Passing The Torch
Culinary Programs On Cape Cod Nurture A New Generation Of Culinary Artists
Young people on Cape Cod who are planning for their future hear it all of the time: Don’t go into the culinary arts, you can’t make any money. Then as a follow-up, they’re reminded of the long hours and the working conditions, described as demanding and draining at best and toxic and misogynistic at worst. There is evidence that there might be truth to this portrayal if you listen to veteran chefs swap stories about the good old days when chefs would routinely throw pots at the kitchen help, or if you read the late Anthony Bourdain’s best-selling drug-infused, alcohol-drenched tell-all, Kitchen Confidential, or binge-watched The Bear, the award-winning television series set in a chaotic kitchen in a Chicago restaurant.
However, time spent with teaching chefs, culinary artists, restaurateurs, and hospitality professionals associated with three culinary arts programs on Cape Cod gives a more progressive impression. It appears there is a committed contingent of educators and professionals in the industry determined to bring change with the times, driven in part by generational values concerning work-life issues. But underneath it all, it is most definitely driven by seasoned professionals who wish not only to preserve, but advance and pass the culinary arts torch, something they cherish as dearly as family, to a new generation of chefs.
Culinary Programs On Cape Cod Nurture A New Generation Of Culinary Artists
Young people on Cape Cod who are planning for their future hear it all of the time: Don’t go into the culinary arts, you can’t make any money. Then as a follow-up, they’re reminded of the long hours and the working conditions, described as demanding and draining at best and toxic and misogynistic at worst. There is evidence that there might be truth to this portrayal if you listen to veteran chefs swap stories about the good old days when chefs would routinely throw pots at the kitchen help, or if you read the late Anthony Bourdain’s best-selling drug-infused, alcohol-drenched tell-all, Kitchen Confidential, or binge-watched The Bear, the award-winning television series set in a chaotic kitchen in a Chicago restaurant.
However, time spent with teaching chefs, culinary artists, restaurateurs, and hospitality professionals associated with three culinary arts programs on Cape Cod gives a more progressive impression. It appears there is a committed contingent of educators and professionals in the industry determined to bring change with the times, driven in part by generational values concerning work-life issues. But underneath it all, it is most definitely driven by seasoned professionals who wish not only to preserve, but advance and pass the culinary arts torch, something they cherish as dearly as family, to a new generation of chefs.
