Culinary Arts - Chefs and Cooks |
What Are the Culinary Arts?Is This Program in My Area?What Do Culinary Arts Professionals Do? Culinary chefs and cooks prepare meals for consumers by trimming the meats, fish, and poultry. Chefs and food preparation workers slice and dice vegetables, sort seasonings, and weigh and measure other ingredients used to make soups, salads, entrees, sauces, side dishes, deserts and other complex dishes. Chefs and culinary professionals also oversee kitchen operations by coordinating the work done by kitchen staff and directing meal preparation to ensure the uniform quality and presentation of meals. Culinary Arts Training Since cooking styles vary from short order cooks to chefs it is essential for anyone pursuing the culinary arts attend a cooking school or a fine culinary arts school. Vocational colleges, trade schools and other postsecondary training schools offer several cooking classes for those seeking an introduction into the culinary arts. The American Culinary Federation offers accreditation to the best culinary schools. Those seeking to become gourmet chefs or specialize in French, Italian or another style of world cuisine generally attend the best culinary schools and take cooking classes that focus on that specific type of cooking. Some cooking school programs focus on a particular type of food such as pastry baking. Culinary arts schools begin training with basic sanitation, food handling, preparation, and cooking procedures. The best culinary schools train students to be proficient in complicated cooking techniques. Cooking classes also include detailed instruction on cooking methods like baking, broiling, and grilling. The hands-on experience of the culinary arts schools enables cooking school graduates to advance to more demanding cooking positions or into supervisory positions. Depending on the type of cooking being learned, students generally graduate from culinary schools and cooking classes within 2 months to 2 years. Culinary Arts Certification Chefs, cooks, pastry professionals, culinary educators and other culinary professionals can earn their professional certification through the American Culinary Federation. Certification standards are based primarily on formal training from culinary arts schools and experience in a cooking environment. Certification is not required; however, it does offer recognized credentials that can be used for career advancement and higher-paying culinary positions. Culinary Arts Job Prospects People always need to eat so culinary jobs are always in demand and are available everywhere. Chefs, cooks and food preparation workers have obtained stable employment at restaurants, cafés, diners, bistros, bars, private clubs, hotels, banquet halls, hospitals and schools. Chefs and culinary artists who improve their cooking skills and are willing to accept greater responsibilities can advance to management positions or accept offers to cool in prestigious restaurants. Some chefs and cooks who possess an entrepreneurial spirit start their own business as caterers, personal chefs or open their own restaurant. Others become instructors and teach cooking classes at culinary arts schools. Culinary Arts Job Security and Salary Jobs are expected to be plentiful for cooks, chefs and other culinary artists. The U.S. Bureau of Labor expects the demand for cooks to steadily increase 11% over the next eight years. The rise in job opportunities is attributed to the increase of restaurants and food production businesses. Replacement is also a factor as many cooking professionals leave current positions to open their own businesses. The demand for chefs and competition between restaurants for quality cooks is also causing salaries to be competitive. Culinary arts workers can expect to earn salaries from $25,000 to $62,000 per year. |