Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris
Originally published January 22, 2007
Click here for the current edition
Where New Cooking Talent May Be Hiding
Yesterday, a regular radio listener wrote me with an amazing story. His wife, the subject of the tale, asks that her identity be hidden, so I've changed a couple of details in this:
You always talk about how the
restaurants in this area are hurting for people to work, so they are on
limited schedules and such because of that. Well, let me tell you a
story.
My wife and I were riding around the city listening to you, and we were discussing what her next job move might be. Because of the storm the place she was working for (a video store in Chalmette) was wiped out, and was not reopening. We don't really need her income to pay the bills, so I asked her what would be her dream job.
She said that she would love to work in one of New Orleans's top restaurants as a cook. Without her knowing, I wrote a resume for her and dropped copies of it at a few of the finer places in town. Every place called back and asked her to do a stage [a guest appearance in a kitchen]. She was scared at first to try, but with a little convincing from me she said she would. She picked the Besh Steakhouse to try first.
As a result, John Besh himself hired her--but not at the Steakhouse. He wanted her for Restaurant August. Her only training in cooking was for her family, and from cooking shows on television. She also reads cookbooks like most people read novels. It didn't matter to John Besh. He held a ceremony in which she was named a chef. He said, "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" She's doing great.
The point of all of this is that there must be more people out there with the same passion for food that my wife has, working in dead-end jobs. They could be in the work force preparing great food. All they need is the encouragement. Would you tell everyone that, Tom?
My wife and I were riding around the city listening to you, and we were discussing what her next job move might be. Because of the storm the place she was working for (a video store in Chalmette) was wiped out, and was not reopening. We don't really need her income to pay the bills, so I asked her what would be her dream job.
She said that she would love to work in one of New Orleans's top restaurants as a cook. Without her knowing, I wrote a resume for her and dropped copies of it at a few of the finer places in town. Every place called back and asked her to do a stage [a guest appearance in a kitchen]. She was scared at first to try, but with a little convincing from me she said she would. She picked the Besh Steakhouse to try first.
As a result, John Besh himself hired her--but not at the Steakhouse. He wanted her for Restaurant August. Her only training in cooking was for her family, and from cooking shows on television. She also reads cookbooks like most people read novels. It didn't matter to John Besh. He held a ceremony in which she was named a chef. He said, "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" She's doing great.
The point of all of this is that there must be more people out there with the same passion for food that my wife has, working in dead-end jobs. They could be in the work force preparing great food. All they need is the encouragement. Would you tell everyone that, Tom?
Indeed I will, and have. If you've ever entertained the notion of working in a restaurant, there will never be a better time. If you have anything on the ball at all, even if your skills are not at the professional level, you will find even the best restaurants welcoming you and ready to train you.
I think it's possible that we could get a whole new generation of great chefs out of this. It's happened before.
© 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com