Culinary Career
Culinary
Arts - Is It for You by Paul Callis
The entire population of this world like to eat. A high percentage of
us have a passion for food and cooking, therefore many of us seek further
education.
Culinary arts program applications are basically no different than applying
to any other program or course at college or at university. As standard
there is a process that you need to follow and you may need to meet
with someone in the department to see if it is right for you, as there
are plenty of options available.
Considerations with regards to the school's reputation, location, tuition,
and financial aid, are essential in choosing what is best for you. You
can start by researching online via their websites, contacting them
directly through phone numbers, or posting information about your wants
via their addresses. Once you have decided to contact them, they will
probably arrange a for you to have a meeting with them and discuss your
options and they will also show you what the different culinary programs
have to offer.
Many attend culinary arts college to become chefs or work in the food
industry in some department, but a majority also attend culinary arts
colleges to improve their own home cooking. With the growing population
of culinary arts colleges and cooking schools in the country, there
are plenty to cater to both groups.
Numerous varieties of people and companies, from ex-chef celebrities,
local restaurants and supermarkets, are setting up cooking classes so
that anyone can improve their kitchen skills and knowledge. For the
aspiring career chef, culinary arts colleges offer the greatest opportunity
to hone his or her craft.
Due to popularity there are now over five hundred programs in the United
States that offer top educational programs in the field of culinary
arts, whether this be at college, university or through private programs.
The difficulty lies in how you go about choosing the best culinary school
for you.
There are several things to consider when choosing a culinary arts college.
You should consider what avenue you want to go down after you have taken
the course, such as restaurant managerial work or owning your own catering
company. After deciding on this, you can easily narrow your search down
for the right program quite dramatically, as there are many courses
set of for those specific courses.
You need to determine what is important in a college for you. Do you
require the college to be in close proximity to your home, which is
important if you have already left home. On the other had if you still
live with parents, then living on a campus could be the desired option.
Lengths of the program may be a consideration, and also what qualifications
you need in order to be accepted. Course fees need to be considered,
as if you are on a tight budget you need to find out about student or
college financing as well.
Online Culinary Schools by Ken Marlborough
Culinary schools are places where cooking is taught. Today, cooking
is an art, rather than just cooking. There are several specialties in
cooking who can make you an expert chef, either for professional reasons
or just for fun. They teach fundamental and traditional cooking while
encouraging innovation and novelty. Getting trained at a culinary school
may help you become an executive-chef, sous-chef, saucier, garde manager,
pastry chef, or a sommelier.
There are also online culinary schools that provide training in culinary
skills. These offer several courses relating to pastry preparation,
wine tasting and selecting, knife skills, baking and dessert making,
holiday cooking, healthy cooking, regional cooking, style cooking, safety
and sanitation, cost management, food handling and identification, food
and nutrition, special cuisines, gourmet cooking, catering and more.
These classes are offered either in a distance education format or as
online classes in the regular mode. They are taught by providing video
demonstrations, online instructions, recipes and directions through
e-mail or websites, web-based tutorials, CD-ROM/video or audio-based
tutorials, e-books, threaded discussions, weblogs, online forums, video
conferencing, teleconferencing, chat and so on.
Online culinary schools offer certifications that are applicable worldwide.
They have good facilities and instructors, food service operations,
job placement assistance, good credentials, teaching by experts, hands-on
teaching, and so on. There are different kinds of certifications available:
diploma programs, associate's degrees, apprenticeship programs, bachelor's
degree programs, vocational programs and certificate programs. These
programs are also offered in different levels, like level 1 for basic
introduction, level 2 for more experienced cooks and level 3 for learning
professional cooking. Online culinary schools have their own advantages:
you can learn at your own place, time and pace; it has a variety of
styles for learning as well as delivery methods; the course can be designed
as per the learner's needs; it is cost-effective, as travel costs are
eliminated; they are flexible enough for self-learning; and there is
greater teacher-student collaboration.
There are many online culinary tutorials that provide courses for beginners,
amateurs and professionals. Many professional culinary schools are also
offering online courses. Information can be found online or at the websites
of these schools.
Finding The Right Culinary School For You by G. Jones
Have you ever thought about the possibility of going to culinary school
to become a professional chef or start a new career in hospitality management?
Maybe you want to go to school just to be a better cook at home? The
good news is there are a lot of great schools and colleges in every
state to help you accomplish your goals.
Based upon the number of cooking schools opening each year, there must
be a lot of folks interested in getting into the culinary world. I recently
read an article in our local newspaper about the growth in local culinary
schools, and the numbers surprised me. It appears that supermarkets,
gourmet stores, local restaurants, colleges, ex-chefs, and just about
anyone else who has the room and expertise is putting on an apron and
opening a school.
