THE RELUCTANT GOURMET COOKING COMMUNITY

[Reluctant Gourmet]

I just posted an interview with Chef Ruth Gresser, owner and chef at Pizzeria Paradiso in Washington, DC. Ruth trained under Chef Robert Reynolds who I also interviewed on my site and with legendary culinary instructor Madeleine Kamman. Here are a few of the questions I asked Chef Gresser:

Can you tell us a little about Chef Kamman’s philosophy towards cooking and how it changed the way you approached cooking professionally?

First, what advice would you give someone thinking of going to culinary school today?

How important is a formal education? Is it necessary? What are some alternatives?

Do hiring chefs look at what school someone attended? How much does the school they graduated from influence them?

Let’s say I decide I wanted to go to culinary school, what criteria should I look at when choosing a school? (location, reputation, cost, faculty, etc)

What personality traits do you think are necessary to be successful in culinary school and then in the restaurant world after you graduate?

What about the “wrong” reasons?

You can read her responses and more at:

http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/blog/culinary-school/interview-with-chef-ruth-gresser/

and my interview with Chef Robert Reynolds at

http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/chef_robert_reynolds.htm