By Aaron Hutcherson, 2012 Professional Culinary Arts Graduate
My goal upon graduating from the Professional Culinary Arts program at the International Culinary Center was to gain a position in food media. As such, I accepted an internship with Food Arts Magazine to gain experience and try to get my foot in the door. After about 10 weeks my internship ended and I had no job prospects in that field, so I decided to join full time as a cook at Northern Spy Food Co., where I had been working weekends during my internship. Throughout that time, I continued to search for what I thought to be my dream job. Alas, after a year of looking and no such luck I decided to take a pseudo break from life by baking at Camp Ballibay, a summer camp for Fine and Performing Arts in the mountains of Pennsylvania. I figured it would give me the time and environment to clear my head and re-evaluate what I wanted to do with my life. (Plus I thought it would be beneficial to experience nature after living in New York City for four years.)
As I was approaching the end of my sabbatical from urban life, I came across a posting on Good Food Jobs for an operations position at Momofuku. Working for such a well-regarded restaurant group seemed like a one-in-a-million opportunity, but reading through the job description and desired requirements, I was unsure if I was qualified enough to be considered. Every couple of days I would revisit the job posting to mull the idea over. After about two weeks of this — and noticing that the position was still unfilled—I decided to cast my doubts aside and submit my cover letter and resumé.
A few interviews and several months later, here I am as a member of the Momofuku family. I work in the “operations” department, which really means I do a little bit of everything. A few examples of some of my tasks have included purchasing restaurant equipment, formatting menus for several of our restaurants, analyzing sales data, helping manage technology systems, and much, much more. Since it can be so varied, I sometimes have a hard time describing what I do whenever posed the question, but that diversity is what helps keep things interesting — that and a good group of co-workers.
And, to answer the question I’m sure you’re all wondering — yes, I do have access to a regular supply of Milk Bar treats.
Follow Aaron’s culinary journey on The Hungry Hutch.
This blog post was originally published by the International Culinary Center (ICC), founded as The French Culinary Institute (FCI). In 2020, ICE and ICC came together on one strong and dynamic national platform at ICE's campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. Explore your culinary education where the legacy lives on.
