Just one anecdote, but one that might temper expectations: A friend of mine with two decades of experience who'd already proven herself indispensable at a famou

Just one anecdote, but one that might temper expectations: A friend of mine with two decades of experience who'd already proven herself indispensable at a famous (and completely dysfunctional) NYC French restaurant looked around for the next step in her career. She interviewed at a highly competitive Michelen star restaurant in Manhattan and got the offer: minimum wage and an expected 60 hours a week. While they charge a typical customer 200-300 a dinner. That was before the pandemic. She wondered what the point of striving in the field was if that's what it was like at the top. She's since moved to a state where recreational use of cannabis is legal and makes more money healing people with chocolate than she ever did baking. Has weekends again. No sociopathic or sexual abuse from coworkers. Consistent peaceful workload. Creative and high craft output instead of crank-out-that-coconut-cake-again. This is just one story and it may not last once the industry consolidates, but now is an excellent moment for bakers' mental health to shift to producing edibles. Edit: Beware the expensive culinary schools. They can be a lot of money and don't necessarily help finding employment. Akin to bootcamps and art institutes.