Many of these schools are there for absolute beginners who just want
to learn how to boil water and get around in the kitchen without hurting
themselves. These classes tend to be more fun where you watch a professional
chef prepare a meal and then you get to share it with the rest of the
class. It's a good way to meet some interesting people, learn a few
culinary tricks, and taste some delicious food.
And then there are schools for home cooks who have some experience but
want to build upon their skills and learn some new techniques. These
schools tend to have classrooms with individual stations where the students
learn by doing. Often these classes will specialize in one particular
technique or cooking style.
But what about the individuals who wants to make cooking their career
and go back to school for a degree in culinary education? They may want
to learn about hospitality management to master the skills needed to
run a resort, restaurant, or theme park. Or they may want to become
professional chefs and cook in some of the best restaurants in the country.
Lucky for them, there are now more than 500 vocational, college, and
university programs scattered around the country with more schools opening
each year that offer first-rate educational degrees in this field. The
bigger question is: how do you choose the best culinary school for you?
Here are a few steps to help you narrow down the field and simplify
your decision:
Step 1 - Figure out what you want to do after you graduate.
Do you want to start a catering company, make pastries and fancy desserts,
or how about manage a restaurant? Once you have an idea of what it is
that you would like to specialize in, you can limit your search to only
those schools that offer the necessary classes.
If you have no idea what you would like to do in the culinary field,
be sure to go to a school that offers a number of choices in every field
of the industry- sort of like taking a liberal arts' approach.
Step 2 - Determine what's most important to you in a school. Some topics
you may want to think about before choosing a school are:
Location Entry requirements Length of program and class schedule Costs
and financial aid Class size and student-to-faculty ratio Classroom
facilities Class schedules The school's faculty and reputation Degrees
and accreditations Externship opportunities Location and housing Schools
contacts, job placement, and/or internships
Step 3 - Create a list of schools to contact for more information.
You can start with your local yellow pages but if you don't find a school
close enough, or one that strikes your fancy, try doing a search on
the Internet. Just type in "cooking schools in [your state]",
or "culinary schools [your state]", and you will find hundreds
of leads to schools worldwide. Type in culinary schools with a city
and it will narrow down the field even more.
Once you find a few schools that look promising, read a little about
them to see what they have to offer. Most sites will provide a short
form that you can fill out for more information. Once you fill out the
form and send it back to the school, someone will call you within a
day or two to answer your questions, provide you with additional information,
and offer to send you some brochures and an application.
Be sure to have a list of questions you want answered when you speak
with a school's representative. You might also ask for a list of current
students and graduates to contact for their assessment of the school.
This is also a good time to ask about scholarships and what the school
has to offer. If financing is going to be an issue, it's better to find
out alternatives now rather than wait until you have been accepted.
Remember, the school representatives are there to help and most, I've
found, don't push too hard--although it is their job to sell you on
the school.
Step 4 - Narrow down the field.
Once you look over what the schools have to offer and have spoken with
the representatives, start eliminating those that just don't fit in
with your needs. Maybe a school is too far, too costly, or just doesn't
offer the courses you are interested in taking.
Step 5 - Visit the schools that fit best.
In my opinion, this is one of the most important steps you can do to
make sure that you are going to be happy at any cooking school. You
want to see the actual classrooms you will be attending, see some of
the teachers and students in action, and get a feel for the surroundings
to make sure you will fit in.
I once made the mistake of taking a new job on Wall Street with a competitor
without ever seeing the offices I'd be working in. Sure the money was
better and I thought I would make faster advancement, but when I arrived
for my first day of work, I couldn't believe the conditions they wanted
me to work in. The office space was old, dirty, and outdated compared
to where I was working. I was horrified and only lasted about four months!
So, make sure that the school in which you are thinking of investing
your time and money is as good, if not better, than the brochure they
send to you.
Step 6 - Apply to your top picks.
After you make your visits, narrow down the field to your top choices
and prepare the applications you were sent. Be sure to be neat and complete,
and provide the schools with everything they ask you for. If you have
any questions about the application, pick up the phone right away and
get answers. You don't want to be sending in incomplete forms.
Step 7 - Choose your school.
Once notified by the schools of your acceptance, you can decide which
school works best for you. Because you did your homework and followed
the steps above, this final choice should be easy.
Be sure to inform the school of your choice that you will be attending,
and find out what steps are required to get you enrolled and what you
will need to start school.
Although this article was written for those of you interested in going
to culinary school, you can follow these same procedures when choosing
any continuing education degree. If you think about it, it's just like
getting everything prepped and ready to go (mise en place) before starting
to prepare a meal.
Copyright © 2005 G. Stephen Jones, The Reluctant Gourmet
About the Author
G. Stephen Jones created the Reluctant Gourmet back in 1997 as a hobby
to assist other novice cooks who may find the art of cooking a little
daunting. As an ex-Wall Street broker and Stay-at-Home Dad, I try to
explore cooking from a different perspective.
|
|
