Monthly Archive for May, 2010

Why Culinary Training Is Considered an Art

Culinary Arts TrainingCulinary training is so much more than the science of ingredients, measurements, temperature, and time. Sure, anyone can follow a recipe, but what takes a dish to the next level? With culinary education from a cooking school or a baking school, you will learn not just how to create a dish, but also how to make it yours.

With experience, experimentation, and a true understanding of food and the kitchen, you’ll find that your dishes go beyond the science of home cooking and into the realm of art.

Cooking as art? That may make you raise your eyebrows, but just think of all of the ways you can cook food. There’s broiling, braising, boiling, steaming, baking and grilling—-and this is just the start of the list.

How ingredients are prepared, and even how they are cut and prepped can make an enormous difference in the success of the final dish. Add all of this to the variety of ingredients available (as well as their nuances), and the kitchen begins to look more like an artist’s studio than a kitchen cranking out meals.

When you attend culinary programs at top culinary schools, you’ll learn the palette of food. From the rich flavors of meats and stocks to the vibrant tones of fruits and vegetables, the kitchen is your studio and each dish your canvas.

Do you think this doesn’t apply if you’re hoping to attend baking school? Think again. Not only will you be dealing with rich pastries and sauces, but your art will shine through presentations that are both savory as well as sweet.

Still not convinced? Well, why not contact a cooking school? They can give you advice on how to apply, what the programs are like and what they cover, as well as how they help their graduates find work in the industry.

You can apply to cooking schools, a culinary college, baking schools, or any institute of culinary education. Soon, you will be creating dishes with your own special flair, and you’ll realize that there’s a reason they call this career path the culinary arts.

LDEI and Scholarships for Women Chefs

Scholarships for Female ChefsIf you’re a woman who is looking to hone her skills at culinary school, Les Dames d’ Escoffier International (LDEI) may be just what you are looking for. LDEI is an organization that promotes leadership for women in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries.

While women have made tremendous advances in many career paths, they still face discrimination in hiring as well as in equal pay and benefits in this field. LDEI works to eliminate these barriers and to give women equal opportunities for work, compensation, and career growth.

There are chapters of LDEI throughout the United States and Canada, and these branches work to mentor women who are planning to attend an institute of culinary education, as well as to help them with their educational goals. Their mission doesn’t end with new students, however. LDEI also works for the career progress and continuing education of working women chefs and their advancement in the industry.

So, what does LDEI have to do you with your plans for culinary college? Well, many of these branches have scholarships available for a variety of culinary programs such as:

You’re probably wondering how to apply for a scholarship to culinary arts school. First, you’ll need to find a chapter of LDEI in your geographic area. This is the group you need to contact in order to apply. The international organization does not oversee the scholarships that are offered for culinary college; it is the individual chapters that offer them and award them to promising candidates. These chapters look for women in their area, so it’s critical you find the chapter that serves the area where you live and that you apply to that chapter for the scholarship.

Once you receive your scholarship, you will also receive mentoring in your field, which will help you to find the career path that is right for you. With 27 chapters throughout the United States and Canada, you can have LDEI working with you no matter where your career is headed.