Culinary Schools Guide

Chefs are the hearts and souls of a restaurant and the driving forces who are able to orchestrate a symphony of creations to deliver unforgettable dining experiences. They lead the kitchen crew with military precision to ensure dishes are served on perfectly on time, every time. However before one can reach the position of head chefs in prestigious restaurants, one would usually require years of cooking classes, training and experience in the kitchen before they are promoted through the ranks.

Culinary Schools in your area usually provide the basic foundations necessary for aspiring chefs and it is one of the fastest growing segments. If you’re looking for the best possible program, do remember to scrutinize the curriculum offered at each culinary school being considered. If its focus is only on cooking, you will be overlooking some important aspects that will make your culinary diploma or degree desirable and marketable upon graduation. The most comprehensive curriculum should have various specific areas, each of which will deep dive further into distinct sections, ranging from basic to intermediate and even advanced courses.

These areas include:

Culinary Fundamentals – this includes foundational skills like knife skills, fabrication, food safety and sanitation, palate development, ingredient pairing, food math. These are basic skills that all chefs must have under their belt.

Core Cooking Methods – this usually focuses on a variety of cooking methods and techniques such as how to use dry heat to sautée, grill and fry or moist heat to braise, stew or steam. Other programs may include different styles of cooking such as Italian, French or Asian cuisines.

Food Science and Nutrition – this includes understanding the nutritional content and constitution, taste and purpose of ingredients and foods. Food science is also about appreciating how different flavors interact and combine with each other.

Procurement – this includes cost analysis, evaluating and purchasing ingredients, working within a budget and being creative to replace with alternative supplies when stock are not available or delayed.

Mixology – also known as beverage service, this covers how liquor, various beverages like wines complement and interact with foods. This is usually for fine dining training.

Baking and Pastries – Baking is quite different from cooking and deploys different methods and techniques, so it requires separate focus to a certain level. Because there are so many possible types of pastries, desserts and breads, many schools offer a complete course to cater to those wanting to become specialized pastry chefs.

Culinary Schools in your area can last from 2 months to 4 years, depending on the certification program or the school. Some shorter courses offer specialized training for specific skills. However, the longer programs are more valuable and can give a good strong foundation to basic skills as fundamentals will allow one to be as creative as you want in the future when it comes to experimental or fusion food preparations. Some institutes also provides online training but really nothing beats being in the kitchen to experience and learn through interaction.

After the training is completed one will usually go on an externship in kitchen restaurants. However there’s always the option to pursue venues such as catering companies, cooking academies, test kitchens or even food magazines to meet their professional objectives. The salary of a chef when starting out in your area is probably tricky to pinpoint as it depends on work environment (fine dining vs cruise ships), education, training and actual work experience. The information below may provide an indication as a reference point.

The below table shows the average culinary related income of the middle 50 percent employees in this industry. Please note that the numbers have been rounded up for easy reading. (Source: Human Resource info by Salary.com dated March 2010)

Unlike other hospitality fields this has the advantage that will always be able to find opportunities as chefs are always in high demand.

Culinary schools are essential training grounds to provide you a solid foundation to become a knowledgeable chef. If you are interested in the culinary arts, then make sure you do due diligence on the Culinary Schools in your area.