Can I be A Chef, Or am I To old?

I am 35 Years old...Love to cook ( I am Male) but my girlfriend tells me I am to old as becomming a chef takes a long time..I disagree with her. How long does it take to become a chef?..how hard is it..and is it expensive?..also..nothing to do with this question....but I consider myself a chef at home...and looking for good products. If I were to buy frying pans/pots/knives...etc..whats a good brand? and what are they worth?..what do you recommend..as in frying pans/wok/pots..etc..what tools should i have? what do chefs use most often.

I am sorry..I am just very interested in this, and this is the first step to doing something I enjoy....any help would be great.



Thank you in advance...if you know any good deals on Ebay..let me know :)Can I be A Chef, Or am I To old?
I am going to my associates in applied science (culinary) and it takes 2 years. I am attending a community college with a great reputation in the area. I am taking night classes because the classes fill up VERY fast, and the night classes were the only ones still available. I am 19 and the youngest in the classes by at least 10 years (my guess.) Most of my peers are people who are retraining, have been laid-off or injured in the workforce. You're definitely not too old.

As far as buying knives goes, I would suggest a forged knife. Look for a Chef's Knife with a full tang and rivets. A Chef's (aka French) Knife is pretty versatile, you can use it for cutting vegetables, poultry, meat, fish, etc., and the 'full tang' means that the blade runs through the entire handle, making it more sturdy than a knife that is just connected to a plastic handle (likely to snap.) If you get a good oil stone and steel, a decent knife will last you for life. There are lots of good brands.Can I be A Chef, Or am I To old?
you are never to old and you probally get this word saying';you can do any thing you belive in'; and but just try to do and if you think you can`t do well then try something else
You ask way too many questions at once. I'll only say that you are no way too young to become a chef. Probably the easiest route to become one is to go to a culinary school. That also takes money. You can also learn from the industry. That's probably a bit harder at your age because you wouldn't be recognized as a prodigy because you're not 17 or 19. You'd have to prove yourself.
You would have to go to culinary school, which would be like college, the time and the money. KitchenAid is my favorite brand, but I would wait to invest too much until you find out what you will need for school. Remember, you are never too old to follow your dreams.
To go to international institute of culinary arts it cost around 23,000 to 40,000 a year if you want a diploma it is one year. here is a link that breaks down the cost http://www.artinstitutes.edu/tampa/Admis鈥?/a>



just type in ur program pastry, culinary arts etc. then what kind of degree path and press go and then they will brake down the fees.





and no you are not to old
Take some classes.

Watch the Food Network and PBS cooking shows religiously.

For necessary tools - Alton Brown's 'Gear For your Kitchen';

DO NOT replace your dresser top picture of your girlfriend with a picture of Julia Child.

DO put an autographed 8x10 glossy of Graham Kerr over your stove, with a place to light joss sticks and votive candles.



You're not too old, but don't try to convince your GF. Trust me.
What are your immediate and long term income goals? One of the most insightful posts on the subject i have seen was this; give it a look:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;鈥?/a>



the main point is be wary of the difference between the glamorization of being a chef on TV and the fun it is to cook vs ';the real world';, sweetroll makes good succinct points on it as well.
You are never too old to do something you love. Yeah, it may take many years to become good at something and improve if you made a mistake. If you have a passion for cooking which it seems to be. Then go and follow your dreams and make it come true. Don't listen to the people who put you down.





I love cooking. I express my emotions in my food. I love to eat. I learned so many recipes and cuisines from my mom who loves to be in the kitchen too. I don't know much. Keep watching the food network channel. Surf the Internet. Good Luck.



I am going to be 15 soon. I have many years to become a chef but that doesn't mean you are too old like I said. I hope that I have good marks to go to culinary school. Cooking is like art just like writing poems is something I like to do in my spare time. Being a cook at home can be your hobby. Keep it like that. I have many dreams that I want to achieve in my future too. Just never give up even if you find it challenging. Ask your girlfriend to help you. Practice makes perfect, right? Try new ingredients, experiment new flavors. Cook something that inspires you. I don't know. Do what makes you happy.



Excuse my grammar and misspellings. Thanks.
Your not too old to do anything you love. What your girlfriend doesn't understand is that while the actual school may take 2 years or so - does not guarantee a 'real' chef position. What a lot of these culinary schools do is crank out line cooks and can be really expensive.

Also, being a chef or anyone on a restaurant staff can be grueling at times and sometimes the hectic pace is not for everyone. The cream does rise to the top sometimes and these line cooks move up to a chef position but you don't graduate right away and become a chef.

Very different from being a good home chef.

