Why a career in food service?
This is a good question that has lots of answers.

Let's start with your future. You have no doubt heard many tales of outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries. You know, that is where you work for a company for a long time, are a good employee, get married, have kids, buy a house, all those good things. Then, one day you read in the paper or on a web news site that your company decided to eliminate all the jobs in your work place and move them to China or India or somewhere people do not earn American wages. The boom drops—you are out of work.

On the brighter side, the food service industry is a growing industry. * Your guests come into your restaurant to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, right here, right now. As long as people eat in restaurants, opportunities are promising. Cooks, bakers, chefs, pastry chefs, restaurant managers—these people help keep this industry moving.

The people you work with can be from all over the world right in one kitchen—yours. It is way cool meeting people who grew up in different countries. You can learn about different customs, different languages, and lots of different foods. When I worked in Switzerland, we had folks from about twelve different countries in the bakeshop. We had the best conversations with words from all over the world as people learned to understand and work with each other.

There is also the chance to work in different countries around the world. People who are skilled in food service speak the same language no matter where they are. The cooking terms professionals use are used in France, Italy, Spain, Thailand, Australia, Chile. All over.

So what types of jobs can I be doing?

When I graduated from culinary school, I was interested in all different areas of food service. Over the years, I accomplished all the goals I set for myself on the very day I graduated. What does this mean?

First, I wanted to work in Europe, preferably doing pastry and baking. Immediately after graduating, I secured a position in Zurich, Switzerland with a large company. I started in the formal restaurant where everything was served on silver platters. I then worked in the butcher shop, and spent most of the two years remaining making pastries, chocolates, and ice creams. Tough job, but I am a dedicated professional!

When I came back to New York City, there were positions as a Food and Beverage Controller, a numbers guy; then there was Executive Chef; a move to New England saw me working as a hotel Sous Chef or second chef, in a luxury hotel with lots of private parties as well as a beautiful dining room.

When I left the hotel, I started my own bakery and several years later, my wife and I began a specialty food manufacturing business.

From there I was a luxury hotel pastry chef, a food and beverage director in Florida and, later, Kentucky. Six and one half years ago, my wife and I moved to Atlanta where I worked as a management troubleshooter for a large contract food service company, again doing numbers work. I was "on the road" all the time and when I had a chance to teach what I learned over the last twenty-five years, I jumped at the chance. Many years before, I started my professional life as a public school music teacher, and now I have come full circle, teaching again.

Through all these years, all these jobs, I had not ONE boring day! I met many interesting people, learned about other countries, learned to speak German, traveled, and did what I wanted to do.

It is a field that demands much of you in terms of time and energy. But, there can be personal rewards and much respect from people everywhere. How many cooking shows are on the Food Channel? Not everyone will be a super TV chef; but when you leave work and stop at the store on the way home, people will often ask you questions while you are waiting in line or picking out groceries for yourself. You can have the respect and admiration of many people.

And for me, I always get a thrill knowing I made a person's life better by them spending and hour or so in my dining room. I have the chance to turn someone's attitude and outlook around every time he or she walks through my front door. How many people can say that?

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Chefs, Cooks, and Food Preparation Workers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos161.htm (visited August 20, 2007).

Article written by Chef Harry Haff, instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Atlanta.