Sometimes career decisions can be hard. I’ve been reading Heston Blumenthal’s autobiography in his Fat Duck Cookbook and it struck me that the brave decision he made in his early days as a chef had a powerful influence over his eventual career path.
As a self taught chef up to the age of 18 he applied for several apprenticeships in professional kitchens a step that he claims could have ‘steered his life in a different direction’. With no professional training his success rate was low and only one accepted him, however it was one of the most prestigious of his applications. And so he started work at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons on a week’s probation.
Heston thought that he would get the chance to see the formulation of some of the dishes from start to finish, but in reality as part of the well run kitchen his role was to prep the ingredients, with his first job being top and tailing vast quantities of green beans!
Snail Porridge - one of Heston's infamous dishes at the Fat Duck
At the end of the week he was offered the apprenticeship and had an incredibly difficult decision to make. If he accepted the offer it would look great on his CV and make it easier to get PR to open his own restaurant. What it wouldn’t be though, is quicker, he felt it would be “like a climber preparing to scale Everest” he “would be spending an awful long time acclimatising in the foothills” as there would be no possibility to see the composition of a dish from start to finish (at least for a few years). His gut was telling him to turn it down, whilst his head said that he shouldn’t pass on such an offer. He followed his gut and turned down the offer, which meant that he spent the next few years in what he deemed undemanding jobs such as a credit controller and as a repo man, in order to finance his culinary explorations and summer trips around the renowned restaurants in France. The only other professional training he had was spending 3 weeks at Marco Pierre White’s canteen just before opening his own restaurant in order to prove to himself that he could work at the speed required for service. From this he has become one of the most celebrated chefs and restaurant owner in the world, with his restaurant ‘The Fat Duck’ receiving three Michelin Stars.
Heston Blumenthal outside his restaurant - The Fat Duck
So, what is the moral of the story? For many chefs turning down such a prestigious apprenticeship would have been a bad decision. However, it depends greatly on the long term goals of the individual. I think what can be taken from this is that you need to take note of your gut instincts in the career decisions you make, and keep your long-term goals in mind. You shouldn’t take an opportunity based on the sole fact that it is a great opportunity, it needs to be a well considered decision. There may be sacrifices you have to make (such as Heston’s working as a credit-controller to finance his culinary explorations) and thinking about your long and short term motivations is always important.
