Executive Chef Andrew Court runs the kitchens at the high-end Sheraton Wall Centre Vancouver. His clientele is very worldly and sophisticated, so the skills he was able to bring to his position needed to be top-notch.
Andrew trained in England, which dictated how he would approach training to become a chef. "In the UK," he says, "high school is finished at the age of 16. I chose to attend a two-year full-time course at Birmingham College of Food, mainly as, at the time, there were not that many apprenticeship positions available."
Courses started in September and finished two years later, while the full-time practicum ran over Christmas breaks and during the summer. "I had started work at a local hotel on the weekends washing dishes for pocket money while I was still at school, so I had a bit of an idea of how things were supposed to be before I entered the course."
During the two years of full-time course work, another part of the curriculum was a mandated number of hours working in an approved establishment. He says it was a scenario "not unlike the apprenticeship here, but if you do not fulfill the specified hours of practical experience, you could be held back from completing the next semester," he says.
As for the advantages of a full-time culinary school experience, Andrew says, "We spent time learning the subjects in depth, i.e. food history, food chemistry and kitchen management. Also, we were exposed to a good deal of information from a wider range of experienced chefs. There was a less rushed experience in full-time school than with apprenticeships." With their limited time in classrooms, his apprenticing friends, he recalls, "skimmed over some things that were taken for granted, that their own chef was expected to teach."
Also offering a real-world perspective is Sue Singer, president and founder of the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts: "Culinary schools fill a definite role in training," she says. "With the high costs of labour and the competitiveness in restaurants, most often the proprietor prefers to hire entry-level trained staff, who know the basics and can immediately be productive.
"With the ever-increasing high vacancy rate for kitchen staff, and not enough people applying, like any trade profession, we are daily called by chefs in the industry. Obtaining good trained staff is tough. And the statistics of shortages in this industry states that this will continue to well past 2010."
Does attending a culinary school really enhance your chances of getting hired quickly? Andrew thinks it does. "Yes, at least a six-month course at VCC [Vancouver Community College], just so they have a basic knowledge of how a kitchen works. Plus it helps to weed out the people who think it's all glamour and Jamie Oliver — before they really have to hit reality. Training is an expensive outlay for any establishment, so if someone comes in with no previous employment or experience, they may well find themselves at a disadvantage compared to culinary school graduates with a minimum six months under their belts."
Still, he encourages would-be chefs to "think hard about whether this is just an easy job, or is it more of a 'calling?' Neither path is easy, but some formal [culinary] education is a bonus when starting out — plus it will give an insight as to what is expected when joining the industry.
"Personally, it's been quite a ride. I've lived in six countries, met some great chefs and tried just about anything put in front of me, from the weird to the most spectacular. I've managed to work in Intercontinental Hotels, Hilton, Princess and Canadian Pacific before Sheraton. I've been very lucky to be in the right place at the right time, but you also have to be willing to jump on the offers as they come. You have to be willing to put up with a lot of sacrifices (personally and with your family) to get what you want and when, but for me it's been worth every minute."
For more information on culinary training programs search the go2 Training Directory.
