If you see yourself as the one making menu decisions, running a tight gourmet kitchen in a 5-star hotel, hiring and firing, or even starting your own high end restaurant, a degree in the culinary arts would be a good fit for you.

What do Degree Programs Do?

More extensive than certificate or diploma programs, degree programs encourage students to think on their feet, take leadership roles, assess risks, plan budgets, make the tough decisions and do the other myriad things that go into the running of the business of feeding people, while maintaining the quality of the food and service.

While certificates and diplomas guarantee the technical skills for a few selected positions in the kitchen, degrees take into account everything about the culinary and hospitality fields – the service, the ambiance, the nutrition, the wine pairings, the menu selection…just about anything that goes into the dining experience, and then some.

Degree programs also teach students the business side of the culinary arts, and give them the skills to manage the people – from servers to chefs – that work there. Depending on the degree, students also learn how to deal with the public, vendors, investors and even the government as a result of the program.

Of course, the core ingredient of the industry – the food – is an essential part of the training. Degree programs give students in-depth training in food preparation, from basics to any specialty toward which the student finds themselves inclined. The result, ideally, is an individual who knows and can perform the functions of everyone from the wait staff to the head chef.

Which Degree is Right for Me?

Your choice of degree is limited only by how high you want to shoot. Associate degrees in restaurant management will get you started on the road towards potentially running your own place. You will learn the basic business and customer service skills, as well as management methods to operate your own eatery, as well as the food handling and service techniques necessary to run a good restaurant.

Bachelors degrees will broaden the scope of the skills learned to obtain an Associate degree to give you more options. You may learn different kinds of cuisine, or different styles of service. You might enhance your communications skills to deal with a larger segment of the public. You could even learn a new language or head into a specialty.

Master’s degrees are for the truly ambitious, teaching more complex critical thinking skills that can elevate the restaurant to a world-class venue. The stakes are high at the top, so advanced strategies are taught, interpersonal skills are enhanced, knowledge of financial operations are studied. Graduates with this degree will have the skills to start, run and grow high-end establishments, create a brand and market it, even go international.

The jobs in the culinary industry are diverse. Some have you on your feet in front of the stove; others don’t require as much time spent in the kitchen. Some have you “in the trenches,”others can have you thinking and directing the bigger picture.

Cooks, chefs and food preparation workers can work in restaurants, in private homes, in schools and institutions, test kitchens, as caterers, pretty much anywhere there’s a need for professional food services. The kind of work is as varied as the kinds of food people want: upscale, casual, greasy spoon, cafe and bistro style, regional and international cuisine and fusions thereof, cakes, pastries and desserts, research and test cooking, avant-garde cuisine, the list goes on.

Other occupations that come from an education in the culinary arts include food writer and cooking instructor.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the job outlook for those in the culinary arts, particularly cooks, chefs, and food preparation workers, will grow at the average rate (about 8.72 percent) through 2018. This growth is projected because of the anticipated expansion of food service outlets, and the turnover expected to occur over that period of time.

The growth prospects vary by specific occupation, or location. According to the BLS, the job outlook for cooks, chefs and food preparation workers who prepare meals-to-go (like deli counters) and specialty meal stores will be faster than average as people look for healthy and convenient alternatives to restaurants. Jobs for food preparation workers in general will be growing faster than the average rate.

Meanwhile the job growth for cooks and chefs in full-service restaurants, fast food cooks and cafeteria cooks is expected to increase at around the average rate as well.

On the more administrative side, a formal culinary education can also get you into the job of a food service manager, with job opportunities just as diverse as the ones for the cooks and chefs.

Food service managers have to wear several hats to their keep the business running smoothly by maintaining the quality of the food and service. They have to be able to function well in the kitchen, in the dining areas and also in the office. Kitchen skills are just as important as customer service and managerial abilities.

They hire and fire, make sure there is enough manpower to run the kitchen and serve customers and step in when needed to ensure the smooth and efficient flow of work. They also do some accounting and they handle customer service duties as well. In conjunction with executive chefs, food service managers plan the menu.

While the BLS projects the job growth of food service managers to be slower than average (about 6.62 percent) to 2018, the agency nevertheless predicts good job opportunities, especially for those with training and experience as more restaurants and other eating establishments open, and require people to run their kitchens and dining areas.

All Figures courtesy of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Employment & Wages database.

Maybe you’ve got what it takes to play with the folks at the top…

 The Hobbyist…

Homemade pies, cookies, and tacos for the family.  Tried and true recipes handed down through the years, mother to daughter. These are great ways to prepare food, and very rewarding for the cook.  Tons of resources are available for free online, more recipes than can be counted, online cook books, blogs with every shred of information one could want.  Great for those of us that just love to cook in general, but have a real life out side the kitchen, with families and careers.  For the aspiring amateur, cooking clubs and farmers markets are all that is needed to put us in a heaven all our own.  The best advice for people in this category is fresh fresh fresh!  There is a big difference, for example, in pre

frozen meat and flesh that has never been frozen before, or in vegetables picked and shipped locally, over ones shipped from out of the country.  It is amazing to me how may cooks overlook this simple fact, but no matter what you are preparing, without exception fresh is always better.  Also, I love things that are in season, it insures, if nothing else, a great variety in your diet year round.  Nothing frustrates the pleasure chef worse than cooking the same five dishes week after week.  So get out there, try some great dishes, (and some not so great ones).  Take advantage of all these great free resources online and maybe even discover a passion that propels you to…

The Enthusiast…

Culinary enthusiasts with a day job but a serious passion for cooking will want more than a few regurgitated recipes and tattered old pans.  We want real food, new food, exciting possibilities and a recipe or two that will blow minds and win hearts.   Wanting to try ever new and exciting possibilities, pushing foreword and drinking up the knowledge they come across-.  We want more than the endless maze of untested, random recipes the internet has to offer, we want hands on experience we can sink our teeth into.  For people who are this deep into the cooking fervor, they will find local classes, clubs, and maybe even a job cooking in a steak house if they are devoted.  All are great physical ways to get better at cooking and pursue the passion.  I recommend a start at the local community college, and a bite into ethnic foods.  Anything you find interest in will do, just get outside your comfort zone and try some new things.  Community collage is inexpensive, easy to get into, will have tons of time slots available, and will have a variety of different culinary options for you to try out.  If you enjoy your play time there, and you truly have a passion to be one of the best,( and the steakhouse job isn’t cutting it.) you can move on to the bottom rung of the top ladder.  A bona fide, for real Culinary Arts School.

 Culinary Artist…

your insatiable appetite for other people’s appetites can not be satisfied with casual encounters at your local community college and nightly flings cooking at your local steak house, consider culinary school.  A great school can make possible a dream of a life time in the culinary profession, at the top and with the best.  Learning not only fine food, but wines, people, language, you name it.  The world of possibilities in this arena is only limited at this point by your education in such matters.  There is so much to learn you will never master it all, and even if your dream is to run a rib shack, the experience you will get from cooking school is a must.  New perspectives, and the connections you will make will help you become a success in your endeavors.  I know 2 people who made their partnerships while in school and opened successful restaurants after graduating.   Here is a list of culinary arts schools that will help you pursue your fame and fortune.

The Culinary Institute of America

http://www.ciachef.edu/

The French Culinary Institute

http://www.frenchculinary.com/index_noflash.html

The California Culinary Academy

http://www.baychef.com/

I sincerely hope anyone wishing to pursue a career in the field of the culinary arts does so, and also, would take a business class or too as well.  Serving others is it’s own reward.