Sorry about making a 'blog' post, but I really just want to share the news. First, I want to go into a little bit about my working history.
When I was about 11 I got into cooking. I loved it, always experimenting with different things, and my family encouraged it. There were many nights when mom wasn't home and by necessity I had to cook dinner. I decided that was what I was going to do for a living. When I was 15 I got my first job slinging cheese-steaks for 6.50 an hour. My girlfriend said I would smell like mayo and onions when I got home. A few months later I got a job at a country club cooking, worked there for the rest of high school.
Then I decided to go off the culinary school. Very fun, learned a lot, excelled, made some of the best friends I had ever had. Then I moved across country with my girlfriend (same one I had since I was 13, now wife). She went to school and I worked. Nights, weekends, I already knew the drill. Student loans kicked in and I did not take them very seriously - frequently missing payments, not educating myself about them, only paying minimums, etc. I had this ideal that working one job full time should give one enough money to pay all their bills and still have some left over. I was a dreamer and I should have worked 2 jobs while I had the chance.
We somehow scraped up enough money to move back home and I decided I wanted out of the industry. I didn't want to be a chef, I just wanted to show up to work and do what the chef wants me to do. I also felt I worked myself into a corner, I didn't know any other industries. I got a job at a coffee shop, followed by my first office job. I thought sitting down all day would be awesome, but it is not - at all. I hate it. My muscles are sore from nothing, my legs ache, I feel crappy and tired all the time and I've gained weight. I also am not making any more money than I would in the culinary industry, but the hours are awesome. The company I'm with is small (small town) and there is basically no room for growth. On top of that they have cut back everyone's lunch break, decided to pay less on health insurance, and are really anal about the very little PTO you get. A few months ago I started looking for a new job.
I have felt so directionless. I know what I don't want out of a career, but not what I do want. I applied to insurance jobs, other offices, a few managerial positions, nothing. No return calls, no emails, nothing. I felt so trapped. During the past few years I have developed a huge love of gardening and growing food. I'm tearing up my back yard and putting in garden beds. I'm all about organic, sustainable food. A month or so ago my cousin, who works part time at a really cool local restaurant, said they were looking for a kitchen manager. "You would love it, middle_path. The words they use I don't understand, but I know you speak that language". She had me intrigued. I did some research and this place sources as much as they can locally, has their own garden, and the chef is just a madman. The dude gets in whole pigs, breaks them down, and makes charcuterie.
I decided to speak with the chef and though I didn't get the manager's position, I did get a job cooking. He knows I love the garden and the whole farm-to-table movement and wants to get me in the garden whenever possible. The food they make is also beyond anything I have ever done. I've cooked fine dining, but this place deserves at least 1 Michelin star. And it's all going on in my small rural town. I have some reservations about the hours, the weekends, being away from my son longer than I would like, etc. But I really think this place will make my happy. I just have to switch my brain back on again.
Anyway, finishing my last week at the office this Friday, then it's into the fire next week. Wish me luck!
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[–] middle_path [S] ago
Thanks, man. The chef seems to have this thing figured out. Also growing a lot of his own stuff helps with overhead. Although I soon will learn. I know he said the restaurant is not a great business plan and is likely expanding into catering this year.
[–] Memorexem 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Well, that's the thing. A lot of people thinkit helps with overhead, but they don't figure in the extra labour, the licenses to actually sell that stuff, the even more labour of having people do 2-3x the work cleaning and preparing the product, the costs associated with being organic (which are NOT insubstantial), and such. He might be getting away with it easier, being just a garden and a small town, but it gets exponentially worse the bigger you get. The catering will help offset it a bit, though, that's good money if you get enough business.
[–] middle_path [S] ago
Thanks for the candor. I still have a love for it and I'm hoping if the rest of the country can catch on and it becomes the norm the costs will be more manageable.