Chef Tom Beckman is an instructor of baking and pastry at The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) who started out on a career path to become a radio personality but wound up a teaching chef. How did he get there? He studied radio and television at Southern Illinois University but found that radio was not his calling and later enrolled at CHIC.

In the course of his career, Chef Beckman has worked at The Mayfair-Regent and The Ritz-Carlton in Chicago, as well as restaurants and as a private chef, before CHIC asked him to come back and teach. He is a member of the American Culinary Federation, the Bread Bakers Guild of America, and the Culinary Historians of Chicago. In addition to his coursework at CHIC, he has taught baking and bread making to various community organizations, he is a Certified Culinary Educator, and he consults bread industry associations.
  Chef Tom Beckman & His Career   |   The Actual Work   |   Career / Job Info. & Advice   |   Education Info. & Advice   |   Industry Trends
 

CHEF TOM BECKMAN & HIS CAREER

CookingSchools.com: When and how did you decide to become a chef?

Tom Beckman: I had always loved to cook, but I wasn't sure I wanted to become a chef until I went to cooking school. My family and friends encouraged me to go to school to become a better cook, but I caught the chef bug by going to school.

CookingSchools.com: Tell us how your career unfolded.

TB: While I was still in school, a chef at the school approached me in class and asked if I would like to try out for a job at a local hotel. The hotel turned out to be the famous Mayfair Regent on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. I worked there until the hotel closed in the early nineties. From there I went to work under Sebastian Cannone at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. I learned very many things there, but after about 3 years, a person can get burnt out. After getting a lot of experience at the Ritz, I went to work at a restaurant called Tra Via. It was a Neo-Italian restaurant. There I was able to put what I had learned to good use. The chef, David Wennerlyn, allowed me to do what I felt was nesscessary to make the pastry menu work. He was very supportive of my ideas. He also encouraged me to lower the food cost. I did. It was interesting to be in on the business side of the industry as well as the creative side. They are both extremely important.

CookingSchools.com: Who were the biggest inspirations for your career?

TB: My mother and father because my mother taught me how to cook when I was young and never said food had to prepared only one way; my father because he always encouraged me to try new things, even if I wasn't sure they would work. They have both always been behind me 100%.

CookingSchools.com: What do you enjoy most about being a chef?

TB: Being able to play with food. Working with students allows me a chance to experiment like not many other chefs get to do. I love passing on my enthusiasm and knowledge to my students.

CookingSchools.com: What was your greatest success and biggest setback?

TB: My greatest success was being invited back to teach at the C.H.I.C by the chef who taught me, Mark Facklam, when I went to school there. I don't really feel that I have many big setbacks, but I do regret not getting into cooking earlier in my life. I would have enjoyed many more years of success in the kitchen.

THE ACTUAL WORK

CookingSchools.com: Do you have a culinary specialty?

TB: I love to cook everything, and I have been told that my Balsamic Chicken is some of the best. However, I really love bread the most. There is always something new to learn in breadmaking. I particularly love sourdoughs.

CookingSchools.com: What exactly do chefs do?

TB: In my estimation, chefs work to make food taste like it should and enhance the customer's experience.

CookingSchools.com: Tell us about where you work. What do you like most, least?

TB: I work at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. I teach baking and pastry, and I work with the administration on a variety of topics such as Faculty Development. First, I love most everything about the job. I love working with motivated students and the staff at school is the best. I love being able to work with different types of food and experiment. We are given a lot of freedom to make the courses what we think they should be.

What I like least is students who don't try. I often wonder why they are enrolled in school if they don't want to show up or participate once they are there. Luckily, the good students outnumber the slackers.

CookingSchools com: What are the tools of the trade you use most?

TB: My most valuable tool is my hands. I find that by feeling the dough, mixing the cake, folding the mousse or meringue by hand will give me the most feedback on how the food is doing.

CookingSchools.com: What are your favorite kitchen gadgets?

TB: I use a whisk for many jobs. I also love to use a citrus squeezer given to me by a friend. And of course I can't forget my favorite, the Kitchen Aid Mixer. I use it everyday.

CookingSchools.com: How much of your work is done outside of the kitchen?

TB: Quite a bit actually. I have to plan classes and write lesson plans. I work with the administration extensively. I also have a web site, Let's Bake with Chef Tom Beckman, that I manage. So a good portion of my work is done on the computer.

CookingSchools.com: What are some common myths about chefs?

TB: The myth of the old fat white european chef is almost dead. I'm sure some are still out there. However, now there are chefs of all races and genders and I think that is great. The other myth is that chefs know everything there is to know about food and can tell you exactly what went wrong with a particular dish. We all have areas of expertise. We can't know everything there is to know about food. Anyone who tells you they do is a fool.

CAREER / JOB INFORMATION & ADVICE

CookingSchools.com: How much are chefs generally paid? Are they generally paid by the hour or by salary?

TB: When cooks are coming up, they are usually paid by the hour. Once they become chefs or more advanced cooks, they are paid by salary. I was making about $7.00 an hour when I started and I think today the average is about $9.00. A good cook can expect to make about $24,000.00 after about 3 years in the industry with hard work and perseverance.

