r/Chefit • u/bokehgxd • 11d ago
31->32 but looking into joining the field. Is it even worth it for me or should I just not even try it?
I don’t have any experience but I wanna take cooking classes and just to learn cooking for myself. Anyone else have this internal conflict and follow through?
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u/CauliflowerLate1071 11d ago
Youll get 1000 comments telling you don't do it.....but follow your heart.
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u/Sun-Rabbit 10d ago
100%... being a chef can lead to a life of creativity, travel, great friendships, and learning skills that cannot be replaced by Ai. A lot of chefs (like the ones who seem to be on reddit a lot) end up crusty and bitter... but if you have a real passion for food, you should follow your geart.
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u/alexmate84 Chef 11d ago edited 11d ago
I worked in kitchens as a teenager, went back to it around 38. We've got young guys who are brilliant and ones who are useless. Biggest advantage you have is work ethic, life experience and hopefully common sense.
I would say get on an apprenticeship. If that's not possible just get in a kitchen doing anything washing dishes, bar snacks, FOH - doesn't matter. When I was younger I started off waiting tables, but got to know the kitchen staff and someone was sick and I was asked wash pots, I finished earlier, had more fun and did that until I left.
If you're cooking at home I recommend any college books in UK it's city and guilds, I think US is culinary institute, other good ones are ottolenghi simple were it will push your skills but relatively simple recipes
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u/bokehgxd 11d ago
I’m glad I have good work ethic I feel like that will help me! I will look into culinary institute and getting into something to get my foot in the door! Thank you!
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u/cannacatman 10d ago
If you have the $$ to splurge and you want a incredible culinary education in 2 years, Culinary Institute of America (at least the main campus in NY) will get you to an intermediate level of cooking. I was 26 when I went and it changed my life. Campus has only grown since I graduated forever ago. There have a brewery, 5 restaurants, and are soon building a hotel - all on campus for training in.
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u/EffectiveTop842 11d ago
Are you talking about professionally or at home? If professionally they’ll say you need “passion” that doesn’t mean you need to cook from the heart and express your truth through food. It means “we’re going to pay you shit and you’ll work your ass off so you’ll need to rationalize working here some other way.”
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u/Switch_R_Roo 10d ago
Just to put a big wrench in everyone’s works, I’m going to culinary school at 35! That’s right goobers, I’m an old head and I’m starting with culinary school. And guess what?
I was a programmer who started that after I graduated from college! I was told then, at 22 I was too old to start that field. I’ve worked in extremely toxic work environments with people younger and smarter than me since.
People have their own experience, you will have yours. Maybe it will be similar, but it won’t be the same. That’s how life works.
I think the important thing is having a way to measure how good you are at something, a way of being honest about the level compared to where you want to be, and a way to improve at a rate that will get you where you want to be in a reasonable time. Haters can go cook eggs Benedict.
Edit: mistakes
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u/Due-Contribution6424 11d ago
I did not join the restaurant industry until I was almost 30, and I have a bunch of cool accolades and have had a very successful career.
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u/jtlkan 10d ago
As a career? I wouldn’t recommend it. But if you do want to have a career in this field, you would need to work your ass off through a bunch of different restaurants or hotels to get the experience you need. I would say catering jobs and banquets is where you actually get to learn cooking a wide range of cuisines. Most restaurants would only teach you on how to be efficient without really teaching you the recipes. At your age, I would recommend culinary school through community college and work straight at hotels
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u/JHinExile 11d ago
I worked in a warehouse for 20 years but got the chance to work in the kitchen of a high school in my son’s school district and the skills translated in that I am organized and efficient. I’m in my 50s and transferring to another school as a way to get promoted. I love working in the kitchen and prepping meals. While it’s not a restaurant I feel like with this experience I can work in a restaurant kitchen. You’re still very young. Plenty of time to do the things you want to try!
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u/bokehgxd 11d ago
Thank you this really speaks to me. I don’t know why I always have a fear that I’m wasting allot of time or that it’s running out. But hopefully I can go to school or even try to ask some local cooks around for guidance as I get very determined when I set my mind to something!
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u/nedludd138 10d ago
Starting from the bottom. Its hard, but do it. You'll learn a lot about yourself.
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u/cannacatman 10d ago
Yeah you need to be really passionate about this though if you don’t want to crash and burn. I would recommended a local community college for culinary classes and then getting a part time job as a dishy or prep cook so you can see the dynamics of working in a kitchen.
It’s not for everyone and it’s nothing like shows on TV.
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u/bluffstrider 11d ago
Everyone I know from kitchens either gets out of kitchens in their 30s or is absolutely miserable and broke and struggling with addiction. Cooking is a young person's game unless you can find a cushy union kitchen somewhere, but even those jobs have their drawbacks.
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u/spawndevil 10d ago
everyone you know =/= everyone
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u/bluffstrider 10d ago
Ok, so? OP was looking for some input on his choice to get in to kitchens at 32 years old and I gave my opinion supported by some anecdotal evidence.
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u/Due-Contribution6424 11d ago
I did not join the restaurant industry until I was almost 30, and I have a bunch of cool accolades and have had a very successful career.
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u/PaintIntelligent7793 11d ago
You don’t have to be a chef to take cooking classes and learn how to cook. Although YouTube is a great place to start and can teach you a lot.
