With the deadline for the Chef David Gilbert Internship search getting closer, OnTheLine is taking a closer look at how some of the Food & Wine 2008 Best New Chefs got their start. Most new culinary school grads find mentors and internships to help hone their skills before taking over the reins of an established restaurant or starting their own, like one of the 2008 Best New Chefs, Jim Burke. Burke worked under Mark Vetri of Philadelphia’s Vetri before opening James in 2006.

Gerard Craft, another winner, opened Niche after working under Bryan Moscatello (Bistro Toujours), Mohammad Islam (Chateau Marmont), and Perry Hendrix (Metropolitan).

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Image from STLCommerceMagazine.com

And South African-born Koren Grieveson (who came to America by way of Angola, Iran, England and Brazil) worked under Michael Mina (Aqua) and with Paul Kahan Blackbird.

Other top chefs started as interns before hitting it big. Ming Tsai trained in Paris under acclaimed pastry chef Pierre Herme and in Japan with sushi master Kobayashi.

Mark Peel of Campanile certainly benefited from Wolfgang Puck’s internship program at Ma Maison. Peel interned at La Tour d’Argents and Moulinde Mougins through the program, leading to a head chef position at Puck’s Spago before opening Campanile in 1989.

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Image from The-Fifth-Taste.com

So culinary students and grads, how about you? Does/did your culinary program have an internship component? Did you seek out internships during your program and after?