in fees and back wages for 19 former stages, which made many American restaurants that had relied on free labor revise their practices. According to Willows Inn general manager Reid Johnson, “We still offer internships, but those are strictly available to students enrolled in accredited programs that fall in line with the national government requirements for internships.” Most last a few weeks. Johnson says the restaurant still turns down “dozens” of requests to stage for free.
“Before I planted my feet it was a good way to be in touch with lots of different scenarios,” Yao says. He adds that it suited his learning style. “I feel like staging provides information you couldn’t find online or in cooking school.” That’s not everyone who stages, he’s quick to correct; one of his current sous chefs did the European tour and came back a good cook. Now Raines is teaching him what it takes to actually run a restaurant.
Sayat Ozyilmaz, Laura Ozyilmaz’s husband and co-chef at Noosh, says that during his time at the Culinary Institute of America, he staged at Blue Hill at Stone Barns for close to a year. He wouldn’t change a single day, he says. Yet he won’t gloss over its intensity: “When they criticize the way you peel onions, fold your towel, tie your shoes, the way you wipe the counter, all of the sudden you find yourself in a vulnerable position of questioning everything you do.
Most people do not have the means to do an unpaid stage, it holds back people with talent. Line cooks get paid crap anyway, and you want them to work for free? You don’t need a culinary degree or a months long unpaid stage to be a great chef.
I wanna see food cooked in front of me displaying chef superiority and safe food handling. Or else i can cook at home for cheap and be comfortable .