Week 2: Susan Spicer
by StephanieMayne on Sep.08, 2011, under Weekly Guests
Susan Spicer began her cooking career in New Orleans as an apprentice to Chef Daniel Bonnot at the Louis XVI Restaurant in 1979. After a 4-month “stage” with Chef Roland Durand (Meilleur Oeuvrier de France) at the Hotel Sofitel in Paris in 1982, she returned to New Orleans to open the 60-seat bistro “Savoir Faire” in the St. Charles Hotel as Chef de Cuisine. In 1985, she traveled extensively in California and Europe for 6 months, returning to work in the kitchen at the New Orleans Meridien Hotel’s “Henri” (consultant chef, Marc Haeberlin of l’Auberge de I’ill).
In 1986 she left to open the tiny “Bistro at Maison de Ville” in the Hotel Maison deVille. After nearly four years as chef, she formed a partnership with Regina Keever and in the spring of 1990 opened Bayona in a beautiful, 200-year-old cottage in the French Quarter. With solid support from local diners and critics, Bayona soon earned national attention and has been featured in numerous publications from Food and Wine, Saveur, and Food Arts, to Travel & Leisure, Bon Appetit, The New York Times and more. From 1997 through 1999, Susan owned and operated Spice, Inc., a specialty food market with take-out food, cooking classes and artisan bakery. This developed into Wild Flour Breads, which she currently co-owns with partner Sandy Whann.
In October of 2000, Susan and three partners opened Herbsaint, a casual award winning contemporary bistro-style restaurant in the Warehouse District of New Orleans. In 2008, she sold her partnership to Donald Link, but continues to be a regular patron at the bar.
Susan has been the guest chef at The James Beard House, The Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, the Lanesborough in London, Cunard and Crystal Cruise Lines, as well as appearing on local and national television, including an appearance on the finale of the popular Bravo series Top Chef in 2009. She regularly contributes her talents to numerous charity events, such as co-chairing the New Orleans chapter of Share Our Strength’s annual “Taste of the Nation” for more than 15 years and has represented New Orleans at the Superbowl hunger-relief fundraiser “Taste of the NFL” ( with one exception, 2010-the year the Saints won the Superbowl!!!) since it’s inaugural year. In May 1993 she was the recipient of the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Southeast Region and, in 1995 was chosen for the Mondavi Culinary Excellence Award. Bayona was featured as one of Restaurants and Institutions 1996 Ivy Award Winners, as well as being named to Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame in 1998. One of the 1989 recipients of Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs award, Chef Spicer was inducted in the summer of 2008 into the magazine’s Best New Chef Hall of Fame. In March 2009, the John Folse Culinary Institute honored Chef Spicer with the Lafcadio Hearn Award given to “…culinary professionals who have had a long term positive influence on the cuisine and culture of Louisiana and the nation…” In addition Bayona received “5 Beans,” the highest rating from the New Orleans Times- Picayune., Since 1995, Bayona has been listed in the Zagat Guide for New Orleans as one of the top 5 restaurants in the city, receiving a rating of 28 points out of 30, and has repeatedly received 4 stars from Mobile Star Awards, one of two restaurants to receive this rating in New Orleans. In May 2010, Susan was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.
Susan’s first book, entitled Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer’s New Orleans, was released nationwide by Knopf in late October 2007. In the spring of 2008 Crescent City Cooking was recognized by the International Association of Culinary Professionals with a nomination for Best American Cookbook, and was awarded Best New Cookbook by New Orleans Magazine. Chef Spicer’s book was also included in Food & Wine’s 2008 Best of the Best, a collection of recipes selected from their top 25 cookbooks of the year.
In May of 2010 Susan was inducted into the James Beard Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. Her latest project is the opening of MONDO, a casual, family style restaurant which opened in June of 2010 in Chef Spicer’s neighborhood of Lakeview, where she has lived for 20 years
September 8th, 2011 on 1:24 pm
When I entered class and met Mrs. Spicer, I was impressed by her well-spoken, positive demeanor. I quickly found out that she has a great personality with a wonderful sense of humor. Her interview was enlightening. She seems to have fallen into a position of means by going basically wherever the day took her. She has had several projects, some fenominally successful, some too extravagent, all very interesting. She has held several kitchen positions and has learned that the key to success is a willingness to work and a willingness to learn, a life lesson which can serve everyone in my class well, should they heed it. She is into philanthropy, works at her passion, and despite being a world-class chef, her comfort food is still coffee haagen das ice cream. She is down to earth, easy to talk to, and I loved having had the chance to meet her.
