Succeeding in Chef School, How Top Students Do It

Chef school is a great option for anyone who loves food and wishes to pursue a career as a restaurant manager, cafeteria manager, chef, or caterer. Even if you are an entrepreneur who wants to open a restaurant or a person who wants to become food critic, food photographer, food researcher, or food consultant, a culinary degree program can give you the skills and knowledge you need to succeed. To get the most from your education experience, though, you will want to take the steps necessary to ensure your future success.

Successful students know that chef school is about a lot more than just food preparation. Successful students who enter successful culinary careers do a few things differently to ensure success. These things are:

Set goals. A student who wants to become a food critic will need different skills than someone who wants to prepare extravagant desserts on a luxury cruise line. Before you sign up for chef school, it is a good idea to envision exactly the sort of culinary job that would make you happiest. Then, select the school and program that will let you achieve your goals.

Build a wide range of skills. Chefs need a range of skills, so it is important to study and actually work in a restaurant to get the most from your education. To be successful in a culinary job, you will want to develop good communication skills and social skills, so that you can work effectively with others in the kitchen. You will want to hone your abilities to work both as a team and independently. Since culinary jobs can be high-pressure, you will want to develop a great work ethic and reliability. Keep in mind that employers will want to see that you have plenty of stamina and a good level of physical fitness, so that you can withstand the physical pressures of the kitchen. Make sure that you stay fit while you are in your culinary program. Keep in mind, too, that learning about food preparation and hygiene about your specialty can also make you more flexible and innovative. All these diverse skills will make you more attractive to employers because they will make you a better employee.

Network. Meeting others who are passionate about food is one of the true joys of attending chef school. Get to know your classmates, instructors and employers well. You may end up working with them at some point or you may need a reference letter to land your dream job. Plus, getting to know others in the industry is a great way to learn more about cooking and food.

Take schooling seriously. Most people enter chef school because they love to cook. In many cases, cooking seems more like fun than like work. This is terrific, but it's still important to approach your program as a serious field of study and try to do your best in all your courses, internships, and other responsibilities. This sort of dedication will help you land the job you deserve.

Chef school is an important first step to a great culinary career. Once you are in a program, though, it is important to maximize your experience. Making the most of studies ensures that you have the most exciting opportunities possible in your future. Setting goals, purposefully building a wide range of skills, developing your people skills through networking and approaching your schooling with an intention to do your best help you get the best value for your dollar. Taking care to do your best also truly poises you for success after graduation.

Andy West is a freelance writer for The Culinary Institute of Virginia College. Culinard offers two outstanding chef school programs. For more information on one of the most prestigious Chef schools, please visit http://www.culinard.com .

How Do Chef Schools Work?

Culinary schools give aspiring chefs their best shot at making it to the big time, especially those accredited by the American Culinary Federation. Just like any other profession, many of the better hospitality establishments base their hiring practices not only upon the length of education the applicant provides, but also where that education was obtained.

Tuition runs the gamut from relatively inexpensive courses offered by local community colleges all the way to the Culinary Institute of America's breathtaking $40,000 price tag. And what doesn't tuition cover? Oh, just uniforms, textbooks, cutlery, and other necessary kitchen equipment.

Curricula differ somewhat from school to school, but most of the culinary student's time is consumed in learning the ins and outs of cooking by actually doing it under close supervision. Participants not only prepare food, but also learn how to plan menus, minimize food costs, buy food and supplies in quantities, and how to appropriately choose and store food. Learning proper hygiene and local public health rules also play a large part in a culinary student's education.

Classes are sometimes offered all day, taking a complete eight hours, while at some schools, classes are broken into morning and afternoon sessions.

There are usually lectures, and then demonstrations followed by hands-on practice time with students applying the techniques demonstrated earlier. Some schools even offer part-time professional classes to accommodate working cooks wanting to increase their formal education.

A number of educational scholarships are available, among them:
The American Academy of Chefs Chair's Scholarship Ten $1,000 scholarships awarded each year
The American Academy of Chefs Chaine des Rotisseurs Scholarship Twenty $1,000 scholarships awarded annually
National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) Three yearly $2,000 scholarships for high school seniors and undergraduate students
Because years of training and experience are needed to reach the level of executive chef in most well-paying restaurants, many students serious about this profession begin their training in high school through vocational programs, then go on to a two- or four-year college or university.

Apprenticeship programs offer more training afterward, and these come from individual eating establishments and are given by a personal mentor or from professional institutions and associations such as the American Culinary Federation.
Apprenticeship lasts usually about three years and is most often known as the years of "grunt work" doing all the chopping, grating, peeling, slicing, and washing necessary to prepare the ingredients for the chefs. Even cleaning appliances, sweeping and mopping floors, and other seemingly unaffiliated "chef" work gets done by the apprentice as part of his or her learning experience. Often this "trial-by-fire" period separates the truly dedicated chefs-to-be from those who are merely good cooks.

It is not impossible to attain the status of executive chef without the benefit of formal education, but in today's job market, most establishments (especially the finer hotels and restaurants) now require some type of certification to work in this capacity.

Like a degree of any sort, formal training in the culinary arts may not mean you are another Julia Child or Paul Prudhomme, but it does at least signify that you've got what it takes to get through the school. So stop trying to think of ways to take shortcuts, get your tuition together, and go learn what you need to attain your dream!

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