Jobs in the Food Industry
My dream is work in the food industry, eventually as a food writer or doing food marketing. Does anyone have any suggestions about where to begin...either looking for an entry level job or additional schooling beyond a college degree?
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14 Comments:
Wow- about 2 months ago I posted the same thread. I'm still pretty lost. I took baking courses, interned at a bakery, then decided that wasn't exactly what I want. Right now, I am considering returning to the fashion industry, which is where I started. I am truly sad to do it. A friend of mine has actually begun her own food marketing business, but her background was in marketing, so she had an idea how to approach it. Check Craigslist for internships and entry level jobs. Or, I don't know where you live, or your age, but in NYC there are lots of culinary schools, where you can take recreational courses to help you. I went to the New School, and ICE. I am thinking about taking a food stylist class. As this is my second career, I don't have time to make a mistake. If you need any more info, just respond in this thread. Good luck!!!
Mich23 at 7:15PM on 09/21/07
Boston University has a 'Masters in Gastronomy' program that is great. Food writing, history, and various wine and cooking classes included.
coolname at 8:04PM on 09/21/07
I love love love baking. I would never do it for a living. I know I would lose my love for it. I grew up in a food love family. We churn out many a huge holiday/family meal like an assembly line. It was my major bitch with Top Chef when they had the airplane 18 portion show. I have churned out better food with bigger meal/more portions with less time and cheaper ingredients.
I think after reading Tony Bourdains book Kitchen Confidential, (I lovingly call him Tony Disdain now) working in food industry would slam shut my love of food.
The people I have met/talked to/read about who kept their love of food while actually working in food were people who did very specialized business. Just cookies, bread, candy, etc. They did not try to take it all on.
If you have a good recipe, perfect it and then go with that.
Many many stories of people who brought a product to the market place that started out in their kitchen. It s hard work, very hard either way you go.
I am not ready for prime time kitchen. In my kitchen I rule and I like that just fine.
JerzeeTomato at 10:44AM on 09/22/07
I would point out that critics seldom have an academic or vocational background in their field; they are generally truly passionate amateurs. Few theater critics are former actors or directors, for instance.
To me, the first thing you need is to know the basics of spelling and grammar. Spell check is not the answer to the difference between were and we're. You must be able to organize your thoughts and be able to accept editing, which is often, especially to newbies, brutal-feeling. Begin with free-lancing; summon your courage and start cold-calling small publications. Figure on what musicians call a day job for some time; if you're lucky, it won't be decades.
I recall with some dismay a food editor who had his/her (I'm being really discreet here) jaw wired shut after some surgery and could only consume things that could be taken through a straw - and who viewed that restriction as not sacrificing anything. (This wasn't a case of being glad to be alive, either.) You must have the passion.
lemons at 10:53AM on 09/22/07
If you haven't already, start blogging! If you go about it in a disciplined way, it will improve your writing, help you develop your own voice, and get your writing/ideas out there. Who knows? You could be the next Adam Roberts, Heidi Swanson or Ed Levine. ;-}
Cathy at 11:43AM on 09/22/07
My dream is work in the food industry, eventually as a food writer or doing food marketing.
alacto, there are lot of ways to get involved with the "food industry". I am curious, though, what it is that attracts you to it. If it is a dream of yours, what are the components that most attract you about it?
Answering this might provide a clearer focus on which path would be best to pursue.
Cooking on a line in a restaurant is very different than food marketing which is very different than writing about food which can be very different than wishing to become a critic or reviewer all of which are very different than becoming a chef or a restaurant owner or a manager (whose importance should never be forgotten in the scheme of fine food or other restaurants, regardless of the fact that they are not celebrity chefs but are rather a vital part of makng things work).
What skills or talents do you bring to the table? These will have to be defined beyond simply "liking food" or "wanting to be in the industry" in order to find the best path to pursue. Matching your skills or talents to the job is paramount to success. The parts of your dream which are most vivid to you will likely give you a clue as to where your heart will lead you most easily, and hopefully your skill sets and talents will match the tasks that will need to be done in order to accomplish your goal.
Karen Resta at 1:14PM on 09/22/07
Addendum: The easiest way, of course, is to buy your way in. There are many examples of people with no background whatsoever in the food industry entering into it this way. If you have the funds to do so, you can buy a restaurant and get yourself fitted for a chef's jacket with your name embroidered on it as executive chef without ever having worked in a restaurant before in any capacity. Hire good support staff and you will be visiting tableside and smilingly taking compliments in no time whatsoever.
There are other ways, though. One can do this through real work too.
Karen Resta at 2:11PM on 09/22/07
I once posed the same question to both Charlie Trotter and Rick Bayless, and their answers were identical. They said to work my way up through the ranks of the professional kitchen to earn the credibility and credentials to embark on the other career. Guess what? Leaving the kitchen becomes very difficult, as does finding the time to write with chef's hours. But that's okay with me.
Another option that seems to help as a springboard is the Masters of Gastronomy program at Boston University. You make good connections.
zapatista at 3:17PM on 09/22/07
One of the questions it is important to ask oneself when deciding to enter the food industry is whether you want to get married or be married or remain married (ha ha) and have children, a family . . . and if so how will you manage to do that: with babysitters for the children or by what method will you manage it.
Many jobs, particularly in the professional kitchen, are quite demanding in terms of hours and time required. And many, on the lower levels, do not provide good benefits if they provide benefits at all.
....................................
I've heard of the BU Gastronomy Program and it certainly sounds fantastic.
Who are some of the writers that have emerged from that program?
Karen Resta at 3:41PM on 09/22/07
I have heard rumor that no one has actually graduated yet. It's an expensive, time-consuming endeavor. I do believe, however, that I know someone who will graduate, and this person writes with more and more frequency for the local major market daily newspaper.
Fantastic point, yours, about marriage and family life. I get home somewhere around 11PM every night. My wife, understandably, normally waits up for me. We catch up on life, however briefly, share a couple of glasses of wine, and make it to bed 'round midnight - if we're lucky. I usually get there some time later. At 6AM or so we are awakened by our 2 year old. By 7:55 I am in the car driving my 6 year old to school, after having made breakfast for the family. I am on autopilot every morning. Three mornings a week I return home and spend time with my younger son while my wife is at work. She also works all day on one of my days off. It can be a rewarding career, but it is by no means for everybody.
zapatista at 11:32PM on 09/22/07
Don't forget the writing and editing, in whatever field, doesn't pay very well, which is why I am sitting here working on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.
Barbara Hanson at 11:34AM on 09/23/07
I meant "that." I wish there were an edit function...
Barbara Hanson at 11:35AM on 09/23/07
Blogging (I found my actual job through blogging: I write for an high quality Italian food company, and I organize food-related events both in Italy and England for them), networking (go everywhere there is something about food, introduce yourself, make some cards, and if you have a food blog is much easier) and being extremely well prepared (a preparation that you can achieve even by yourself).
My studies are academical, but historical and not food related... In Italy there are some food related studies, but if after that you are not able to maintain the good connections and to work (hard) your way up, is just a waste of time...
I worked in a kitchen too, and it's a very hard job, physically and psychologically: I will never recommend it...
And as Karen was saying, the "food industry" is vague: make a choice!
Sara - Piperita at 9:57AM on 09/24/07
Blogging can be good for networking butmaybe...train to become a Sommelier. Food and wine are hand and hand. If you get into the wine industry wether as a Sommelier, marketing or accounting you will make connections to the food industry.
tuffjet at 4:07PM on 09/25/07