Few are better qualified to take a long-range look at the state of chef education in the region than Mei Ibach. She has taught for over two decades — at Santa Rosa Junior College, where she was the first to teach a class in street food, at College of Marin, and for the past six years, as head of the culinary programs at Analy High School. She has also led culinary tours of Singapore and Malaysia and moonlights as a flavor consultant for Amy’s Kitchen.
Interest in culinary careers is growing, she says, especially among middle and high school students. At Analy, she is turning away upwards of 200 students each year because of a lack of space. “There is such a huge demand for this,” she says.
Many Analy students go on to earn a special diploma or continue higher culinary studies, and her high schoolers also lead monthly cooking demonstrations at the Sebastopol Farmers Market.
Respect for the work
Restaurant work is hard. The hallmark for any chef, anyone who wants to work in this industry — you’ve got to have that passion, that love for food and cooking. If you don’t have that in you, it’s not the right industry. And you don’t know until you actually work in a restaurant and get that practical soft-skill experience.
On an affordable education
I have a lot of students that say, “Chef Mei, I want to be a chef after I complete your program here. What should I do next? Should I go to CIA? Should I go to CCA?” And I say, oh, no, just spend two years at community college and start an internship — walk into one of our local restaurants and ask and get the experience you need. Because what we learn at the college level or even at the training school, is all the terminology and techniques, but all the soft skills you learn at the job… Get fundamental training at high school and then move on to the community college for the upper culinary arts.
Cultivating creativity
That level of learning comes from chefs that you admire and somebody who is good at their trade. The creativity part just comes (down) to time and spirit. Just be curious about things and try different things. My big part is I travel a lot, and every place I travel, the first thing I do is I always check out the restaurants and take cooking classes. That enhances and builds up my repertoire for appreciating other people’s work. Be willing to try different foods, even street food, and restaurants that offer the experience of different food flavors and presentations. To be a successful chef, you must have lifelong learning.
Hats off
There are so many young, up-and-coming chefs and it’s so exciting to see them all, turning something old to something new. Sometimes older chefs can be “this is how it’s been done, you cannot change it, you cannot improvise, these are the ingredients you’ve got to have.” But nowadays you see all the young up-and-coming chefs, and my hat’s off to them, you know — good for you. I’m so glad you are willing to try new things. chefmeiibach.com