September 8th, 2011 on 8:28 pm
When I found out that our guest would be Chef Susan Spicer this week, I was beyond thrilled. A friend that I used to work with introduced me to Mondo, one of Chef Spicer’s restaurants. I immediately feel in love with the atmosphere and the food at Mondo. To actually meet and learn a little about the chef, and owner, of one of my favorite restaurants is something that I never imagined would happen.
Just as I expected, Chef Spicer showed such enthusiasm and passion when talking about cooking. She talks about how her cooking interests started off as “social cooking” with friends and eventually turned into something bigger. She explains to the class how one of her friends landed a position as a chef and how she became her friends’ assistant. Eventually, Chef Spicer realized that cooking was her happy medium. She tells us how she was “so fired up about cooking because [she] had finally found [her] thing that [she] was good at”. After much training and experience, she opened her own restaurant and became Chef. Now, she owns Mondo in Lakeview and Bayona in the French Quarter.
Years later, she still “loves the gratification of seeing an empty plate come back”, just as any great chef should. Chef Susan Spicer is an amazing woman who has accomplished so much. The food and atmosphere in both of her restaurants are truly one of a kind. If you haven’t been to them, please consider it. Your taste buds will love you forever!
September 9th, 2011 on 11:17 am
For my birthday last year, I got to go on a classy dinner to Bayona. When a friend recommended a place I should go, she insisted that I go to this restaurant because the famous chef, Susan Spicer, ran it. I made reservation two weeks ahead of time and barely out in. I ended up having the best time ever in a perfect atmosphere with delicious food. When I heard Susan Spicer would be getting interviewed, I was thrilled. To hear exactly where she came from and the huge struggle to be where she is at today was inspiring. She stated, “I believe the only way to work your way up is to do the best at everything you do.” She started as a cook and three years later she is a sous chef in France. I could defiantly tell that she is a very hard worker. She found what she liked and what she was good at then did her best at progressing in cooking. She came a long way from where she began her skill. She has a cooking book, owns one of my favorite restaurants in the quarter, and so much more. Mrs. Spicer really goes to show that hard work will pay off.
September 9th, 2011 on 4:38 pm
I remember meeting Susan Spicer several years back briefly when I had dinner at the Herbsaint. I remember thinking the meal was phenomenal and thought it was a nice touch that she introduced herself personally to my table. It is very rare that a chef will come out and make sure your dinner is up to par. I enjoyed the whole hour with her. It was nice to learn about how she came to be and I respect how she just took the plunge and jumped on a plane to Paris to cook. Not a lot of people have the balls…(I can’t find a better synonym to describe) to do something so risky. I think it is great that she didn’t let the sexism in the work place drag her down, but make her prove them wrong.
I’ve yet to visit her restaurant in Lakeview, but my mom has raved about it so it is in my definite future. I think it is crazy that she rebuilt her house TWICE in a short period of time, but admirable because I know a lot of people that had a hard time doing it once. One thing I forgot to ask her was why she had five chickens! I was curious if they were pets or a future dinner, because she is after all a chef. I enjoyed the sit down with her and it was nice to learn how she came to be. I have to admit though, I went straight to the grocery store afterwards and went home and cooked! All that talk about cooking and food made me hungry. It was nice for me to cook again for once, I have had culinary training but like she mentioned there are some people with the ability, but not the drive. So it was nice to be inspired and who knows maybe I will get back into it and have her to thank.
September 12th, 2011 on 8:25 am
Once again Professor Mayfield wowed us. He brought in an energetic, hard working, independent, successful lady who doled out little nuggets of wisdom useful in all aspects of our existance here on this planet. Chefs attitude about hard work and determination are truly inspiring and may stem from the military exposure during her impressionable years(?). Too, I was quite impressed with her courage to zip off to Paris (more than once) also her self-confidence to “prove” herself to her male counterparts over and over. I sense that some kind of “gravitational pull” kept her “coming home” and I am happy her choices have afforded me the opportunity to visit both locations and try some of her recipes. Overall, “5 stars” to you both and for all the people who helped coordinate this.
