Question

Hello Mr.Batali, As an aspiring chef of 16 years old, I look up to you as inspiration for your outstanding talent and your obvious success. What would you recommend to get a solid basis for a future career in the restaurant business? How did you go about your first restaurant? What is your opinion on culinary institutes vs. less formal methods of culinary education?

Ajay
Centennial, Co

Answer

My advice to anyone who wants to cook professionally is to first get a classic college education and earn a liberal arts degree. Then, concentrate on the perfection of cooking techniques either in a great restaurant or at a cooking school. Cooking is something that can be very enjoyable as a profession, but true wisdom and smarts will always help anyone be a better business person regardless of what the studied subject matter is. I studied Spanish Theater of the Golden Age in college and loved it...see where it got me??

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