![]() Many skills from Chef Shawn's military service translated to his civilian life, especially in his various roles as a manager. But you do learn quite a bit about leadership, business and logistics, which I think was really important for later on in my career.”īut you do learn quite a bit about leadership, business and logistics, which I think was really important for later on in my career.Ĭhef Shawn's working in the Navy kitchen Creative Problem Solving The cooking isn't exactly fine dining, as you’re cooking for 1,000 people at a time. “They tried to convince me not to, because most people in the military don't think of that as the best job, but what I found out was it actually is one of the coolest jobs. “I had to convince them to let me be a cook, because that's all I really wanted,” he says. The barrier to entry wasn't because the position was highly coveted - in fact, it was quite the opposite. In order to actually get into the kitchen, however, Chef Shawn had to make his case to his superiors. He wanted to use his military service both as a means of paying for culinary school, and for acquiring whatever training he could while enlisted. Restaurant Dining to Military DiningĬhef Shawn knew that his endgame going into the Navy was to work the kitchen. To focus merely on this one element, however, would be missing much of the larger picture of the value of military service to kitchen life, which Chef Shawn’s story illustrates. Many veteran chefs have spoken of this phenomenon, including former White House Chef Andre Rush and food television’s Robert Irvine, among others. The discipline instilled by service in the armed forces can indeed equip people for a life in the kitchen. ![]() Read More: Veterans Become Culinarians at ICE The word “brigade,” which is often used to describe a well-orchestrated kitchen team, primarily refers to subdivisions of an army. Anyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant kitchen - or even seen one in action - can observe how easily “yes, chef!” might translate to “yes, drill instructor!,” and vice versa. There's a natural connection between kitchen and military life. “I knew that I could potentially pay for my culinary school with the GI® Bill*. “I really wanted to go to culinary school, but I couldn't afford it,” says Chef Shawn, who had already been working in restaurants in his home state of Virginia before his military service. ![]() ICE proudly offers tuition discounts to our many veteran students.įor ICE’s Shawn Matijevich, Lead Chef of Online Culinary Arts and Food Operations, however, his kitchen life began before his military service - and was the very reason he enlisted. Many veteran placement organizations use the culinary realm as a means of helping veterans reintegrate into civilian life. In fact, one of the oldest culinary schools in the country was founded after World War II as a training program for former soldiers. Many armed services veterans find careers as cooks and chefs after their military service.
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