[listen]
[read, with curiosity]
The restaurant industry is in a massive time of transition right now. Many are closing their doors for good, leaving a lot of uncertainty in the minds of cooks and chefs worldwide. Will restaurants survive? Will dining ever return to normal? What's next?
It's too soon to say, but with the current wave of Lockdown, part 2 hitting the US in particular this summer, it doesn't look like things are going to go back to normal any time soon. Stimulus money is running out for many, and a large portion of the restaurant industry is facing an existential crisis.
Have you found yourself screaming into the void and asking yourself questions like "What do we do if there are no restaurants? I don't know how to do anything else! I've been a cook my whole life!"? Don't worry - millions of other restaurant folx are asking themselves this right now, too.
Here are 35 ways to either keep cooking or stay in/around the food industry - that don't require working in a restaurant:
Go freelance - many new apps are popping up that are like airbnb for chefs (instawork, cozymeal, table at home, etc) - great if you want temporary work on your schedule!
Work for a private residence as a live-in chef (EstateJobs.com is a great resource, or google "domestic chef agencies near me")
Get into catering (tip: work for someone else for a bit before you start your own!)
Do no-contact or drop-off private parties
Become a private chef
Host popup dinners
Set up an Airbnb experience! Take people on a food tour of your town, teach them to make pasta or butcher chickens, or offer a date night dinner in.
Teach classes (you can do this privately, or you can reach out to local adult education centers, career training centers, and schools)
Work for a school (either as an instructor or in their dining halls)
Develop specialty meal kits - do something your town doesn't currently offer to stand out!
Sell food at a local farmer's market
Start a food truck
Develop a sellable product line (spices, baked goods, sauces, pickles, marinades, jams, candies, etc)
Start a youtube channel or a podcast exploring your culinary interests (want to be featured on ours? Shoot us an email at consciouschefs@gmail.com with your bio or idea!)
Work as a butcher
Work with local fisherman/seafood purveyors
Work in agriculture or with local farmers - this will give you a better idea of where your food actually comes from, and will help you build excellent relationships for future restaurants! (Plus it's a great life skill/apocalypse skill if things really go downhill)
Work in a specialty grocery store or small cafe
Consult, if you have enough of the right experience
Work for a spice importer or specialty foods store
Write a specialty cookbook - research trending diets (keto, paleo, vegan, gluten free, etc) and challenge yourself to learn how to make meals with restrictions that actually taste good! Most dietary cookbooks aren't written by chefs, and it shows. The recipes are a mess. Write a better one with more interesting flavors and recipes that make sense!
Work for a vendor or as a product rep
Get into corporate food sales (Sysco, major hotels, etc)
Grow specialty produce (like microgreens or mushrooms) to sell to restaurants
Work for a food manufacturer doing R+D or product testing
Become a food writer or culinary advisor for a local magazine or publication
Get involved in your community - teach local kids how to cook (form a weekday "cooking club/camp" for kids whose parents are frontline workers! - it could be something you charge for, or something that you do for free), volunteer at a soup kitchen or food pantry, or use your skills to help the less fortunate. Volunteering is also a great way to make connections for a career change!
Get into nutrition and become a registered dietitian - you already have a ton of food knowledge, and this added credential will be a great future asset as a chef!
Learn to brew beer or get into distilling! Bars might not be open, but people are still buying alcohol like crazy.
Get involved with food policy - there are tons of organizations out there that help pass food safety/security laws (Healthy Food Policy Project, FLPC, Foodprint) and food-related sustainability/access initiatives (No Kid Hungry, Oxfam, World Food Program, World Central Kitchen, Feeding America, ROC, this giant list). Get to know what's going on in the supply chain. Look for ways it can be improved. Learn about lobbying. Help find ways to make sure that everyone has access to healthy food - especially if you live in a food desert or economically underprivileged area.
Get into composting - help people build their own systems, or work for a company that does it on a larger scale.
Find a temporary position in sanitation, HVAC, or equipment repairs - this will give you a huge advantage if/when you come back to restaurants, as you will have an extra skillset that's incredibly useful.
Learn food photography - plenty of people are starting up new food businesses and adapting their existing ones to be more delivery-focused. Social media is vital to the success of these businesses, and most have terrible photos. Learn how to style food and help out local businesses at the same time!
Build barbecues or backyard smokers for people (if it's something you know how to do!) - bonus, give classes in how to use them properly!
Do you have THOUGHTS on the restaurant industry or insight you'd like to share? Consider writing a guest post for us - we accept submissions at consciouschefs@gmail.com!
Great! But what if I'm sick of the restaurant industry and want to get out of it entirely?
