Culinary School

If you love to cook and want to share your passion (and food) with people outside of your family and your immediate circle of friends, then culinary school might be for you. You might want to choose a large culinary school with a variety of course offerings or specialize in baking or pastries. Many restaurants are looking for chefs with particular talents, such as making sauces, especially if they want to diversify or add special touches to their cuisine.

The amount of time you will spend in culinary school depends on what kind of degree you want to earn. If you want a full degree, you will be taking a full course load, including classes in basic knife skills, making stocks and sauces, restaurant management, planning menus, catering, and world cuisine including French, Italian and Asian food. You might find a culinary school with an intensive program which will allow you to finish a degree in a 6 or 9 months. These are total immersion programs and classes are from early in the morning to late at night, consistent with the hours many chefs work upon graduations. It’s best to find a culinary school with a solid job placement program which finds jobs for its graduates in restaurants, hotels, clubs and cruise ships.

Many graduates of culinary school often return to take individual classes to polish their skills in specific areas. They may be working for restaurants which are seeking to diversify their menus or they may be looking for a job which requires a concentration in a certain kind of cuisine. Most culinary schools offer options for those wanting to take only one or two classes part-time.

Many culinary school students wonder how they are going to fund their education. If they find work as a chef, there is no guaranteed income, since the wages they will receive depend very much on the type of restaurant which will employ them. Many culinary school students choose to work lunch shifts in restaurants and take classes at night. An employer might see the sacrifice in time as an investment toward having on staff a culinary school graduate.