September 12th, 2011 on 1:10 pm
I was excited to finally meet Susan Spicer one because she is famous around the restaurant industry and second because i eat at Mondo like it is no one’s business, except hers. I enjoyed finding out more about her in this interview because there is only so much one can read online. For instance, making $7 an hour was big-time money back then, or how she had the guts to pack everything and move to France in hopes that she might have a job and some place to stay. I also thought that she became more well-known by not sticking with one particular restaurant or project for too long. She continued to move and continued to challenge herself in projects that would be overwhelming for most people. Overall i give this five stars and am thankful you brought her in for us.
September 12th, 2011 on 6:35 pm
Just as ricej mentioned, there is only so much one can read online. When I found out that Chef Susan Spicer would be in our class, I read up a little about her. I already knew that she operated Mondo and Bayona, but the background information and passion about cooking that she so kindly provided us with was something that even online articles couldn’t give us. I really enjoyed hearing about how she got started with cooking. Hearing the stories from her are much more rewarding than reading about the stories online.
Her bravery to take on the challenge of being the only women in the kitchen for a while truly shows her love for cooking. Many would see it as too hard of a challenge and move on. With the amount of dedication that Chef Spicer has, there is no wonder she is the amazing chef she if today.
September 13th, 2011 on 5:47 pm
Has anyone had the chance to check out her recipes online? I think it’s pretty awesome that she posted them so that the public (the computer literate percent at least) can actually just pull of a recipe and have a go at it. If you haven’t here is the link:
http://labellecuisine.com/archives/surprise/recipes_by_susan_spicer_of_bayon.htm
When I get the time I want to make the tortilla salad, sounds delicious!!
September 13th, 2011 on 7:02 pm
Mrs. Spicer was a wonderful person. She has a sense of humor, even laughing at herself and her life. She is a wonderful philanthropist, helping out with every charity she hears from. She is well spoken and polite, but not stuffy. She gave life lessons under the guise of kitchen lessons, like “Having a certain standard of excellence seperates the cooks from the chefs”. She tells us how she started just cooking for friends, then assisting her friend who had gotten a chef position, working her way up through hard work, new experiences, informal education and a willingness to try new experiences. She tells us of her successes, like Bayona, and her failures, like Spice Inc., and tells us what she learned from each. She tells us that a willingness to try and a determination to succeed is needed and that even failures are a learning experience. She shows us that trying too many things at once can overextend a project. She shows us how focus can be as important as drive.
I learned a lot of things from Mrs. Spicer and her life. Mostly I learned that a good work ethic and a willingness to learn can take you anywhere.
September 14th, 2011 on 8:55 am
Susan Spencer is an amazing woman. I loved her sense of humor and her non traditional approach to life and entering the work force. To me it seems like Susan found a path in life that worked best for her, being mostly experience and learning through hands on experience. I found it refreshing to hear how she tried the traditional role of going to college, but knew that the environment wasn’t right for her.
September 14th, 2011 on 8:59 am
(continued) I found it amazing how she was able to explore different areas of the United States, as a well as foreign countries, like France and other parts of Europe. Susan was able to look at her life and openly admit parts of it that worked for her and parts that didn’t. Her sense of humor and her ability to introspectively look at life was refreshing. Her restaurants like Bayona are definitely somewhere I see myself eating soon.
September 14th, 2011 on 10:28 am
At Your Service
By Becky Retz
I agree with Chef Susan Spicer that the future of the New Orleans food service industry looks bright. She was right when she said that the storm reminded people how important their local traditions, including cuisine, were to them. While I believe that most locals have come to terms with the idea that the city will never be exactly what it was before and that we must move forward to create the new New Orleans, they have also worked hard to reconnect with their past and to ensure that those traditions will never be completely lost. So much so that the metro area now boasts even more restaurants than there were before Katrina. By food critic Tom Fitzmorris’s count, there are currently more than 1,200 restaurants open. And while Creole and Cajun foods are at the forefront, the city also boasts eateries serving everything from African to Vietnamese cuisine. Whether you’re a native New Orleanian or just here to go to school, do yourself a favor and spend some time exploring the culinary cornucopia that the city offers. No matter where you end up in life, the food you had while in New Orleans is something you will never forget. And if you ever get a chance to work in the food service industry, take it. A lot of diners don’t seem to realize how hard restaurant employees work to provide their customers with a good experience. Spend a year, or even a month, working in that industry and you will probably become the most generous tipper you know.