CookingSchools.com: How important is it to create & maintain relationships within the culinary profession? If it is, how do you do it?

TB: It is extremely important to maintain your relationships with culinary professionals. I find that by joining several professional organizations I have been able to keep up with most of the people I find important in our industry. I belong to the American Culinary Federation, Bread Bakers Guild of America, the Culinary Historians of Chicago and others. I also call my chef friends around the country on a regular basis just to touch base. If you don't stay in touch with other chefs you will not know what is going on in the industry.

CookingSchools.com: What are some of the skills that help all chefs succeed?

TB: Practicing helps me to stay current with my skills and always learning more about my field. Working hard at whatever you do is another skill that has helped me. Finally, listening is the most important skill of all. We must listen to other chefs so that we can work together to make a dish. We must listen to the customer to hear which direction we should take with our food.

CookingSchools.com: How important are certifications in the profession, such as Executive Chef or Master Chef?

TB: I think that those certifications are somewhat important as they serve to show where a chef is in his or her career. However certifications do not say someone is a great cook. I am a Certified Culinary Educator and I am proud of that but all it means is that have taken several courses and passed a test from the American Culinary Federation. I think one should be judged on your work not on your certifications.

CookingSchools.com: What are the best ways to find a job as a chef?

TB: Talking to chefs is the best way to find a job. They know who has just left a position or who is on their way out.

CookingSchools.com: How can graduating culinary arts students gain an advantage in their job search?

TB: Get to know all the chefs at the school. Interview them about how they got started. And talk to other students. Don't remain isolated in school.

CookingSchools.com: How is the job market right now for culinary professionals? How do you think it will be in the next five years? 10 years?

TB: The market right now is good for culinary professionals. There are many jobs available in myriad areas if you look. Some might have to change perspective a bit to find what they want but it is there.

EDUCATION INFORMATION & ADVICE

CookingSchools.com: What is your degree in?

TB: I have a B.S. in Communications from Southern Illinois University. I also have an A.A.S. in Culinary Arts from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago

CookingSchools.com: What did you like and dislike about your culinary education?

TB: I liked my culinary education very much, particularly the baking part. We spent long hours in the lab working on every kind of pastry. There wasn't much I didn't like about my education except I felt I didn't get a good grasp of piping with a bag. (no pun intended)

CookingSchools.com: What factors did you consider when choosing a school of culinary arts or culinary department?

TB: My two main factors for considering a school were cost and proximity. I looked at several schools but they were too far away or I couldn't afford them.

CookingSchools.com: What factors should all prospective culinary arts students consider when choosing their school?

TB: I would think cost and proximity would be factors, but quality of education and dedication to the goal are even more important now.

CookingSchools.com: Was your culinary education worth it for you? Why?

TB: Yes. My culinary education has brought me to the happiest point in my life. It has allowed me to achieve my goals in my career. It has also brought me much joy at home by being able to cook for myself and my wife and our friends.

CookingSchools.com: For those who have the talent already, should they go to culinary school and why?

TB: Culinary school will hone those talents to a sharp edge. Those that already have some talent will find in school that there is so much more to learn than they already know. Students will always take away more than they brought if they apply themselves.

CookingSchools.com: What advice can you give to prospective students thinking about an education and career in the culinary arts?

TB: Prospective students should think about getting an A.A.S. in Culinary Arts. Some students might think "Oh I just want to cook. I don't want to bake." But those people are kidding themselves. Any good cook knows how to bake even the most simple things. Also, any good baker or pastry chef will have good knife skills and have a knowledge of savory food.

CookingSchools.com: What are the 5 most valuable courses that aspiring chef 's should take?

TB:

1. Knife Skills
2. Custards
3. Fish and Poultry
4. Introductions to Baking and Culinary Arts
5. Food and Beverage Controls

CookingSchools.com: Based on what you hear in the industry, what do you think are the 5 most respected and prestigious culinary/cooking schools in the world that really make a difference to students who graduate from these schools?

TB:

1. Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago
2. Culinary Institute of America
3. California Culinary Academy
4. French Culinary School
5. Johnson & Wales University

CookingSchools.com: Is there a major difference in the industry between graduating from a prestigious culinary school and graduating from a college with a culinary program?

TB: As far as I can tell there is no difference. Most other cooks will judge you by your ability not by where you went to school.

CookingSchools.com: What advice can you give to prospective culinary arts students before they begin their education?

TB: Work hard and listen well. Try not to have biases against any kind of food. Oh, and work hard!

CookingSchools.com: What should culinary arts students try to get out of their school?

TB: Everything they possibly can!

INDUSTRY TRENDS

CookingSchools.com: What are some trends that you see in the field of culinary arts that might help prospective students?

TB: I see trends toward more traditional and old fashioned foods being used while keeping some of our new techniques to prepare them. I also encourage students to look beyond restaurants and hotels for new places to work. There are millions of jobs that students don't think of. For instance, food for busy families is an area to be explored.

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