What is success? I asked this question and received this answer: “My son is a success,” he answered.

Inwardly I groaned. Crumbs, I thought, now I’m in for it. I resigned myself to suffering through a story about his son, Mr. Moneybags, complete with adorable grandchildren — the lot. “Oh,” said I. “Do tell me about him.”

So he did.

Turns out his son was a rotten kid from the day he was born. By the time he was 12, he had already been in trouble with the law. At 17, he dropped out of school and became a drug dealer. He made so much money, he was able to buy himself a monster expensive motor bike. Three days later he lost control of the bike and hit a tree.  In an instant he was paralyzed from the waist down. He’ll be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The accident happened a few years ago. Since then, the son has invented several valuable tools that help paraplegics. He has testified before Congress on behalf of handicapped people.

He has achieved success in the journey of life.

I’m telling you this story because success has many faces. If you want a lifelong career that doesn’t conform with the norm, you must hold fast to your dream and not let others talk you out of it. On the other hand, when job hunting, it makes a whole lot of sense to consider working for a company that is in its ascendancy rather than one that looks as though its future could be dicey. For example, without wishing to dash any hopes, I wouldn’t set my heart on becoming a syndicated newspaper writer. Newspapers are vanishing like the smile on the face of the Cheshire Cat.

This morning in Nation’s Restaurant News online, I learned Panera Bread Co. has raised its full-year fiscal 2010 outlook after reporting a 33-percent jump in income for the second quarter and had a 14-percent jump in revenue…

In case you might be seeking work as a pastry chef or a bread baker or if you are interested in research and development, Panera may be just the place for you.

Alternatively look into the most forward looking supermarkets and discover the opportunities for employment at such fine organizations as Wegman’s. You may be surprised to find there really are many super jobs in supermarkets and in the best of chain restaurants like Chipotle.

A definition of success, after all, is whatever makes you happy.

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What can you do if you love ice cream? Google the words “Ice Cream Jobs” and a dozen job opportunities will be offered by many major ice cream companies.

Ice cream is a $59 billion business with sales anticipated to increase to $65 billion by the end of this year. It is dominated by Nestle and Unilever. Nestle owns Haagen-Dazs and Dryers and Unilever now owns Ben & Jerry among their many brands

This might lead you to think the days of the Mom & Pop parlors are over but don’t despair, you’ve probably noticed that there is a homemade ice cream shop that is thriving at just about every seaside vacation spot. All of them appear to do a roaring business at least during tourist season.

If a store front seems like too big a commitment, perhaps the idea of a mobile ice cream truck might be more appealing. With wheels of your own, you can create your own flavors. Peter Wong, a New Jersey entrepreneur has come up with several Asian flavors including lychee, green tea and red bean but, not surprisingly, his biggest seller is Killer Chocolate, a deep dark chocolate to which he sometimes adds a banana or fresh mint. Stake out a roadside spot or keep rolling, twittering your location for your fans and followers.

By the way, even small dairies employ a professional ice cream taster who may be asked to suggest new flavors too.

I recently came across an article in the Los Angeles Times about Katherine Montero who describes herself as an ice cream sommelier.

She graduated with a business degree from Harvard University and an interest in molecular gastronomy and biology. She’s created a job working with a chef in an ice cream laboratory in Miami.

They’ve dreamed up some truly weird flavors including pizza ice cream: a combination of basil and tomato marmalade served with a curl of parmesan cheese. There’s also maple syrup served with a strip of crisp bacon and chocolate mole ice cream. Those who yearn for vanilla may be out of luck but there is a never ending parade of people who are willing to try anything, at least once.

I mention these things because if you can identify the thing you truly love, you can scoop up a career wrapped around the object of your affection.

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Courtesy of the Little Mexican Cooking School

I received a telephone call from a FOOD JOBS book reader who has just lost her job and doesn’t know what to do now. She wanted something new. She had worked as a caterer, recipe tester, food stylist, freelance magazine food writer and cookbook editor.

With these skills, I suggested she consider becoming a teacher in a cooking school. Her topic could be any one of the specialties or she could actually teach a course on FOOD JOBS!

In fact, I started out as a cooking school teacher in Greensboro, North Carolina. I demonstrated a complete meal in each class, but told little stories about the ingredients I was using. Many came more for the stories than the cooking class itself. I later expanded these tentative steps into a course that nestled comfortably beneath the umbrella of gastronomy.

If you want to teach, but not cook, maybe you would like to consider the endless and ever expanding topic, ‘Food in the News’. The advantage of offering these subjects is you can be in charge of your own material and develop your own course guide.

I’m teaching FOOD JOBS* and get a huge amount of satisfaction from the classes and the enthusiasm of the students.  The best part is that I learn something new every day.

Professional cooking schools are thriving everywhere. So are community colleges. Many high schools also include hospitality courses in their culinary curricula.

With the help of ShawGuides, my caller can easily locate a Culinary School at the Arts Institutes, Cordon Bleu cooking school or other professional, avocational cooking school or a community college wherever she wants to live. (She would like to move from her current location to a warmer climate in another part of the country.)

I sent her a sample course guide and advised her to adapt it so that a Dean of Education could see exactly what she had in mind. Her proposed syllabus should also include a brief outline for a series of six (or more) classes. Here below is such an example:

Syllabus Sample Template

CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION: FOOD CAREERS

This Food Careers course will introduce the extensive range of career opportunities. The classes will help participants evaluate their own unique skills and encourage them to explore the many paths open to them. There are literally hundreds of job opportunities available to today’s graduates.  They need only bend down and pick up the prospect that is most appealing.

SAMPLE APPEAL TO STUDENTS TO TAKE YOUR FOOD CAREERS COURSE

The reason you decided to acquire an education at XXX Culinary School is to find a career in the food field. There is almost nothing more important than developing a sense of direction and ultimately being in a position to choose a path that will lead to a richly rewarding life. Together, we will examine many specific fields within the hospitality industry.

It is essential to understand the factors that contribute to the success (or failure) of a food business. You will be encouraged to track economic, political and demographic trends as they impact the hospitality industry and exert a strong influence on our current and future food choices.

You will also discover the importance of thoroughly researching a company before applying for a position. You will receive practical guidance to write a result-oriented resume and cover letter, and learn how to develop positive interviewing strategies. Class discussions will include the art of negotiation and emphasize that acceptance or rejection of a specific offer is limited not only to the size of the salary or the number of benefits: there are other important matters that must be taken into consideration too.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the end of this course you will be in a position to define your goals and begin to take practical steps to plan your future career. You will be able to :

• Describe the difference between a job and a career

• Develop a strategy for job hunting

• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of working in each sector of the hospitality industry

• Identify the most influential publications and reliable web sites within each sector of the hospitality industry

• Identify food trends and extrapolate probable trajectories of each trend

• Evaluate the impact of changing consumer choices

• Evaluate the impact of changing economic conditions

• Compose a personal portfolio of your work

• Outline a plan to market your business and build client referrals

• Understand the vital importance of networking

• Prepare a business proposal

• Describe the steps necessary to achieve your personal career objective

• Describe the economic and demographic reasons that justify an entrepreneurial objective

• Assess the business impacts of the “green” revolution

INSTRUCTOR

Add your name here and summarize your background.

Sound easy? It still takes effort. If this course of action appeals, you still have to put yourself out there and do the heavy leg work. But once you have a focus and a goal in mind, the hard work turns into a matter of steps to follow down a virtual yellow brick road.

Please contact me if you have a question about your own career.

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