the whys
Just having a conversation with a coworker regarding new hires for instructors. Our school is growing, but we don't seem to have many qualified skilled applicants.
Why not?
Here is our deal. We are a small school, looking to blow up on the scene. Recently under new ownership and a new name affiliated with one of the most famous french chefs, we are a small boutique, affordable culinary school. I as a staff member, have a 4 day work week, get paid extremely well on an hourly basis, have weekends off, all major holidays off(and paid), work 8 hours a day +/-, have three break weeks throughout the year, have vacation paid, sick days paid, full medical, vision, and I work with a really great bunch of chefs.
So, when I ask other chefs I know, who I respect, 'why don't you come teach', why do I get the WTF look, and the 'why would I want to do that question'?
The applicants we have been getting are definitely not the cream of the crop...its true. There is a stigmata with culinary school instructors, that it is the place to go when you are burned out, or a has been, or lazy. But that is not what we need! We need younger talented chefs who can relate and instill the passion for food into a new round of minds. It is important to be able to handle the stress of teaching, and still be able to talk about food and your passion for cooking every single minute of the day; to understand that no two minds learn the same way and that no student reacts to situations in the kitchen the way that seasoned cooks would.
But it can be fun, and when the light bulb turns on and you see the comprehension in their faces, it is all worth it. Maybe even more than if you watched a diner eat your meal with enlightened joy on their face. You can know that you are forever influencing this person and their cooking; that you will forever be influencing thousands of diners by influencing just one young cook.
So where are you?
Why not?
Here is our deal. We are a small school, looking to blow up on the scene. Recently under new ownership and a new name affiliated with one of the most famous french chefs, we are a small boutique, affordable culinary school. I as a staff member, have a 4 day work week, get paid extremely well on an hourly basis, have weekends off, all major holidays off(and paid), work 8 hours a day +/-, have three break weeks throughout the year, have vacation paid, sick days paid, full medical, vision, and I work with a really great bunch of chefs.
So, when I ask other chefs I know, who I respect, 'why don't you come teach', why do I get the WTF look, and the 'why would I want to do that question'?
The applicants we have been getting are definitely not the cream of the crop...its true. There is a stigmata with culinary school instructors, that it is the place to go when you are burned out, or a has been, or lazy. But that is not what we need! We need younger talented chefs who can relate and instill the passion for food into a new round of minds. It is important to be able to handle the stress of teaching, and still be able to talk about food and your passion for cooking every single minute of the day; to understand that no two minds learn the same way and that no student reacts to situations in the kitchen the way that seasoned cooks would.
But it can be fun, and when the light bulb turns on and you see the comprehension in their faces, it is all worth it. Maybe even more than if you watched a diner eat your meal with enlightened joy on their face. You can know that you are forever influencing this person and their cooking; that you will forever be influencing thousands of diners by influencing just one young cook.
So where are you?
Comments