CAO Special - Max Pfeiffer: "Being a cook is a never-ending journey"

Lifestyle & Sports
25 Jan 24

Max Pfeiffer.

Max Pfeiffer has a PLC in Culinary Arts, Professional Cooking from Crumlin College and currently operates as a head chef in Oslo, Norway.

In sixth year, I auditioned for the Gaiety School of Acting. It didn’t require any points, and when I was told that I got in, I didn’t lift a finger for the rest of the year. In the end I finished my Leaving Cert, narrowly missing out on 625 points by about 500.

The first first year of acting school was enjoyable, but I decided not to go back as the career uncertainty scared me. When it came to deciding what to do next, my options were limited because of my LC results. I took a year out to mull things over and tried to remember any subjects from school I liked.

The one that stood out was Home Ec. I enjoyed making food and I’ve always been a practical learner, so it was among the few classes I was good at. I decided to give culinary school a go and undertake a PLC in Professional Cooking at Crumlin College. It was a one year course with an option of extending on merit.

The people in the course were great. We learned various techniques and gained in-depth knowledge on a multitude of cuisines. It was the first time I felt proud of any academic work, I finally found something I was interested in. I was never bad at school, just lacked the energy and motivation which culinary school gave me.

My work placement was at Masa in Dublin. They ended up hiring me and I stayed there for a little over a year, coming in on weekends and days off. Between college and working you learn a lot about food very quickly. I was always told PLCs are a walk in the park, but they were some of the most exhausting years I’ve had.

The decision to go to culinary school was the right one. I’m thankful for everything I learned there. A lot of people in the industry say it’s a waste of time, but for beginners, it’s a safe place to mess up and learn. Kitchens can be relentlessly tough environments where there’s little room for error, so it was good for me to get that head start.

With my degree, I can travel anywhere in the world to work – I’ve worked in kitchens where the chefs and I don’t speak the same language and we communicate through Google Translate. I’m currently living in Oslo as a head chef in the heart of the city.

Being a cook is a never-ending journey, there’s always something to learn, whether it’s a skill or a dish from a country halfway across the world. Working in kitchens prepares you for life through the need for discipline, patience and communication.

Read the full education special in the Hot for 2024 issue of Hot Press, out now.