Stephen Montoya
Culinary School of Fort Worth grad George Gomulak.
Culinary School of Fort Worth grad George Gomulak learned more than expected after spending two months in two Michelin Star restaurants in Italy, earlier this summer. Besides being cussed at in a foreign tongue, Gomulak also learned that the best dishes are often the simplest to create.
This being his first time in Italy, Gomulak says he was taken aback viscerally, since the town he was in, looked just like Italy is portrayed in the movies.
“Everyone there smokes,” he says with a grin. “And the village, which had a population of like 100 people, was a place that had overgrown vines running up rustic brick walls.”
However, Gomulak wasn’t there to take in the sights. Instead, he was busy working twelve hour plus shifts at two different high-end restaurants near each other on the outskirts of any major metropolis.
This real-world opportunity was part of Gomulak’s externship with the Culinary School of Fort Worth (CSFW), an institution that has helped many an aspiring chef find their foothold in the culinary field since it was accredited in 2017.
What makes Gomulak’s experience interesting, is he was one of only a handful of externship students to be offered placement outside of the U.S.
An externship through the CSFW is just like an internship, except in a high paced functioning kitchen. Although externship participants aren’t guaranteed a job after their short stints in these high-end restaurants, some of them have become staff at these places, post-graduation.
Stephen Montoya
rom the left, George Gomulak stands next to Ethan Starr, program director at the Culinary School of Fort Worth.
Ethan Starr, program director at the CSFW, says he interviews students in the school’s program to see what their goals are.
“I watch them throughout the program to see what their skillset is and how that can match with a certain partner site. We do this for our sites also, we want it to be a mutually beneficial relationship where they're getting a quality trained culinary student that they're not having to really go through the fundamentals with,” Starr explains.
The CSFW itself offers a nine-month certificate program to a select class size of 20 students each semester. The first seven months of the program are done in-house at the CSFW facility located at 6550 Camp Bowie Boulevard. For the last two months of the program, students are sent out on an externship in a kitchen that is usually in the North Texas area. Besides learning recipes and food temperatures, students in this program also practice time management skills, and plating techniques, which are abilities every high-end restaurant is looking for.
“They've already been trained on all that,” Starr verifies. “[The students] just need to be trained on what that site is really looking for. And that's different at every single restaurant, or hotel, or club.”
This culinary gauntlet is exactly what Gomulak went through before packing his bags for Italy.
“With George, he actually had the initiative to apply at a lot of different Michelin star restaurants and actually got connected,” Starr says. “And from there we just communicated what our requirements are for an externship, and they took him from there.”
When Gomulak arrived in Italy, he says there was only one person on the kitchen staff that spoke English.
“That was a super tough adjustment,” he says. “I'm used to getting yelled at in English, but when it's a different language, it makes them more frustrated. I feel like the first Italian words I learned over there were the curse words ... that helped me learn when everyone was pissed off. But it was a big adjustment. I mean I've never been out of the country for that long.”
Stephen Montoya
During his two months in Italy, Gomulak worked at two high-end Michelin star restaurants. One was La Palta, and the other was Antica Corte Pallavicina.
When he was done for the day, or early morning, depending on that night’s service, Gomulak would head back to his quarters, which was a townhouse-style set up filled with other aspiring chefs.
“There was no service or wifi or anything,” he says regarding the village he was staying in. “You just woke up, you went to work, you went home, you went to sleep. And I was fine with that. I mean the food was amazing and the people were nice even though I couldn't understand much of what they were saying. But yeah, it was a big adjustment. I think they were a lot more welcoming than I expected 'em to be.”
He might’ve not had many of the modern amenities he’s used to back home in Texas, but Gomulak was fed well the entire time he was there. It would be through his palate that Gomulak would learn the importance of creating epic dishes with simple ingredients.
“There was one Michelin Star dish on the menu that was just this poached egg dish,” he says. “The bottom was like a zucchini cream, then in the middle was a potato puree and they put a poached egg on top and then around the egg in the zucchini they would put these brunoise of different vegetables.”
To a layman, this dish might sound complicated, but to Gomulak, it was culinary 101.
“When you break it all down, it's easy. Most people can make all those things individually. So, I think people tend to overcomplicate things or stress themselves out when it comes to working at a place like that. But I think most people would be surprised how easy you can put together those dishes,” he says.
Now that Gomulak is a full-fledged graduate of the CSFW’s recent semester, he says he’s already planning to head back to Italy to learn more.
“One of the reasons I think Italy is miles ahead of us when it comes to food is because it feels like their entire culture revolves around it,” he says. “A lot of Americans only eat for sustenance; most people feel like they are too busy to sit down and have a proper meal, so they pick up something fast and cheap to keep them energized. “
In Italy, he says no matter how busy everyone is, they take the time to sit down and eat a hearty meal twice a day. Italians also take pride in having a fridge stocked with the best cheeses and meats, plus a cellar filled with expensive wine.
“Most food purveyors in Italy pride themselves on selling their customers the best products that they can afford,” he says. “It’s just that simple. Most of the restaurants in this region buy meat and produce from the locals, which you can taste in the dishes. Fresh ingredients help create a better dish all around.”
