6 Questions with Raymond Delucci on What To Expect Coming Out Of Culinary School
Read time: 4 min
By Sophie Braker
First restaurant job?
My first restaurant job was a dishwasher at Wendy’s! I worked there throughout high school. Believe it or not, it is one place where I realized I wanted to cook as I loved making food and the fast pace involved. Humble beginnings for sure.
2. What’s a food / drink you always have on hand at home?
Any kind of mushroom. I love mushrooms and I probably eat them more than anyone reading this. So mushrooms to cook with are an essential. And for drinks, anything lime. Lecroix Lime or Lime Gatorade are often in my fridge.
3. What were you most proud of in your time as a line cook?
I was most proud of working with the team and finishing a service. I have fond memories sitting on a milk crate after a long Saturday night with my team. I felt so accomplished and honored to be there, having cooked my ass off, and getting to chat with those I looked up to from a skillset standpoint. So any service that I completed was the best feeling I could imagine.
4. Why don’t we highlight industry workers more, within the industry itself and in society in general?
I believe the ease in which food can be accessed has led to many people being overlooked in the food industry. When you have a dining scene in which anything can be attained, it is almost impossible to highlight everyone working within it. Food is a commodity for many and this leads to a lack of understanding about the kind of work put into making food service possible.
I also believe the restaurant industry has existed in a broken framework. Lack of employee welfare and care in the long term makes it feel like employees themselves are expendable. This is not the case at all, as we saw through the pandemic, so showing cooks respect by valuing them and highlighting them should be the priority.
5. What should young line cooks do to invest in themselves?
Be open to knowing what other jobs exist besides being a chef. Too many bury their curiosity to focus on solely being a chef. Your skillset in food can be applied in so many different ways. I feel like a lot of people are cooking in restaurants and instead should be in R&D or food media. There is so much out there to try, so take the time to try it. Restaurants are great but there is also a whole array of jobs to be tried.
6. Best advice for someone coming out of culinary school?
Don’t glorify chefs. Have mentors. Have people you look up to. But glorifying chefs or leaders in a kitchen is a quick way to be taken advantage of. A job is a job. It can be great. You can have passion. But having the balance of knowing it is a job and not your entire life will help you avoid burnout and will improve your ability to grow as a food professional. Chefs are flawed, learning people just like you. Do not lose that piece of knowledge.
Watch the Videocast episode with Raymond and Jensen - BSP402: How Restaurant Workers Can Level Up To Increase Their Self-Worth And Financial-Worth
Ray Delucci is the host and creator of Line Cook Thoughts, a podcast focused on sharing the stories of workers in the food industry. He is also a writer and works with various food clients to create writing on a variety of food related topics. He has experience in fast food, fine dining, and foodservice management. Check out his work at linecookthoughts.com.