Totally understandable. A lot of people are in the same boat right now - having time off for the first time has brought a lot of perspective to chefs and cooks worldwide. Maybe your back doesn't hurt for the first time in a decade. Maybe you're spending time with your kids or your partner and remembering what it's like to have a life. Maybe you're making more on unemployment than you ever have in a restaurant and you're finally realizing how fucked up the industry truly is. Whatever your reasons are, a lot of people are realizing that they want out - but they're feeling a little overwhelmed by the idea of a career change.
Fear not! The skills you learn in the kitchen are actually really valuable in a lot of other industries. Chef life is borderline insanity - if you can somehow make this life work, you're going to do just fine in another industry.
Ways to transfer your kitchen skills to other industries
To be successful in a professional kitchen, you must have/learn:
Mise en place - this might be the most valuable concept we can bring to a new job. The ability to lay out all your ingredients/steps before you begin a task sets you up for success in a way that most will never realize. Use this to your advantage!
Time management - how many impossible prep lists and insane Mother's Day brunches have you cranked out over the years? That takes skill.
Interpersonal conflict resolution
Multitasking and organization - prep lists, order lists, mental ticket tallies, etc
Cleanliness (super important with COVID!)
Ability to interact/work with difficult and demanding people
Focus and patience
Passion and enthusiasm
Attention to detail (as chefs, we are always adding a little "something extra" to the guest experience - whether it's a garnish or a "Happy Birthday" written on their dessert plate)
Ability to follow and execute instruction correctly
Creativity
Adaptability - the ability to fix something when it unexpectedly goes wrong
Extremely high standards (this could also translate into discernment)
A sense of pride in what you do
Stamina - the ability to work long hours on your feet
Crisis management - shit hits the fan approximately 85 times per shift in kitchens. The ability to stay calm during a crisis is something that is highly coveted in other industries. Kitchen folx have mastered this!
Workflow - if you can write a recipe, you can write a training manual for any other industry/position. Set it up the same way: Mise en place, ingredients, steps, description of finished product, notes and tips.
Handyman skills - most of us have developed the ability to fix equipment or diagnose minor problems over the years (ovens, refrigerators, plumbing issues, light electrical work, etc) - these skills translate well into trades, and are even more appreciated in offices where people are used to having to hire outside contractors to do simple repairs. Fix the toilet, be the hero!
Initiative & work ethic - we often show up early, stay late, and learn all we can about food during our time off. This mindset can easily make you super successful in another industry!
Feel free to reference this list before an interview if you're in need of a little confidence boost. Kitchens aren't exactly known for being a hotbed of praise, and as a result, we tend to under-value our skills and overlook our true assets.
What else would you add to this list?
Things to keep in mind if you transition out of restaurants:
Watch your fucking language - the professional kitchen is one of the only places where you can still swear like a sailor and not get written up/fired. If you're looking to make a good impression in your new job, you will need to consciously monitor your language and tone down the use of expletives. Start catching yourself now - this one can be hard at first, but have fun looking up creative, ridiculous ways to say things... like "Fudge nuggets" "shut the front door" "Crikey" or "Mother of pearl!"
Sexual harassment/joking is not cool or even tolerated - kitchens are havens of bad behavior, and for a lot of people, it's good consensual fun. Most other jobs have strict policies in place regarding "employee fraternization" - it's not cool to hit on your coworkers when you're in a corporate/office setting. Get to know the culture, and adapt. Receptionists are not waiters - the kind of talk we're all used to in restaurants will get you swiftly fired in most other industries.
Don't settle for restaurant wages! Do your research on what people typically get paid. In your salary negotiations, ask for more than you think you're worth - and negotiate down, if needed. The worst thing they can say is no!
Don't come in hung over (or still drunk!). No one thinks that's cool outside of restaurants.
The type of shit-talking and aggressive sarcasm that we're used to in restaurants won't fly in most other workplaces. Be conscious of what you're saying and recognize that what's considered harmless banter in a kitchen is often seen as wildly offensive everywhere else.
Enjoy your weekends off, and make sure to check back in and let us know what your transition has been like!
[adapt]
[integrate]
[grow]
If you're going through a transition, we offer career coaching and peer mentoring - click here for more info!
If you've been through a career or life transition yourself and would like to be added to our list of mentors, please send us an email with a brief bio and list of topics you'd be comfortable advising on to : consciouschefs@gmail.com (Subject: mentor). 🙏🏻If you learned something or if this resonated, please consider liking, commenting, sharing with a friend or in an industry forum, or contributing a few dollars to keep the lights on. The more interaction we have from people like you, the more motivated we feel to keep producing content like this. 🙏🏻
Comments