Cooking tools are very personal so you just need to get a feel for the pans and other tools you would like to use.
No, you're not too old to become a chef.

Don't buy any equipment or tools on the internet. If you decide to go to a Culinary school, they will have lists of the proper equipment you'll need.

There are a great many culinary schools so I'm sure you'll find one that isn't a great distance from your home.

If you do well in school, you will do well in your first placement. It's all about attitude and skills and you already seem to have one of those.



I wish you all the best.
I didn't start working as a chef until I was 38. No I am not a trained chef from some fancy school but the word chef is short for chef de cuisine which means head of the kitchen.

I started working at a hospital kitchen and it is a great place to learn the basics and get a ton of training. Went from there to a nursing home and from there to a bakery/cafe/bistro. I chef a brunch that has been written up in my local paper several times.

If you love to cook, do it. Some where will be willing to hire a newbie and teach them. If you already cook at home a lot, then you have a leg up on many younger people.

I read tons of cook books, cookign manuals, cooking magazines and watch tons of cooking shows on tv. I cruise the internet every night, educating myself. I watch others who seem to be more adept at something I am not and learn from them or where ever I can.

Be ware of thinking you need special equipment to be a good cook. Or good chef. A chefs knife, and a paring knife is about all I use and about all I have ever used in the last 20 years of cooking for a living. Once in a blue moon, I need a nice serrated knife for this and that but my chefs blade and paring knife are what I use the most. And cost? My chefs knife came from an Asian food store locally and cost $3.00 and the paring knife is a standard food service knife available in any food service catalog or restaurant supply store. I lost my favorite one I bought at Kmart....

The pan I love the most is a cast iron skillet I found for $1 at a rummage sale and my home kettles are all cast aluminum and I got them from my grandmother in law when she was going to throw them out. I don't really care for any non stick stuff. Cast iron or cast aluminum is best.

Cooking good food doesn't take fancy equipment and expensive gadgets, it takes know how and that little bit of instinct of what tastes good, what goes good together and basic knowledge of what you can and cannot do.

I would never buy a kettle or pan ';set'; as they all come with weird extras that no one ever uses or rarely uses and just takes up space.

Your pans should be heavy and either cast aluminum or iron and the bottom should be solid and heavy. Heavy ones hold the heat and cook more evenly.

I buy mine one at a time when I need to replace one. I always look at rummage sales or second hand stores for good broken in and seasoned cast iron but then I am cheap.
you are not too old. it seems to be that a 35 year old (like yourself) who is really interested in cooking would make a better and more serious student. as for brands, the best mixer i can suggest is kitchen aid. most of them can use add ons like pasta dies, meat grinders,pasta rollers and other tools. knives is another thing. a good knife can be pretty expensive. look for ones that fit your hand comfortably. what may be right for me might not be right for you. lately kohl's has been adding items from the food network chefs. knives from guy fieri, items from rachel ray ,paula deen,and other well known chefs are now becoming available at stores like kohl's, super wal-mart,k-mart, etc..

i have a set of cook ware that is supposed to be guarnateed for the life. it is town craft (not sure of spelling) as for tools,it depends what area you want to go in. my main tools at home are as follows:

basting brush, cork screw, micro plane zester/grater, mandolin, food processor, tongs, box grater, and microwave.
We have a school about two miles from where I live to train to be a chef. It is a college, and a very good one. My nephew went there. I went there and took a class. It is two years. My nephew then went to another school to finish, and has earned many honors.



Thirty-five is not too old. I wish I had gone on and finished when I was your age.
No never too old . But need to define chef . Check out local community college one near here has a fast track course that takes a year but also has evening courses to do while working elsewhere and some great pastry and chocolate courses as well and I have enjoyed courses there out of interest at night in sausage making,bread making and cuisine of Italy. These I took after I retired from an office job and while enrolled in a bartenders course at the same college . I was 54 at the time and now 71 and while not working full time still manage to do a bit of cooking for local socials etc. You could also pick up some experience volunteering in a shelter kitchen, seniors home , summer camp etc.Many of the graduates end up in kitchens as cooks in various levels but it will likely take a long expensive course to qualify for five star restaurants etc.That said the courses in food handling to qualify for certificate would qualify to be in a mom and pop or family restaurant..

The tools of trade are often available in the same community colleges as the courses and selected by the professionals. If your girlfriend is not supportive at this stage better have a good talk before embarking on the long hours and studies.

GOOD LUCK AND CHASE YOUR DREAM EVEN IF IT TAKES FIVE YEARS YOU WILL ONLY BE 40 AND IF YOU DONOT DO IT OR TRY YOU WILL STILL BE 40 AND ALWAYS WONDERING WHAT IF.