September 14th, 2011 on 10:29 am
Spice, Inc.
By Becky Retz
I was glad to hear Professor Mayfield and Chef Spicer talk about her former retail outlet Spice, Inc. It reminded me of a day about 20 years ago when I was part of a bus tour for local writers, designed to show off all the new projects around town that were going to push New Orleans forward in the film, arts and tourism industries. The day was a disaster. At virtually all of the sites we visited work was either behind schedule or had been stopped completely. By midday, I was starting to get depressed. I was sitting on the bus thinking, “Why would anybody even come here?” as I absently bit into a sandwich from the boxed lunch I had been handed. Then something remarkable happened. There was an explosion of flavor taking place in my mouth. And with each bite, I discovered added nuance and complexity. It was the most extraordinary sandwich I had ever eaten, and I laughed as it reminded me that, oh yeah, that’s why people come here.
It turns out the sandwiches were from Chef Spicer’s place, Spice, Inc. Nearly two decades later, I couldn’t begin to tell you what was on that sandwich, but I still clearly remember how it made me feel. Tasting that sandwich filled me with nothing less than joy – the kind of joy that is inspired by so many foods lovingly prepared by so many talented cooks in this town, some professional chefs, others talented amateurs. And all of whom make me feel so lucky to live in New Orleans.
September 14th, 2011 on 10:30 am
Susan Spicer
(I don’t Facebook or Tweet, so I’m posting those comments here.)
Tweet:
Susan Spicer was a terrific guest. She’s an excellent example of how hard work really pays off.
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I loved hearing Susan Spicer’s story because it goes to show that even if you start off having no idea what you want to do, you can still eventually find your way and become a great success. So often, young people today are made to think that by high school, and certainly by the time they reach college, they’re supposed to have their future all figured out. But this is a very unrealistic expectation. How can you know what you want to do when you haven’t done anything yet?
September 14th, 2011 on 12:18 pm
I loved Susan Spicer’s unconventional road to success. She let the world take her where it did, and through casual cooking with a friend found that she was pretty good at it. She found her way to France and studied for several months. She just packed up her things and took a courageous step towards her newfound niche. She spent the next few years rambling around the world going through many different restaurants and many levels of authority. This afforded her valuable hands on experience in the kitchen and also the opportunity to see many different places and meet a wide collection of people. Those experiences gave her a unique viewpoint on what she loved about cooking, what she wanted the people she cooked for to get out of it, as well as what she wanted for herself and from her career. In the 90’s she came back to New Orleans and opened Bayona, which is coming up on its’ 22 year anniversary in April, and is a celebrated success in the city. In those twenty some odd years, she’s had many ventures throughout the city making her a household name in New Orleans. One of the comments she made that stuck with me was how she viewed Katrina as a food revival as people grasped for the comfort foods of their roots, even with all the negatives of the storm she found an aspect worth being thankful for. Susan Spicer is an inspirational role model with so many experiences to share. I was honored to have heard her life story and have the chance to meet her in an intimate setting. Thanks Susan and Irvin!
September 14th, 2011 on 1:36 pm
Susan Spicer was a huge influence on me. She really drilled the idea in my head that women are powerful. The stereotype that she got when she started out cooking, because she is a woman, was not high expectations from other people. Mrs. Spicer made me feel confident because, although, being a woman brought her a lot of attention, it also gave the kitchen staff a chance to belittle her. She defiantly made it a point that a woman can do anything a man can do. I liked how she is a woman that always has to be doing something, adventurous or new. Before she even really got involved in cooking, she traveled a lot and it was hard for her to stay put. I could tell that mentality showed when she got into cooking and became a chef. She had the nerve to get up and go to France. Then, when she became a chef, she always had to be doing something new from her cook book, to opening new restaurant, and different charities. I really enjoyed hearing from a woman with so much drive to do all she could.
