{"id":2746,"date":"2014-05-22T12:24:02","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T17:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/?p=2746"},"modified":"2024-02-06T14:09:14","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:09:14","slug":"5-steps-to-a-smooth-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/blog\/austin-student-life\/5-steps-to-a-smooth-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Steps to a Smooth Transition"},"content":{"rendered":"

By:\u00a0<\/span>Ryan Hodros, Pastry and Culinary Arts Student<\/span><\/p>\n

I was going to write this piece about the transition from\u00a0Chef Robert\u00a0to our new chef instructor and the trials and tribulations of getting to know someone brand new.\u00a0 It was a good plan that I\u2019d laid out weeks ago and felt confident in.\u00a0 But unfortunately for my blog (but fortunate for our class) our new chef instructor is Chef Kelly, whom I\u2019ve already worked with in the\u00a0Pastry Arts program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That being said, not every new student to Auguste Escoffier will be fortunate enough to know the faculty before starting class, and so here are a series of tips and tricks you can use to make your transitions from block to block more pleasant.<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Work harder<\/strong><\/p>\n

I understand that you work hard.\u00a0 If you were lazy, you wouldn\u2019t have dreams of working in a kitchen.\u00a0 But chances are fair that you also know that you can work harder if you had to.\u00a0 You could take less breaks.\u00a0 You could multitask.\u00a0 You could do X Y and\u00a0 Z that you don\u2019t normally do because you don\u2019t want to\u00a0have a nervous breakdown\u00a0in class, and sometimes it\u2019s hard to keep that breakneck speed all day every day.<\/p>\n

But imagine that your reputation is a thing you buy, not a thing you earn, like a car.\u00a0 You either pay a great deal up front and make smaller payments throughout, or you pay big every month until the day you\u2019re all paid up.\u00a0 That\u2019s how it works in the kitchen.\u00a0 You bust your backside for a new chef in the first few weeks to prove that you can, and then you can back off when the workload allows for it because you\u2019ve already earned the reputation as a hard worker.<\/p>\n

This might seem like gaming the system, but you have to understand that you can tell a chef all day long that you can work as hard as the rest of them.\u00a0 But if you prove it straightaway, they\u2019ll know what you\u2019re capable of without talk, and that goes a long way.<\/p>\n

\"5<\/a><\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Participate<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve worked as an educator in the past and I can tell you, nothing makes a teacher\u2019s day go longer than a class that doesn\u2019t participate.\u00a0 You work to develop a lesson plan, you rehearse in your head what you\u2019re going to say, you make notes about what you think is going to be difficult\u2026you prepare and prepare and prepare, and then you get to the classroom and you stare into an abyss of blank faces.<\/p>\n

So participate.\u00a0 You\u2019re passionate about kitchen stuff.\u00a0 Pipe up and let your voice be heard.\u00a0 We\u2019re all afraid of being wrong, but get over that and let the instructor know how much you care.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be a drop in that sea of eyes, make yourself an island of participation (this metaphor is pretty labored, I know) and your chef will love you for it.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Talk<\/strong><\/p>\n

This extends beyond the classroom and into the normal world of social interactions.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to forget, but your chef is a human being just like you and me and everyone else.\u00a0 So ask questions and strike up a conversation.\u00a0 This is the hardest part for me, as I am naturally a quiet and reserved kind of guy, but people skills are important and you should try to cultivate them as much as you can.<\/p>\n

But beyond that, if you get to know your chef (and they get to know you) working your tuchus off for them will seem like less of a chore because you don\u2019t want to let them down.\u00a0 You obviously don\u2019t want to be a blabber mouth and waste time in the kitchen with gabbing, but if you develop the ability to work and chat, your time in the kitchen will be better for it.<\/p>\n

\"5<\/a><\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Study<\/strong><\/p>\n

This seems like a no-brainer, but come on.\u00a0 Admit it.\u00a0 Sometimes you skip reading assignments.\u00a0 Sometimes you skate.\u00a0 It\u2019s okay.\u00a0 Everyone does.\u00a0 But if you want to participate in class, having a base knowledge goes a long way towards asking intelligent questions.<\/p>\n

And it goes beyond just the assigned readings.\u00a0 If you have time, do some independent study on topics you find interesting.\u00a0 I watch Good Eats reruns on the Food Network, and that supplies me with a plethora of questions when I get to the classroom.\u00a0 I\u2019ve read a number of books on gastronomy and the history of food (more than is healthy, if we can be honest) which give me solid questions and remarks to be made in the classroom.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t start sweating, because you don\u2019t have to read as much as I do.\u00a0 I have the reading sickness.\u00a0 But it is a good idea to thumb through a book or two outside of the syllabus whenever you get a chance.\u00a0 The more you know, the better a student you can be.\"5<\/a><\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Work Harder<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s listed twice.\u00a0 There is no better way to endear yourself to a chef than to prove you can be counted on for hard, fast, and efficient work.\u00a0 So go back and re-read #1.\u00a0 It\u2019s that important.<\/p>\n

Don’t let all that scare you though.\u00a0 You can work harder than you’d think, and if you’re considering a life in the kitchen world, chances are you already outwork most of your colleagues and are looking for a challenge.\u00a0 This is definitely it.\u00a0 Apply yourself, and the rewards will come.\u00a0 That’s how the good kitchens operate.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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