Culinary School: Training for Celebrity Chef Wannabes

By Sarah Clark
Career Colleges Columnist

Do you dream of becoming a culinary legend, like Julia Child? Perhaps you'd settle for the kind of coarse culinary sensibility embraced by Rachel Ray. Maybe you just want to become a respected chef, running a three-star restaurant. Whatever your culinary goals, a culinary arts degree can help you reach them.

The popularity of many renowned restaurant and TV chefs full of bubbly commentary and unconventional cooking styles (Alfredo popcorn a la Rachel Ray, anyone?) has raised the public's awareness of the culinary arts (or modes of culinary renegades, as the case may be). Everybody wants to be the next great chef, launching a culinary school boom.

Culinary Schools: Equipping Students with Rare Skills
Culinary schools prepare students for rigorous, professional careers as chefs, bakers, and pastry makers. They help students develop an area of expertise in the culinary arts while gaining a thorough understanding of the basics of professional cooking, such as mastering sauces, soups, and meat and poultry preparation. During culinary school, you'll develop skills that are fairly rare among amateurs. How many people can make a terrific Bernaise sauce, or throw together a five-coarse dinner for a party of twenty without a hitch?

Culinary Degrees Can Provide Quick Turnaround
A culinary arts degree generally takes around two years to complete, which means you could potentially launch the career of your dreams much faster than engineers slaving away in traditional degree programs. Keeping up with trends in post-secondary education, culinary schools are also offering more flexible programs. You may be able to get your degree part-time while you continue working your day job, or take courses on the weekend—whatever works best with your schedule.

Cooking Up the Right Culinary Art Degree Program
Some of the most rigorous and reputable culinary arts degree programs, however, may require that you devote all your energy, attending classes full-time during the day. Be sure to check a variety of programs to make sure they offer the kind of flexibility you need to continue carrying out your current responsibilities to work and family.

You'll also want to make sure the culinary program you choose offers expert instruction in the area that interests you most. For example, if you want to become a pastry chef, then choose a culinary program that offers such a degree.

With a formal culinary degree, you'll be on your way to becoming a real chef, in the style of the grand Julia.

About the Author
Sarah Clark is a freelance writer specializing in career development and postsecondary education.

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