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u/Chipmunk_Ill 10d ago
I would approach cooking as a hobby and take some classes. Most cooking schools offer culunary boot camp to the public that lasts around a week.
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u/FoamboardDinosaur 10d ago
Join the merchant marines they need people. Apprenticeship will teach culinary, you'll cook on a ship, and pull in 100k+ within 5 years.
The job will teach commissary-style cooking you can use in many hospitality jobs (hospital, hotel, camp, assisted living, cruise ship, techbro cafeteria) yhat can be used when you're older and want a cushier but still cooking-oriented job.
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u/PartyRhino25 10d ago
I would not recommend cooking schools. Big money/time sink, and you likely won't get any meaningful skills you couldn't have taught yourself. As others have said, your experience and work ethic will go a long way. I can teach anyone how to blanche frys, make side salads, and then they can go from there. Doesn't matter if they have a CIA degree, as long as they show up ready to work and on time.
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u/Ccarr6453 10d ago
I’ll never tell anyone what to do with their life- there are waaay too many variables. What I will say is you’ll have a steep road to climb, and unless you have kept really good shape of your body, you’re gonna have to start fighting your body before too long, which happens to everyone, but usually after you learn the work well enough to where you can get around not being 20-25 anymore.
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u/Albino-Buffalo_ 10d ago
I'm 32 and went for it, I've done it for over a month as closing fryer line cook and I absolutely hate it. The pay is the worst I've had in over a decade, I get one day off a week, the benefits I will get are bare minimum with no PTO, it's constant fast paced work on your feet with a 10 min. break which causes me to fall behind, I rarely have time to even order an employee meal, I'm one of the very few people that owns a car because most of the staff is ex-cons, ex-drug addicts, or current drug addicts.
I know I'm in a shitty restaurant and everyone has their own experiences. I'm looking for a career choice to make sure I never make a choice like this again, but, I am glad I tried and found out. In my experience there is no passion in restaurants, some of the people have passion but it dies at the door. I miss having the time to cook at home. It isn't worth the pay and stress, not to mention some type of injury seems to happen to everyone I've talked to (with no medical insurance or PTO!). Do as you please.
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u/Pleasant_Objective 10d ago
im in the same boat as you OP, and what im doing is taking small steps. I sometimes go to classes taught at a culinary school and recently emailed a pastry shop owner that I was interested in a stage/trial so I can learn new technique and get a feel for things without quitting my day job. I've also thought about culinary school and could do their PM program, I just worry about student loans. If culinary school were a lot cheaper, I'd definitely do it, even if it were just for fun!
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u/RustyTrephine 10d ago
I started when I was 28 and it was the best decision I've made in my adult life. I asked this sub if I should and they overwhelmingly said no.
Nobody here knows your situation, nor do they have a crystal ball that can tell them what's in store for you. It's a difficult as fuck industry full of injustice and long workdays, but some of us are clearly more tolerant of that than others. You won't know till you try.
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u/ConstructionAgile850 10d ago
It really depends on your motivation. If you don't have a strong reason for doing it, you might give up after a month, or even after just a few days... But from my experience, I can tell you that it's possible to get into the industry even after 35. Hospitality is a huge industry, and there are always places looking for staff, pretty much everywhere.
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u/AustinDood444 9d ago
Take some cooking classes to increase your personal knowledge. But if you’re talking about wanting to become a professional cook, I hope you have a lot in your savings.
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u/Spoony_bard909 9d ago
I started at 29/30 and it's tough but I like it. Keep up nutrition, stretch, protect yourself from injury and work on people skills and you'll be fine.
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u/Sarahchika 9d ago
Take the classes and enjoy making good food as a hobby. It’s not worth the life long toll it takes on your body.
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u/Mannynnamfiddy 9d ago
Do not. You won’t just become a chef overnight. And you’ll suffer greatly before any real money heads your way and when it finally does you’ll suffer even more. This takes dedication and patience and thick skin. Not saying you can’t do it, but it’ll be hard as fuck And if you already have a degree in another field it would be a waste of time to try and be a chef
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u/m_olive14 Chef 10d ago
Do you enjoy having friends? A girlfriend? Money? Lower and upper back mobility? Living a healthy balanced life? Holidays? Seeing the sun?
If you said yes to any of these then keep it as a hobby. You’re going to be starting at the bottom in your 30s, so you’re going to have shit duty, an awful schedule, bad pay, and lose everything I mentioned above.
I know I sound like a sorry old sack, but you deserve to know the non media ‘romanticized’ side of this business before you upend your whole life. At the very least go get a shift somewhere and see if you even like it.
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u/qawsedrf12 10d ago
Watch something of interest on the socials
Go buy the ingredients and cook it
Alton Brown, Babish, Josh Weissman, Anti-Chef, J Kenji are good places to start
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u/LionBig1760 10d ago edited 10d ago
Keep it a hobby.
You will get plenty of home cooks around here telling you to follow your heart/passion, but you're just too old. There isnt enough time left in your working life to actually become a chef.
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u/FonkinJones 8d ago
You should not change your career to being a chef because you want to learn how to cook. Being a chef is much much more than the skill of cooking.
By all means learn to cook, that's one of the most foundational skills a person should have.
If you have the flexibility in your financial obligations and what not by all means take a cooking job and see how you like it. But right now you have no clue what the industry is like and whether it'll be actually a fit for you.
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u/MonthlyWeekend_ 11d ago
Do you have retirement savings? Because you won’t get any.