December 3, 2011
Have you ever been told your qualifications are too much for a job? Did the people doing the hiring take one look at your resume and think you are too expensive?
It just happened to me, several times, and not just in yachting.
Being called “overqualified” is code for “you will cost too much.” I just love creating beautiful food, as should any chef. Money is not the object, but rather it’s the passion of what I do, the culinary journey I take every day.
For 21 years I have been employed on yachts as a private chef. Some employers were excellent, some not so much. Some should never own a yacht. You take the good with the bad to gain experience.
There is no standard for chefs as there is for captains and engineers. Instead, we are hired based on what our food looks and tastes like to one particular person, our references, and our menus.
In this environment of creating a curriculum to have the interior team certified, professional chefs should not be left out. “Professional” means core requirements to insure safe serving of food that is nutritionally balanced, coupled with time management.
I know there are a few captains out there laughing at me right now for suggesting time management is a skill in a chef, and true, I am not the greatest at it. But maybe this is where re-certification every five years for my two culinary designations comes in. Being a professional is an ongoing process.
A six-week cooking course does not make a person a chef. Chefs have gone through a culinary school, completed an apprenticeship, or gone the way of the American Culinary Federation: courses and on-the-job training that gives you the ability to become certified. This approach takes years to complete but, in the end, gives chefs more knowledge and practical experience than those in a classroom.
There needs to be standards for chefs that include sanitation, management, and advanced nutrition. When I speak of advanced nutrition, I am speaking of knowing the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients in the diet.
And we should be supported to continue our education on a yearly basis, to learn the latest trends, the latest in nutrition and management. However, most chefs don’t make time for continuing education. If they only knew the doors it could open.
I recently asked several chefs how long they expect to stay in yachting. Most said just long enough to make some money and get out. How sad that some won't even consider it a career and help create a change in yachting that might be needed based on their experience.
When I was told I was overqualifed, I knew I had a problem. If a restaurant guru thinks this, so might captains and owners. This wasn’t my intent when I decided to further my education, spending years in an industry I love. How can there be such as thing as too much education?
I guess there can be such as thing as the perception of too much education, which makes me wonder, should we keep some of our qualifications off a resume? I’m beginning to think we should, at least when applying for a normal yacht job. We can always tell them later.
So take that negative and make it a positive. If you have that education, use it to simply create wonderful food, and to teach others. Share your experience. There are plenty of venues for this.
I teach once a year at a culinary school, I offer help to young chefs who need guidance, and I speak when I can. I have started a boutique agency for chefs who have a passion for what they do. Some are naturally talented and they should be known, not just in yachting.
The point is, I guess, to take that negative and make it a positive. How can us experienced, “overqualified” chefs contribute to the industry? There are some standards but not as many as there should be, and if you have thoughts on how to make it better, share them.
Make yachting a better industry. Teach younger chefs when you can so they don't have to go the same hard route to succeed. Maybe some need provisioning help or recipe help or ideas on how to make their food prettier. Make it easier for the next person if you can.
And finally, find out what makes you tick as a chef. I was told once, I have to give it away to get it back. This is what I am doing with being considered “overqualifed.”
For Mary Beth's simple recipe for fried rice, click here.
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