Chan's Personal Blog

A few weeks ago, I met up with a kid that I lead during kid's camp, back in the day. Except now, this kid is all grown up! He just showed up one day to volunteer at the community drop-in centre that we run for kids at church. It's kind of neat seeing him again because you see how your kid turned out in life.

Anyway, he had finished high school and he's enrolled in the culinary arts program at Camosun College. This peaked my interest since I love food, and I love to cook. So, he was telling me that it was a 1 year program, and he just started. The first 3 weeks this month would be completely devoted to theory, and then they get to start cooking.

So, one week he comes back to church, and he's got a book that he's reading. I ask him what it was, and it was a practice test on "Soups, Stocks, and Sauces." He was studying for a test in his course.

Now, since I watch the Food Network all the time, I thought it was time to put my encyclopedic knowledge of food and cooking to work. So, I asked the guy if I could take the practice test. The guy seemed very skeptical because he had been studying all week and here I am attempting to take the test without any preparation. The test had 20 questions, and they were all multiple choice. I finished the test in about 6 minutes, and I passed by a good margin. The guy seemed absolutely shocked and asked if I just randomly guessed the right answers. Ah, all that time watching the Food Network has paid off.

Anyway, I inquired what were the requirements to join the culinary arts program. Apparently you need 3 months of experience in the food industry. Unfortunately, I don't have that... but maybe after I finish my Master's, I should go work at a McDonalds for 3 months so I enroll in the culinary arts program.

What's funny about this is that I recall an episode of a show on the Food Network called Restaurant Makeover. They had a master chef who joined the food industry late in life. Apparently the chef started out as a computer programmer, but after 10 years, he became quite jaded by industry so he changed careers and became a master chef. I could actually see myself doing something like that in the far future. Food is one of my passions.

My friend warned me that being a chef isn't as glamourous as it seems. He said that the instructors always warn that being a chef is a very "behind the scenes" kind of job, and you have to really love your work to stay in the business. Often times, you'll never get any recognition, and when you hear from the customer, it's usually complaints about the food.

For me, that warning wasn't much of a turnoff since being a sound guy or a computer programmer is quite similar. We work in the shadows, behind the scenes, and no one has a clue what we're doing. The only time we hear from people is when they complain.

So, here's my prediction. 2017, I will leave the computer industry to pursue a Master's in Culinary Arts. Hmm... it's becoming apparent that I have an obsession in collecting diplomas, degrees, and other random pieces of framed paper .