A Chef's Tale
Meet Zoe: A 20-year-old who is cooking up success...
“Zoe, what’s for dinner?”
For more than 10 years, Zoe Greco — the youngest sibling in a family of girls raised by a single mom — took it upon herself to handle the cooking so that her mother could work the odd hours of a Pediatric Physical Therapist to support them and so her older sisters could focus on activities and homework. Although it seems like a lot to take on as a young girl, Zoe herself insists, “I have always loved being in the kitchen!”
As Zoe describes herself, you can see that she has a strong sense of self and a real determination about her. She says that her mom sat her on the counter when she was just three years old and had her throw pasta into the pot. By age six, she had graduated to the children’s paring knife, of which Zoe says, “It was impossible for me to cut myself, of course, but also impossible to cut through a vegetable!” In addition to being the family cook, she describes her fascination of cooking shows that she shared with her mom: “Good Eats,” “Rachael Ray,” “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Master Chef,” just to name a few. She never considered that cooking could become a career for her until high school.
“In high school they started really asking what you wanted to do with your life, and the counselors kept suggesting programs at all the universities in our area. I already knew at age 14 that I didn’t want to go to a 4-year school. That wasn’t for me.”
Even the traditional high school path proved to be less enticing for her: Zoe left her public high school after sophomore year to pursue her diploma via an online homeschooling program. She graduated on time, and, after convincing her mom to explore culinary schools in addition to the traditional 4-year options, she entered the Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College after graduating. She found this option to be more cost-effective than the better-known Johnson and Wales up the road in Charlotte, and she insists that the kitchens and instructors are equally matched.
“No one thinks about the food and beverage industry as anything more than a high school job, but I have learned so much about the world – and how to run a business -- through this career path.”
Zoe says, “I have had more opportunities being in Charleston than I believe I would have had at a bigger school. The classes here are small, maybe no more than 12 people or so, and you get close with the instructors and the other students.” One of her instructors, Chef Kevin Mitchell, is the SC Chef Ambassador for 2020; she says that she spoke up immediately when he asked for volunteers from the class, so he gave her the chance to assist him at many events — including his recent cookbook release party — with prepping, serving, even running his kitchen.
She also reminds me that culinary school is not the cakewalk — pardon the pun! — that many people assume it is. She laments, “People think that an assignment might be one pasta dish. They don’t realize that I could have three quizzes, a big cake, and a complete 10-page costing packet due. Math is a big thing for chefs, which people may not consider. Remember the Gallon Man from grade school, where you break down a gallon into quarts and pints and cups? For us, we break it down further into ounces, tablespoon, teaspoons and grams. This is all necessary for our costing exercises. In every class, they give you all the ingredients you’ll use in the class for the quarter, and you have to cost out how much each ounce of those ingredients costs, based on how much it costs from the purveyors. As you get recipes for the classes, you have to cost out the recipe to figure out how much one portion costs and how much you should sell it for in the restaurant.”
All that is only a portion of the business knowledge needed to run a successful restaurant. As Zoe is earning her dual degrees in Advanced Culinary Studies and in Baking and Pastries, she is also choosing to work 70-hour weeks to gain the experience she needs to move ahead at lightning speed in her field. She currently is the Chef de Partie at Oak Steakhouse in Charleston, SC. She has trained on every station in the kitchen and most of the stations in the front of house. She has proven herself to the staff and is a respected member of the team. One day, she anticipates creating her own menu and opening a restaurant with the possible assistance of her current employer, the Indigo Road Hospitality Group.
“You have to LOVE this job. And you MUST have a good, strong work ethic. But if you are in a job that you don’t like, that is on YOU. In the post-COVID world, every restaurant is hiring. Find one that fits you.”
Zoe does admit that the life of a chef is not as family-friendly at times as people might want. Those in the hospitality industry work when others are playing. But if you love to cook, you can find a place in the industry. Zoe explains that anyone can do a stage — a paid working interview — for a day at a restaurant you are interested in. This allows both sides to evaluate the other: the kitchen staff can see your prep and cooking skills and how you interact with others, and you can see the culture of the kitchen.
Insider tip: real chefs do not yell in the kitchen!
Zoe explains, “You see this on television, but if you find it happening in real life, leave. No one acts like that because no one would work in those conditions. This is a tight-knit industry, and if the word got out that you are a chef who yells at his staff, no one would work with you and the restaurant would fail.”
Zoe Greco chose to follow her passion, and in a very short time is finding real success in a field that she loves. While the work can be hard, and the pay is low at the outset, with grit and determination you can move up the kitchen ladder quickly. The money improves with each step, and you have the real chance to become your own boss one day. Maybe one day Zoe will be hosting her own show on the Food Network — we will keep our eyes peeled!