Jerome Darby was a successful fashion designer whose clothing sold in
Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. But he never gave up his dream of working in a restaurant.
So he enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in SoHo, and after graduating last June, he went to work as a pastry chef at Mario Batali’s trattoria Lupa.
So how does he feel about trading in a six-figure salary for toiling in a kitchen?
“It’s been awesome,” he says.
As America’s interest in food continues to rise like a well-timed soufflé, more and more people are setting their sights on culinary careers.
“There’s been a huge, huge interest in cooking schools,” says Irena Chalmers, an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in upstate Hyde Park, and author of “Food Jobs: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers.”
In the past six years, applications spiked nearly 50 percent at CIA, which added a satellite campus to cope with the demand. At the Institute for Culinary Education in Chelsea, the surge in interest has been “staggering,” says admissions director Brian Aronowitz. Meanwhile, after a decade when enrollment doubled, the French Culinary Institute just had “our best year ever,” says founder Dorothy Hamilton.
The weak economy has actually boosted interest, in part because people often return to school during slowdowns, and in part because food careers are popular with career changers — including those motivated by a layoff. And to some extent, the food business is recession-proof.
“There will always be jobs in the culinary field,” says Hamilton, who’s written a new book, “Love What You Do: Building a Career in the Culinary Industry.”
One big change, however, is the sheer range of jobs falling under that umbrella. That range has grown a lot wider in recent years, notes Chalmers, who was inspired to write her book by all her students who “had no idea there were so many jobs outside of working in a restaurant.”
From food historian to recipe tester, “There are so many things you can do,” she says.
With that in mind, here’s a look at a few of the food world’s growing niches.
Style counsel
The popularity of the Food Network has not only created interest in food careers — it’s created actual jobs. For every smiling host you see pulling a perfect roast chicken from the oven, there’s a team of producers, prep cooks and assistants working furiously behind the scenes.
To respond to the growing field, ICE recently opened a Center for Food Media, offering classes in everything from recipe writing to food styling.
As the Food Network’s culinary purchasing manager, Dave Mechlowicz is the man who makes sure Paula Deen’s pantry is always stocked and that “Iron Chef” will never run out of its secret ingredient. Mechlowicz, 27, graduated from the prestigious Johnson & Wales culinary-arts program in Rhode Island, but opted for an internship at the cable channel because he “didn’t want to be stuck in a restaurant kitchen on a Saturday night.”
While it may not have the stresses of working the line, filling orders for six or seven different productions at a time requires a lot of product knowledge and plenty of creativity. Like when he had to track down ingredients in Tokyo for “Iron Chef” Japan.
“My kitchen Spanish didn’t help much,” he admits. “There was a lot of pointing.”
Competition for jobs in food TV is tight, he says, but with new channels and shows starting all the time, opportunity continues to grow.
“If you know your stuff and can be a jack-of-all-trades, you can make it,” he says.
Company man
While it’s a myth that more than half of all new eateries close within a year (it’s more like 25 percent), the restaurant business is still a volatile one. Would-be chefs searching for a more stable environment can look to institutions that in recent years have been dramatically upgrading the cuisine they dish up.
“There are a huge number of people trying to improve the quality of food at corporations and universities,” says Chalmers, who notes that cultural institutions like museums are also “seriously upgrading” their fare, citing Danny Meyer’s partnership with MoMA as an influential example.
It all means that a career in institutional food service holds a lot more appeal than it did in the days when steam-table sloppy joes were the order of the day.
“There’s a higher level of sophistication,” says Hamilton. “Companies want better and healthier food, and are hiring real chefs to get it.”
And institutional chefs enjoy better hours and a calmer work environment than their restaurant counterparts, notes Drusilla Blackman, vice president of enrollment at CIA.
The personal touch
At the other end of the spectrum are personal chefs, who may only cook for a few select clients.
It’s “an area of great expansion,” says Chalmers. “And it’s an entrepreneurial area you can get into without any capital, because you’re cooking in clients’ homes.”
For Brooklyn-based chef Amelia Coulter, picking up private-catering jobs over the summer meant a free stay in the Hamptons and freedom from the monotony of restaurant work.
“You’re making something different every day and developing an intimate relationship with the people who eat your food,” she says. “Every chef wants that.”
The personal nature of the job is a big part of the draw for private chef Jeny Weimer, 29, who learned at the feet of her Italian grandmother and from more than 10 years working in restaurants.
“The people you cook for want a relationship as much as anything,” she says. And “seeing a family sit down together to a home-cooked meal at the end of the day is beyond rewarding.”
Currently she plans daily menus for a family on the Upper West Side and caters small functions for other clients. (A dinner for 10 can net her $600 to $800.)
“This isn’t something you can dabble in—you really have to love the work and be a good communicator,” Weimer cautions. “But I get to take people on an adventure with food. I wake up in the morning excited.”
A Movable Feast
Some entrepreneurial food lovers are literally taking the show on the road. Upscale food trucks have sprung up across Manhattan, dishing out everything from vegan dosas to Belgian waffles. Operating a mobile food business allows you to be your own boss and interact with customers in a way traditional chefs seldom do.
For Oleg Voss, the spur to launch his food truck, Schnitzel & Things, was the loss of his investment banking gig. It’s a kind of homecoming for Voss, who went to culinary school when he was younger, but shifted gears after a few years of restaurant work, and enrolled in business school.
When he was let go last year, Voss decided to once again pursue his passion for food, and, having grown to love Austrian food while working in Vienna, hatched the idea for his truck.
“I always wanted to be my own boss, and the initial investment costs are a lot less than opening a restaurant,” he says.
So far, so good — Voss won Rookie of the Year at the 2009 Vendy Awards, and he’s planning to add more carts and possibly a brick-and-mortar eatery.
“[Getting laid off] was devastating, but I can look at it now as a blessing in disguise,” he says. “You get to provide good food to people who love it.”