You grill up a mean bruschetta and can spot the difference between a ceviche and a tapenade at twenty paces, but your knowledge of certain cuisines and food preparation techniques is spotty. Maybe it is time to turn up the heat on your culinary knowledge. Culinary arts schools can teach you what you need to know to launch your career as a chef or open your eyes to other less traveled paths through the culinary world.
Even if you have no interest in a job in the restaurant industry, you can still benefit from cooking schools' course offerings. Classes at cooking schools are becoming popular choices for passionate amateur chefs as well.
The Culinary School Curriculum for Aspiring Chefs and Pastry Chefs
The foundation of any culinary school or baking school curriculum is food preparation. At the beginning of your program, you will need to choose between studying the culinary arts in general or pastry and baking in particular. In a general culinary arts program, your courses will teach you about knife skills, food purchasing and safety, regional cuisines, and wine and food pairings. Courses at a baking school usually include topics in baking fundamentals and equipment, and making cakes, pastry, confections, and bread.
Many culinary schools now include business courses, which can be of great use to young chefs. If it is your dream to someday open your own restaurant, learning about the business side of the restaurant industry in courses such as restaurant law can prepare you to succeed in food's real world.
Featured Schools
Becoming a Chef
Upon graduation from a cooking school, you are prepared to work in a fine restaurant's kitchen as a sous chef or assistant pastry chef. Ideally, you will have gained some restaurant kitchen experience as part of your hands-on training, so you will be no stranger to professional kitchens. Most culinary schools give you lots of time in teaching kitchens to polish your cooking techniques, and some schools help you to find internships and jobs once you graduate. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, chefs in the amusement and recreation industries earn, on average, $19.27 per hour.
After you spend a few years in a restaurant kitchen learning from a talented chef, you might be ready to open your own restaurant. Someday, if your restaurant develops a reputation for excellence, you could even parlay your fame into a job hosting your own cooking show on television.
Is a Career in Restaurant Management for You?
Another popular career option for cooking school graduates is restaurant management. Restaurant managers oversee the operations of their eateries. They hire, fire, and train staff, coordinate communication between the waitstaff and the back of house staff, order ingredients and supplies, and ensure that customers are pleased with their dining experience. Culinary arts school training offers you a real advantage in restaurant management. As a culinary school graduate, you will understand the inner workings of your restaurant, and you should be better able to address staffing, legal, business, or public relations issues when they arise.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the middle 50% of restaurant managers make between $31,010 and $51,460 per year. Around 40% of all restaurant managers are self-employed, owners of their own restaurants. The remaining 60% work for restaurant chains. If you thrive in a high-energy environment and enjoy working with people, a restaurant management career might be a great choice.
Culinary and Baking Schools Offer Classes for the Casual Cook
Aspiring professional chefs and restaurant managers are not the only ones who benefit from culinary classes. Dedicated home cooks can greatly improve their dinners for themselves and their families by taking courses at a culinary school. Many home cooks choose to take courses in basic knife skills, which can greatly speed up food preparation times. If nutrition is important to you and your family, you might want to consider taking a course in the subject. You will learn how to prepare healthy and delicious entrees, sides, and desserts for yourself, your family, and friends. Some people take culinary school classes so that they can become better at entertaining. If you want to host memorable dinner parties, courses in menu development and banquet preparation can get you started.
Whether you are interested in starting a career as a pastry chef or just whipping up souffl??s that won't collapse in your home oven, culinary and baking schools can help. Many allow you to take one or two classes at a time rather than committing to a degree program so you can see if the program is for you. You might find, though, that you love the world of the culinary arts so much that you will never want to leave it.
Sources:
"Chefs, Cooks, and Food Preparation Workers," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics"Food Service Managers," U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
