Restaurant "Volunteer"

Quick question for folks -

I'm trying to work my way into owning a restaurant in the future 1-3 years. I currently have a pretty demanding full time position, but I am doing as much research and preparation as possible in my off time. Although I consider myself a talented home cook, I don't have the hubris to think that I could or should chef this mythical restaurant of mine.

However, I do think it is imperative that I have real world hands on experience in a restaurant scenario before I embark on this endeavor. My hope was to do a short "volunteer" period in the front of house and back of house at a local restaurant. I wouldn't call this a "stage" considering I'm not a trained chef, however I am more than willing to work for free whenever I can. I'll basically do anything, (i.e. prep work in the kitchen, grunt work front of house) as necessary, I just need to experience the inner workings of a restaurant firsthand.

Labor laws in California notwithstanding, what would be the bet way to approach a restaurant about helping out in this manner? I've been trying to network locally, but part of me feels like this kind of a request is as much of an imposition on them as anything. I get the sense that there is an aspect of apprenticeship in this industry, perhaps not formally, but I always worry about a restaurant finding this strange as I could be perceived as a future competitor.

My questions are:

1) Do you think this is a reasonable thing to try to do?

2) If you own or are a chef at a restaurant, how would you react to someone who approached you about this?

3) Who (Chef, Owner, Restaurant Manager) should I approach about this?

4) How do they deal with labor laws and folks who are on a stage?

I'm not afraid to ask, I just want to make sure I do it the right way. Any input is very much appreciated.

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Comments

michaelnatkin

Hey Michael - I've got a long post for you about this topic, here: http://herbivoracious.com/2012/03/so-you-want-to-stage-intern-at-a-restaurant.html

mike.minasian

Thanks Michael! I'll give it a read and let you know if I have questions.

mike.minasian

Hey Michael,

Couple of follow up questions for you:

1) Any suggestions for something similar front of house? I.e. 3 month stage, 3 month front of house

2) Having a full time job (and travelling every week) means my only availability is on weekends. Is it ridiculous to set something up which is weekends only?

Appreciate your input!

michaelnatkin

Hey Michael - I don't know much about staging FOH, but I bet someone else here can give you some input.

My guess is that weekends-only staging is going to be challenging. At most restaurants those are the busiest days which means there is even less time for anyone to teach you anything, and you wouldn't be able to build up much continuity. Even if you can find a chef that would agree to it, I think you might be better off just waiting until you can take a vacation or sabbatical and work (at least) 5 days a week for a period of time. The reality is that if you plan to open a restaurant, it is going to take that level of commitment to learn enough to be successful at it.

Also, I think there are really a couple of separate purposes to this kind of staging: one is to find out if you really want the restaurant life. That takes time. It is a hard, physically & mentally exhausting grind. Doing it for a day here and there is just romantic and isn't going to tell you whether you really love it enough to work that hard every day. The other purpose of staging is to learn specific skills and see how different kitchens run. That doesn't require as much time, but it also isn't as useful for either you or the restaurant.