September 14th, 2011 on 2:07 pm
Susan Spicer is a locally renowned cook who has worked her way up from the absolute bottom all the way to the top. Susan Spicer is very successful in numerous ways. She owns and operates a restaurant in the French Quarter called Bayona who has been running strong for 21 years now. Also, Susan Spicer recently opened her restaurant Mondo in Lakeview. Along with her restaurants she has also been partnered with a bread company for a long time. Susan Spicer also has a cookbook, Crescent City Cooking, which entails numerous local cuisine options, and she is considering the idea of creating another cookbook. Along with her cookbooks, Susan Spicer has been being featured on many local and nationally televised cooking shows.
Susan Spicer was born in Key West, Florida and is the sixth of seven children to each be born in a different town due to her father being stationed all over. Eventually her father would be stationed in New Orleans and she considers it her hometown. Susan Spicer tried out college at the University of New Orleans for about one year and then started her cooking career.
Susan Spicer would actually travel back and forth from New Orleans to all over the world with each trip she would learn something different. She would come home and save up enough money to go back and travel to learn more. Susan Spicer’s first professional cooking gig was being an assistant to her friend who had been hired to a cooking position. She says it was the only job she had ever been fired from due to her and her friend being smart to the owner. Susan decided to stick with cooking and got a job in the French Quarter for about three years. During those three years she acquired a mentor and would learn from him the entire time. Susan Spicer would get an opportunity to work a Louisiana food promotion, but it would force her to leave her current job due to the promotion being in Paris. Susan Spicer worked in Paris for about another three years and says that it was the correct decision for herself. Eventually she would find herself back in New Orleans again but now higher up in the chef-chain. Now she learns and progresses her way through the ranks from cooks to sue chefs to main chefs. She would open her own restaurant in the French Quarter, but it was very small. So small that even the customers noticed, and one even offered her a larger building to house her business. I suppose this lucky break was the start of Bayona.
Susan Spicer has had many fortunate events in her cooking careers, but some things have tried to dampen her spirits for New Orleans cuisine. Hurricane Katrina was enough in itself to slow the business down, but it can back strong. Then again in 2010 the BP oil spill but that just slowed business. Overall, Susan Spicer has had a wonderful career and will continue to do so.
September 14th, 2011 on 2:23 pm
When we think of cooking in modern America, we think of the Rachel Ray’s of our society. But a kitchen is hardly a place where anyone would want to work, knowing the conditions. In the average kitchen, a cook works usually at least 60 hours a week. They cook food only to the absolute highest standard, while trying not to get burnt, cut, or passing out from the sweltering head from the grill. It takes a special drive to want to become a professional cook/chef working in such intense conditions. Some would consider it masochism, but most cooks can agree its the satisfaction of knowing you made someone happy with your work. Susan Spicer clearly understands where I’m coming from with my statement. She didn’t pay close attention to everything she was taught so that one day she could make the big bucks, she wanted to simply be the best she could be. She didn’t travel across the world, not even knowing if she could even stay at the hotel in France, so that one day she would be famous. It’s all about the instant gratification of making someone feel so good, just by eating something that you’ve created. I respect Mrs. Spicer because I’ve worked as a line cook for the past 3 years in an upscale restaurant and I know how difficult it really is. Yet I also understand the joy and passion she has for cooking, knowing that the customer is satisfied simply by seeing all the empty plates going back to the dish room.
September 14th, 2011 on 2:47 pm
I’ve read a lot of the blogs on here and many talk about Mrs. Spicer’s gender and how powerful of a woman she is. I have to admit that I agree, anyone woman who can hang in a kitchen certainly had my respect. A kitchen is as close as you can get to a modern day group of pirates as you can get. A lot of yelling and plenty of R rated conversations are going on through out the work day. Often times when a woman starts working on the line, the men do anything they can to help because they don’t think a woman can handle it. “Need me to carry that for you?” or “Do you need to take a break?” is what a lot of women hear in the kitchen because the men find them so gentle that they shouldn’t be doing the back-breaking work. Yet Susan Spicer seemed to jump right in and accept all responsibilities, regardless if she was a man or a woman. She did the work before the idea of a celebrity chef was even a thought. She just wanted to give it her best effort, and that she did. I’ll never forget what she said about the difference between a cook and a good chef. “Attention to detail.” Clearly Mrs. Spicer has put everything she can into furthering her career, and for that reason she is one of the most well respected chefs in the country.
