A Stoners Goal!

RealWeedSmoker · Post by **RealWeedSmoker** » Tue 18th Aug 2009 08:38 pm

Alright, so I have been to the Dam twice... once when I was about 12 years old for about 6 hours. I have been to just about every european country (minus a couple) and I have always dreamed of moving to and living in Europe. After spending a week in the Dam there is no question it is my favorite city in all of Europe, partially because of the ganja, but most importantly because of the friendlyness of the Dutch people and the overall vibe of the city.

I just found out yesterday that I was accepted into college and I will be able to pursue a career in culinary arts. I am going to be taking a 2 year college course to obtain my associates degree. After that my goal is to "study abroad" and attend a culinary academy in the Netherlands to further my education. After that anything is possible, and my ultimate goal is to live in The Netherlands.

Anyone who lives in the Netherlands, do you have any idea what kind of culinary schools there are for bacelors degrees?? I have looked at Le Cordon Bleu and HRC in The Hague but not a whole lot of info on that.

Anyway, I am open to all advice, and ideas. I have a lot of time to prepare for this and I plan on going to the Dam during my spring break next march... to enjoy the Coffee Shops as well as looking at places to attend school and live.

geoffk · Post by **geoffk** » Tue 18th Aug 2009 08:42 pm

Can't really help you here, but I'd post this question on Channels

RealWeedSmoker · Post by **RealWeedSmoker** » Tue 18th Aug 2009 08:58 pm

Thanks!

baked · Post by **baked** » Tue 18th Aug 2009 10:57 pm

hey i work at a michelin star restaurant and wonder why you dont get an apprenticeship in amsterdam @ good restaurants? from what i heard from famous chefs, they dont really look for cooks with college education ^^

RealWeedSmoker · Post by **RealWeedSmoker** » Wed 19th Aug 2009 01:22 am

hey i work at a michelin star restaurant and wonder why you dont get an apprenticeship in amsterdam @ good restaurants? from what i heard from famous chefs, they dont really look for cooks with college education ^^

Interesting, I hadn't heard of this until you brought it to my attention, definitely food for thought though. I would think that a college education would certainly help better my chances of an apprenticeship later on down the road. The thing for me is that I have the passion to succeed and will do anything to get to Holland and I will definitely work hard at learning new things as well.

I also plan on picking up as much Dutch as i can in the mean time as well to better help my chances.

Bernum · Post by **Bernum** » Wed 19th Aug 2009 02:34 am

Baked is right, experience in a kitchen and good references are more likely to land you a job in a good kitchen, than formal education. I think your best bet would be to start an apprenticeship at home first. Is it possible to do that at the same time as getting your degree?

RealWeedSmoker · Post by **RealWeedSmoker** » Wed 19th Aug 2009 03:51 am

yes they are called internships here which are not paid (usually). I believe it is actually mandatory to have an internship before you can even get your degree. My idea is to have an internship very soon, as I can collect unemployment and therefore work for free and learn the ropes while attending school.

I know that the most important thing in all of this is experience, and the best thing to do is get started early and build up a good resume. I have a decent resume already just not for culinary but I have worked in a few radio stations, in a fast paced environment, as well as being on the air too. Im assuming that could count for something along the road as well.

baked · Post by **baked** » Thu 20th Aug 2009 02:15 am

especially cooks start at young ages usually. many great chefs have cooked from when they were 15. imagine having thirty years of experience being "only" 45 years old. along with that you meet new people at every kitchen you work in. it is likely for young cooks to switch after some years or even just one. there is always people you meet who know people that know people. stuff like that you dont get at college

to me the only possible way would be to work as a cook for some time at a high level and than attend college. with those experiences you will be able to extract much more of it, i'd assume.

Sir Niall of Essex-sire · Thu 20th Aug 2009 02:25 am

Bernum wrote:Baked is right, experience in a kitchen and good references are more likely to land you a job in a good kitchen, than formal education. I think your best bet would be to start an apprenticeship at home first. Is it possible to do that at the same time as getting your degree?

Having a family member that works in a the event catering industry i have to say this is misleading. If you dont have a catering degree, you need to of been mentored by a well known/established chef. A degree will get you ahead, because its a standard level of acheivement, chefs are bastards they're not guna trust the abiltly of another chef to train you up to ' their standards.'

baked · Post by **baked** » Thu 20th Aug 2009 02:29 am

of course not, but they will trust someone with a decent vita more than a freshman from college. this is of course speaking about highest standart kitchens. i thought this would be the cuisines he is aiming at anyways.

mark the martian · Post by **mark the martian** » Thu 20th Aug 2009 09:25 am

Hey man, I just moved to Amsterdam a few weeks ago and so I've just gone through the few different quirks of moving to Amsterdam. Made a little thread about it here with my experiences: https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10260

Marco · Post by **Marco** » Tue 15th Sep 2009 01:37 pm

Why don't you move somewhere with a better food culture, such as France, Italy or Spain? I would highly recommend that. Really excellent restaurants are very rare here and there is very little 'local sourcing' of ingredients.

Also, how do you plan to get a work permit? A restaurant will not sponsor you.

Good luck