Quote (bnrhodes2 @ Sep 7 2014 05:52pm)
Will look at those links. thanks!
Quote (Creations @ Sep 7 2014 07:36pm)
You can actually purchase textbooks used in culinary schools.
I'm always iffy when it comes to textbooks. my experience from college is that text books are rarely chosen for how good they are, but rather politics/lobbying/etc.
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You're welcome to pm me anytime if you have any questions.
I will keep that in mind!
Quote (ReturnFormer @ Sep 7 2014 07:58pm)
this. culinary school is not necessarily necessary. heston blumenthal is laregly regarded as one of the best chefs in the world and his restaurant was #1 for a number of years but he never had any formal training.
Quote (hofx2 @ Sep 7 2014 09:01pm)
I think Heston Bluementhal is one of a kind though.. lol
But yeah if u just want to learn how to cook for home don't go to culinary school thats for people who wants to become professional cooks!
Just read good books, check good cooking shows and maybe take some culinary courses but more fowarded to general public...
Quote (ReturnFormer @ Sep 8 2014 09:25am)
ferran adria also had no formal culinary education. imo its no coincidence that the two are the godfathers of modernist techniques. its precisely because they didnt go to culinary school and get a certain way of doing things drilled into them that they were able to think outside the box and originate new ideas and challenge classically held beliefs. thats not gonna work for everyone, and not everyone is going to rise to that level, but theyre definitely not the only chefs never to have gone to culinary school.
Typically if you know their name, they're rare enough to be an outlier. not something i'll assume i can do with much more limited time/experience
Quote (Gannon @ Sep 8 2014 09:50am)
If it's something you really want to do, and make a career of--unless you are creative and confident some training may be useful.
Learning to keep up with the pace of a chef's work environment will take a lot of experience if not prior training.
Quote (Tylenol @ Sep 9 2014 05:18pm)
I did a simple year of culinary (maybe $4-5 grand all in) and after that had an amazing short career where I sous-chef'd 2 different high end restaurants, and worked at other amazing places in my city.
it's more about your personality than anything...most people aren't cut for it.
that said I ditched all that because it's such a horrible career to choose and I'm way better off now.
edit: and yes the one year of school was for sure worth it, but you need to pay your dues in the field and work your way up from there
edit2: I also did way better than about 95% of the people I went to school with...most people don't know what they're getting into or they get too comfortable at a restaurant and that prevents them from evolving as a chef
edit3: pick a different career lol
Yeah, i have no intention of getting a job in it. the high stress, long hours, and fast paced environment aren't for me. i'd rather sit in my air conditioned office, listen to music, and write code without people yelling at me haha.
Quote (acyroma @ Sep 10 2014 03:26am)
I realize that you have no intention on being a chef, so I would recommend just cooking frequently and figuring out what works for you over time. Youtube can only take you so far.
my weak taste pallet is an issue unfortunately, because i can taste several variations and either 1) i can't tell the difference or 2) not care enough for the difference. while this is good for me if im eating alone since i can make it more healthy without making it less appetizing, it's terrible if i'm cooking for anyone else. for example, i never add table salt, whereas i add potassium salt to increase my potassium and i cant taste the flavour much
i plan on cooking several times a week. i'll bring some to work to have coworkers taste it for me. i doubt they'll wanna try the same thing many times over with slight variations.
This post was edited by carteblanche on Sep 10 2014 06:46pm