The Value of Apprenticeships in Cooking and Product Design
Two weeks ago, I turned to Elliott Romano, a Junior Designer at Percolate, and asked for a book recommendation. It was my last day in the office before a week of vacation and I was excited to load up my kindle with books. I knew Elliott would recommend something great, since we often discuss books about our shared interests; architecture, product design and cooking. Elliott thought for a minute, then recommended The Devil in the Kitchen — legendary chef Marco Pierre White’s memoir. I thanked Elliott for the recommendation and downloaded the book.
Once I arrived on vacation, I started reading Marco’s memoir and was immediately hooked. I read the book in two days, then proceeded to read another chef’s memoir, The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen — celebrity chef Jacques Pepin’s story. Although Marco and Jacques have very different voices, both books are fascinating stories about makers who mastered the craft of cooking.
As an architect turned product designer, who also loves to cook, I found myself noticing a lot of parallels between Marco and Jacques’ experiences with cooking, and my own experiences with architecture and product design. There are a lot of parallels worth discussing, but only one is near and dear to my heart; the value of apprenticeships. Both Marco and Jacques became chefs via apprenticeships and I pivoted from architecture to product design thanks to an apprenticeship. With this in mind, I thought it might be fun to write about some of Marco and Jacques’ thoughts on apprenticeships, and share my story.
Becoming a Chef
Marco and Jacques learned cooking at a time before cooking schools, magazines and tv shows existed. They learned cooking via apprenticeships at top restaurants in Europe. Jacques describes his days as an apprentice in the following.
No one actually taught me how to do these things or anything else. Not formally. The chef and commis had me stand and watch as they worked…my education as an apprentice was strictly a process of observation and imitation….Recipes were immaterial and in any case nonexistent; he wanted me to learn how to cook by using my senses rather than by following written or verbal instructions. Sight, feel, hearing, and smell taught me about food. — Jacques Pepin
Later in his memoir, Jacques notes the “traditional French apprenticeship” is no longer relevant today, but still meaningful.
The days of the traditional French apprenticeship were now long gone even in France, but I felt the urge to pass the craft along to a new generation of aspiring professional cooks. I felt I owed a debt to the trade…I don’t want to romanticize my training. It was an artifact of a different era, and although it worked then, it was unacceptable in today’s fast-paced world. But there is something to be said for carefully learning techniques and absorbing long-established culinary traditions. If nothing else, it gives a young cook perspective. — Jacques Pepin
Like Jacques, Marco also describes his apprenticeship in detail. I especially love the following quote about the value of learning in a small kitchen.
It is far better to work in a small kitchen than a large one because that way you learn more: you are always close to the action — if you’re on the garnish, you can still see what’s going on with the fish, or meat or hors d’oeuvres. — Marco Pierre White
For both Marco and Jacques, their apprenticeships lay the foundation for their careers as chefs.
Becoming a Product Designer
The idea an apprenticeship is special to me because it’s a big part of how I pivoted from architecture to product design. In 2009, I graduated from architecture school and received an opportunity to work at a tech startup in NYC. I entered the industry as a Community Manager, then moved on to become a Creative Strategist and Project Manager. On the job, I learned to manage the development of products, but after some time, I wanted to try designing the products.
Although my architecture education provided me with a good understanding of design principles, I needed to learn more about web and app design. I wondered, should I try to learn on my own? Maybe attend one of the new graduate programs? With these questions in mind, I asked for advice. I turned to my friend, Matias Corea, co-founder and Head of Design at Behance. He recommended an apprenticeship. I distinctly remember him telling me,
“learn from a designer you admire.”
That night, I went home and cold emailed the designer I admired most, Khoi Vinh. I have always admired Khoi for his organized and systematic approach to design. At the time, Khoi had recently left his role as Design Director at the NY Times online and was co-founder and CEO of Mixel, a collage making app that has since been acquired by Etsy. In my email to Khoi, I introduced myself, asked for an apprenticeship and attached my resume and portfolio. Hitting send was a bit scary. Much to my surprise, 30 minutes later, Khoi responded and we set up a time to meet. I was so excited, I almost fell off my chair.
I met with Khoi at the Mixel office, a co-working space in NYC. After chatting a bit, Khoi offered me a 2 week product design assignment. He asked me to redesign the Mixel iPad app for iPhone. I accepted the project, and here are some of the sketches.
After submitting the project, I earned a spot on the Mixel team to learn product design. Although we didn’t formally refer to my experience as an “apprenticeship”, I was in many ways an apprentice. On the design side, I absorbed so much knowledge from Khoi and Roy. On the development side, I learned a tremendous amount from Scott and Akiva. I learned everything from the fundamentals of Photoshop to the subtleties of interaction design. I worked with the team for 10 amazing months, then accepted a position as the first in-house designer at Loverly. Like Jacques and Marco, I found my apprenticeship incredibly rewarding. My experience at Mixel lay the foundation for my career as a product designer.
Over the past few years, I’ve grown as a designer and moved into a mentor role. At Percolate, I now work with Junior Designers on a daily basis and enjoy helping young designers learn and grow. I hope to open their eyes, share techniques and help them absorb the world of product design.
Closing Thoughts
In conclusion, I highly recommend the The Devil in the Kitchen and the The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen to anyone that is a maker and loves cooking. The memoirs are great reads and there are a lot of interesting parallels between cooking and other forms of design.
If you’re looking to learn product design, I recommend trying an apprenticeship or interning with a “designer you admire.” Don’t be afraid to send a cold email. Never hurts to try.
Thanks for reading!
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