September 15th, 2011 on 12:11 pm
I was excited to find out that a New Orleans Chef was coming to talk to our class and was especially happy to know it was Susan Spicer. One comment she made during the interview was that she enjoyed the near-instant gratification of her work when a plate comes back empty. I can relate to this because I too work as a cook in a small restaurant called Fury’s and there really is no better feeling then seeing a plate of food that you prepared come back empty. That is when you knnow you did your job right. I have been a fan of her work for a long time and i hope one day she could come in and try some of our food.
September 21st, 2011 on 9:32 am
New Orleans Chef, Susan Spicer was an amazing guess. She spoke of her journey to becoming a chef and dealing with problems of being a woman in the cooking industry. Her father did not want her to become a chef. However he wanted her to go to college an get a better education. Spicer traveled and worked in many restaurants before actually owning and running her own. She also owns a bakery shop that has cooking classes in them. Spicer also has a cookbook. Besides being a great cook, she is also a helping hand. She help fund projects in the city of New Orleans to help the hungry and children. She is a wonderful person and a great chef.
September 23rd, 2011 on 12:21 pm
Chef Susan Spicer on explaining the difference between a cook and a chef, well, I am from New Orleans so naturally I like to eat. I do not have the craft for cooking but I do admire those that do, in fact I am eager to participate just about anytime. As good as Waffle House is on a Friday or Saturday night after the bars close, I also appreciate good cuisine, Tho I am mostly a take out girl and don’t eat “fancy” hardly ever. When it is “my turn” to cook, I usually “slave” through the drive thru at Popeye’s and serve up chicken for days. When I go out I usually get the seafood platter/basket, I rarely venture to try new or fancy looking selections. I once had lobster in a 5 star place in Newport,Rhode Island, thought it was disgusting and avoided it until just recently, when we grilled it and drowned it in a garlic butter medly of something or another. I have committed however to trying one if not both of Chef’s restaraunts before the end of the semester. I’ll let ya’ll know how it goes! Thanks a million for prodding me to expand my horizons! This class is somewhat unconventional but AWESOME! Thanks to all who are involved!
December 9th, 2011 on 12:15 pm
• I’m always up for trying new restaurants in the city. After meeting Susan Spicer, I am definitely willing to visit one of her restaurants in the near future. Cooking is a small past time of mine and I was quite antsy to hear how Ms.Spicer became such a successful chef. Just like many of us, Ms.Spicer spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her mother. It was then she found her passion about food. She attended UNO for one year, then nationally and internationally for ten years. After ten years of traveling she started “socially cooking” (cooking for friends, family, and other small gatherings). Her friend encouraged her to pursue a career in cooking and before you knew it, they were at culinary school together. Ms.Spicer worked in her friend’s kitchen to build up more experience. She later got a job in a hotel’s kitchen. Little did she know the new job was going to be the start of her career. The chef cancelled an event in France and sent Ms.Spicer instead. She wanted to work at the hotel’s kitchen in the summer but spontaneously decided to pack all her belongings and show up at the hotel for the job. I was inspired by her drive and spontaneity. With the success of her restaurants, food markets, and cook books, it is clear to understand why she left us with this quote: “Some have a career, others just want a job. Any job that’s worth doing is worth doing well and doing your best.”
December 9th, 2011 on 12:16 pm
• When I asked Ms.Spicer “Is there a difference between someone’s ability to cook whether if they attended culinary school or not”, she responded “There are different levels of cooks in the kitchen. Some have no experience, some went to school, and some are lawyers who decided they want to cook now. Learning on the job is cheaper. School is not essential.” This answered the question to my problem. I have been baking ever since my junior year of high school. To make extra pocket money, I began baking cupcakes for certain events. Once students got a taste for them, I had numerous of orders for every upcoming holiday. Although they weren’t from scratch, the presentation of the cupcakes overruled the boxed ingredients. As I got older I began experiment different recipes from scratch. After graduation, I planned on attending a culinary school for baking in Houston, Texas or Atlanta, Georgia. Not having any baking experience (other than in my kitchen) kind of intimidated me from finalizing the plan. I didn’t want go into culinary school with zero knowledge of what to do in a kitchen. I most likely would have been amongst the “levels”. In my opinion, having culinary school experience doesn’t necessarily make one a better chef than the other. I know a few small bakeries whose owners started out in their kitchens at home and extended their skills to start their own bakery. I’m still undecided of my future plans but it wouldn’t hurt to get tips and more experience from the professionals.