I posted this in Hangout.. but.. help, anyone???

Date: 5/23/2008 5:43:29 PM
Author: FrekeChild
No clue SDL. I might be able to contact some friends of mine that might have a better idea. What school is he going to?

ETA: Why just Seattle or Chicago?

Date: 5/23/2008 5:59:02 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Hey SDL, how about getting him a copy of Zagat guide to Chicago restaurants and suggesting that he go bang on doors? If I were him, that's what I'd do!

Date: 5/23/2008 6:09:50 PM
Author: FrekeChild
No where else in Cali then? I have friends all over in Cali...Napa would be awesome for him. Texting a friend as we speak (type) see who he knows... (Said friend works here)

Date: 5/23/2008 6:17:04 PM
Author: Ice Princess Cristy
Is a culinary internship one you have to ask to study under someone then? I know for many other fields there are often listings of internship sites or places accepting interns. I know that in phx/scottsdale there is a culinary school and most of those folks seem to stick around the area.... not sure if the school is contracted with places and that's why. Maybe there is someone at his school he could ask?
That's wonderful BTW.... you should be proud I'll bet holiday dinners just get better and better

Date: 5/23/2008 6:28:42 PM
Author: FrekeChild
You have to go and work in a restaurant (usually starting out doing prep work) and as you prove yourself, you get to move higher in the ranks. Saute is usually as high as you can go (in a way). It's very different from cooking at school because you're cooking for paying customers, instead of fellow students (who are also paying customers, but in a different sense.) In my experience the school had a list of restaurants all over the world that would accept an extern (/intern) from our school. We were told that we needed to start looking for externship sites at least 6 months in advance. I did, and I didn't get in at any of my top places, but I did eventually get accepted to extern at the Arizona Biltmore, but decided to withdraw from the school instead. It was a scary process, and I didn't get accepted until about two months before I would have had to leave. I applied in Las Vegas, Cali, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, New York and Connecticut, but it was a different situation because as a baking student we had far fewer choices than the culinary students.

Usually the school has to approve of the restaurant (or hotel, resort, etc.) before the student goes there...

Date: 5/24/2008 7:39:41 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Yes, he expect this. But he's got 3 more years before he gets his bachelor degree. The internship is part of his schooling.. sooner or later he'll be doing the prep work on a regular basis but right now, he is in classes from 5:30am to 5:30pm not including some weekend classes, he's a busy guy!!!

Date: 5/25/2008 10:49:21 AM
Author: Macie
Hoping all goes well with your son in culinary school. If he has 1/10th of your lovely personality I know he will do well.

Date: 5/25/2008 2:39:03 AM
Author: FrekeChild
Ok. My Zagats guide is from 2004, and I haven't checked on any of the these restaurants, so I don't know if they are around any more, but I figured I'd list them anyway.

Chicago

Italian:
Spiaggia*
Gabriel's* (New French/Italian)
Caliterra (New American/Italian)
Fortunato

French/New French:
Les Nomades*
Ritz-Carlton Dining Room*
Le Titi de Paris* (French)
Carlos'*
Trio*
Ambria*
Tru*
Everest*
Tallgrass*
Les Deux Gros* (French)
Avenues (New French/Mediterranean)
Kevin (New French/New American)
Le Bouchon (French Bistro)
NoMI
Pasteur (Vietnamese/French)
Retro Bistro (French Bistro)
(Unless otherwise indicated the above are all New French)

A note here, there are lots of New American/Steakhouses/whatever else in Chicago-I'm sure it's because it's in the Midwest. I am willing to bet there will be more seafood places in Seattle.

Seattle

Italian:
Cafe Juanita* (Northern Italian)
Il Terrazzo Carmine*
Brasa (Mediterranean)
Fish Club (Seafood/Mediterranean)

As I guessed, there are a TON of seafood/Pacific Northwest places in Seattle-and those are the only Italianish places listed. There are even fewer French places. The majority of it is made up of Asian foods or Seafood/American/Steakhouses

* -denotes Top Twenty Rating

Honestly SDL, if he wants to cook Italian for the rest of his life, I would advise against interning at an Italian restaurant. This is the perfect opportunity to branch out and take advantage of being able to cook anything else, and really cooking always comes back to the basics. I would tell him to take advantage of this opportunity and use it for the experience instead of going forward with whats comfortable and what he wants to pursue. Heck if I could, I'd go back and try to work in an Asian restaurant for mine because it's kind of opposite of what I want to do (baking) and Asians certainly don't have a lot of classical French pastry! Only problem is that baking externs are supposed to work in baking places. Le sigh. Anyway, varied experiences make for more interesting food!

(Have you read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain? If you haven't, I recommend picking up a copy!)

Date: 5/28/2008 1:54:10 PM
Author: FrekeChild
I hope he finds something SDL!!!