Chef Daniel Holzman on The Best Way to Learn to Cook

For individuals aiming to run independent or avant-garde restaurants, hands-on experience in a professional kitchen is often more valuable than formal culinary school. While culinary programs can quickly teach home cooks or help secure jobs in corporate cafeterias and cruise ships, they may put creative chefs at a disadvantage. Accumulating heavy tuition debt prevents graduates from accepting low-wage entry-level restaurant positions necessary for true mastery, whereas starting directly in a kitchen allows motivated workers to learn through direct apprenticeship.

Starting to work in professional kitchens at a very young age exposes aspiring chefs to the rigorous environment and foundational skills of the trade. In older kitchen cultures, young apprentices would trade free labor or basic tasks for direct mentorship from seasoned head chefs. This immersive, hands-on approach allowed teenagers to gradually advance from menial tasks like cleaning seafood to operating hot stations. Although demanding and unconventional, this pathway provided deep practical competence without the burden of formal tuition debt.