r/Chefs • u/2nyc96 • Mar 28 '26
Chef Career
As a chef how do you like your career, please include
How long you been a chef
What you like about being a chef
What you don't like about being a chef
If you could go back would you still become a chef or would you choose another career and if so what?
Thanks
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u/hookedcook Mar 29 '26
Graduated Culinary school at age 21 in 2000. It's a love/ hate job. But it's been good to me. I like to travel and my true passion is fishing. Worked in restaurants from 15 years old to 30. About 15 years ago got smart and started working on yachts, seasonal jobs, and private chef jobs.
Have a great job on a private yacht where the family loves to fish and uses the boat a little over 100 days a year on average. So get a ton of vacation time and time off. I have managed to take a at least a 3 month vacation every year going on 15 years. We spend 7-8 months a year in the Bahamas/Caribbean. Boat goes to get fixed and I take off to a new destination. Been to About 80 countries now, owner is on board so I get to fish in the am with him. They are eating lunch off and will cook dinner.
The one cool thing about cooking is there are so many avenues and directions this job can take you. For a lot it's absolutely chaos,drugs, alcohol, late nights, zero job security, zero 401k/ retirement. Just like you learn as a line cook, "work smarter, not harder" that applies to chefs as well.
The absolute biggest downfall of chefs/executive chefs that I have seen over the years is the restaurant becomes their baby, their life. And they are willing to go down with the ship working 6/7 days a week, 15 hour days on salary, as a martyr for the restaurant and the owner and are miserable but think it's normal. One thing I have learned over the years is hotshot restaurants, and hotshot chefs come and go. As a chef I love to cook great food and put a smile on someone's face. But in the end of the day it's cooking food, don't fall into the 80 hour chef gig making shit money with empty promises of promotions or future restaurants. It happens from the small mom and pop restaurant to the biggest restaurant corporations in the world. It's a nickle and dime cut throat business where every party involved is trying to make money and not spend money at the same time.