After 29 years wasted on the sidewalk, here goes nothing

[Eric1240]

It's a pleasure to meet all of you finally. I won't waste too much time on my story because it's boring.

I followed my passion straight into culinary school and the restaurant industry. I wanted to become a famous chef and restaurateur with loads of Michelin Stars and other accolades. I subscribed to the dogma that gets force fed to you in the restaurant industry: work your a$$ off and put the restaurant before your own needs and you will rise fast. Slave away for 80 hours a week while making nearly minimum wage for the promise of a bright future in the industry. I was on this path for almost 10 years and it almost managed to kill my passion. Now I work in the pest control industry and actually enjoy cooking again.

In the past year, my wages have grown 70% and every step of the way I thought the same thing: I would finally be happy if I could just make $X/hour. But every raise has come with a numb, empty feeling and a boss acting like I now owe them something. I got married recently and money became a huge focus. We live in a city near San Jose California, one of the most expensive places to live in the whole country. My wife and I don't want to be apartment dwellers for the rest of our lives- we have dreams of houses and kids and starting our own business.

Every day on my way to and from work I listen to financial audiobooks about money-management and entrepreneurship. Last week I finished The Millionaire Fastlane and I just started listening to Unscripted . MJ's writing and overall message has left a huge impression on me compared to the other books. His words ring true to me and inspire action. I hope to use this forum as a tool to continue my education as I go on this journey towards a new life. A life where I don't trade my valuable time for money and don't answer to my schmuck boss.

-Eric

 

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[whiz]

Good on you for going with your gut.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[The Abundant Man]

 

[ZF Lee]

Welcome!

Any plans for a biz? Still want to do anything culinary-related, as it was your dominant skillset?

I followed my passion straight into culinary school and the restaurant industry. I wanted to become a famous chef and restaurateur with loads of Michelin Stars and other accolades. I subscribed to the dogma that gets force fed to you in the restaurant industry: work your a$$ off and put the restaurant before your own needs and you will rise fast. Slave away for 80 hours a week while making nearly minimum wage for the promise of a bright future in the industry. I was on this path for almost 10 years and it almost managed to kill my passion.

I realised this after spending a few weeks trying to bake shortcake(it turned out pretty bad, tasted like salted fish)

Was too afraid to tell my exuberant culinary-passionate friends about this, though. I would get heat for being a 'passion killer' and 'forcing my views on others'.

That being said, I feel there's a lot of room to support the culinary industry that does not require cooking.
If you have watched Ramsay's many investigations into professional kitchens, even great chefs struggle to organize their food and raw ingredients easily and swiftly (e.g. I saw a gross mistake made by chefs in placing RAW and COOKED chicken next together), as well as keep the cleanliness level. There's also the rising trend of vegans and cook-at-home ingredients sold in retail.

 

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[Eric1240]

Welcome!

Any plans for a biz? Still want to do anything culinary-related, as it was your dominant skillset?



I realised this after spending a few weeks trying to bake shortcake(it turned out pretty bad, tasted like salted fish)

Was too afraid to tell my exuberant culinary-passionate friends about this, though. I would get heat for being a 'passion killer' and 'forcing my views on others'.

That being said, I feel there's a lot of room to support the culinary industry that does not require cooking.
If you have watched Ramsay's many investigations into professional kitchens, even great chefs struggle to organize their food and raw ingredients easily and swiftly (e.g. I saw a gross mistake made by chefs in placing RAW and COOKED chicken next together), as well as keep the cleanliness level. There's also the rising trend of vegans and cook-at-home ingredients sold in retail.

I have considered doing some form of catering since it is one of the most profitable options in the food industry. The problem is that everyone is a foodie and wants to own some kind of restaurant or cafe someday. The market is incredibly saturated and I don't see that changing. I do have some interesting ideas on possibly creating a website that uses a novel approach to the rating system.

It's funny you should mention Ramsay. He was one of the people that got me super interested in the restaurant industry. Cheers/