Good examples (I think) of good food that you don't sit down for are places like Five Guys (although you could literally wring out all of the grease), small Middle Eastern places that have simple, but amazing food like gyros and kabobs. I know this place around wear I live that has the most amazing gyros. They make the meat themselves; they don't use the frozen presliced lamb like many others do. Sure it's $6.50 for a sandwhich but it's well worth it.
 
Excuse me if this seems like disorganized thought or ranting, I am running low on sleep.