Entering a Culinary Arts School

Your kitchen career starts here.

They say cooking is the first art. Before mankind learned to speak, draw, or write, he learned to prepare a meal. And this art is passed down to your generation, in the form of a wide and diverse field of culinary specialties to choose from. A cooking career is limitless; it can take you anywhere, and you can explore it all of your life and never find the end of it.

Applying with a culinary arts program is basically no different than applying to any other program or course at a college or a university. As a standard practice, there is a process that you need to follow and you may need to meet with a career counselor in the department to see which program is right for you, as there are plenty of options available.

Considerations with regards to the school's reputation, location, tuition, and financial aid programs available are essential in choosing what is best for you. You will be pleased to know that as a general rule, culinary arts courses go for a more reasonable fee than what you would expect for, say, a computer scientist. But the more elite schools tend to be pricey, too. Particularly if they can boast a celebrity chef on Food Network as one of their alumni.

Some small starting places are researching online via their website, or simply request their catalog by mail. These programs will range from general cooking and food safety to highly specialized positions like for pastry chefs.

Many who attend culinary arts college are aiming to become professional chefs or work in the food industry in some capacity, but don't be surprised to find several students also attend culinary arts colleges to improve their own home cooking. The "cooking renaissance" has produced a growing population of culinary arts colleges and cooking schools in the country, and plenty of interest amongst the population in attending them.

Many varieties of people and companies, even from local restaurants and supermarkets, are setting up cooking classes so that anyone can improve their kitchen crafts. For the aspiring career chef, culinary arts colleges offer the greatest opportunity to landing a great career. Some go for prestige, such as a cruise ship chef or banquet chef to the celebrities, while others are happier with a small, secure position in an institution or restaurant.

Due to this increased popularity, there are now over five hundred programs in the United States that offer top educational courses in the field of culinary arts. Colleges, universities, and private programs all offer these courses.

There will be several things to consider when choosing a culinary arts college. You should consider what avenue you want your career to follow after you have taken the course, such as restaurant managerial work or owning your own private catering company. After deciding on this, you can easily narrow your search down for the right program quite dramatically, since there are many courses set off for those specific fields.

You will need to determine what is important in a college for you. Lengths of the program may be a consideration, and also what qualifications you will need in order to be accepted. Course fees need to be heavily considered, and if you are on a tight budget you will need to find out about student or college financing as well.

This is also a good time to ask yourself if you have the right kind of skills to stick with a culinary career in the long term. A chef will need many attributes to make it. You will need physical stamina, because this is a very demanding job with the need to move fast when the time counts. Cleanliness is one of those things that goes without saying, but only the fastidiously neat need apply. The demanding maneuvers of prepping food require good fine motor dexterity.

Because the repetitiousness of much of the chef career may lead to burn-out, you need to have real enthusiasm for it. In a contrast, you need a strong tendency towards creativity, while also being conformist enough that you have the ability to follow rules and standards of the industry. Last, and this is something that's often overlooked, but math skills are also important in this job. We can't have you standing over a stove with a calculator converting milliliters to teaspoonfuls, now, can we?

Freelance writer for over eleven years.

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Learn to Cook Ethnic Food at a Cooking School

One of the most exciting things you can learn at a cooking school is how to cook ethnic food. Ethnic food is a delicious treat, a break from the usual fare, and most people have at least one or two favorite ethnic cuisines. Unfortunately, ethnic restaurants can be expensive, especially if you would like to enjoy your favorite ethnic food more frequently.

The solution is, of course, to learn how to make your own ethnic food. Buying an ethnic cookbook and diving right in is overwhelming for most people, however: Cookbooks do not always do a very good job of explaining how to prepare a dish, as well as what goes into it. A better approach is to take classes at a cooking school. You will learn to not only prepare your favorite ethnic food, but also all of the little tricks of the trade that will make it look and taste more authentic.

Here is a sampling of ethnic foods that you can learn to make at your local cooking school:

Italian Cuisine
Italian food is an American favorite; almost every home you walk into will show its influence. Hardly any American pantry is without at least one box of pasta, and pizza and spaghetti are the favorite dinners of many picky children. There is a lot more to Italian food than pepperoni pizza and spaghetti, however. Your local cooking school can teach you how to make a variety of Italian pasta dishes, delicious sauces, and unique types of pizza.

Asian Cuisine
Not very long ago, Chinese restaurants were the only type of Asian food you could commonly find in America. In recent years, however, Asian cuisine has become more popular; Asian restaurants now offer sushi and other Japanese fare, Thai cuisine, and Vietnamese food, as well as the traditional Chinese. With popularity, though, has come an increased price. Fortunately, Asian food is not difficult to make, and can be learned by taking classes at a good cooking school.

Mexican Cuisine
Mexican food has also become popular in America, and the number of Mexican restaurants is increasing exponentially. Like Asian food, though, it is important to remember that these dishes are things that some people make in their own home on a daily basis. Cooking classes can teach you the techniques you need in order to make authentic tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and other traditional Mexican dishes.

Cajun Cuisine
Cajun food is like virtually no other ethnic cuisine. A traditional Louisiana cuisine, Cajun blends a variety of interesting tastes and savory spices, creating unique dishes such as gumbo and delicious desserts such as bananas foster. Surprise your family and delight your guests by learning to make this distinctive ethnic food at home!

Mediterranean Cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine includes food from Italy, Greece, and the Middle East. The special combination of tastes makes these dishes unique, but they are surprisingly easy to make at home. To learn how, sign up for classes at a high quality cooking school.

Indian Cuisine
Indian food has been gaining in popularity in recent years. Unique blends of spices make Indian cuisine aromatic and flavorful. There are several different regional varieties of Indian cuisine, including Madras (South Indian) style, North Indian style, and Tappas (Street Food) style. Classes at a cooking school will teach you how to find and combine the ingredients to create these distinctive dishes.

These are just a few of the exciting types of cuisine a cooking school can teach you to prepare. Ethnic food makes an exciting change from the typical fare, but it can also be fun to learn how to prepare these unique dishes. Whether you want to improve your marketability as a career chef or just learn to cook something new for yourself and your family, a cooking school can introduce you to many interesting ethnic cuisines.

Andy West is a freelance writer for The Culinary Institute of Virginia College. Culinard offers two outstanding culinary programs. For more information on Alabama cooking schools, please visit http://www.culinard.com .