Archive

Becoming a “Fast Food” Chef

Published
by
admin
on June 28, 2010
in Culinary Career
. 0 Comments

For most culinary students, the idea of working in fast food isn’t one that inspires a lot of hope for the future. After all, you don’t have to have a degree in order to assemble hamburgers, and working in a fast food kitchen is one of the lowest-paying jobs you’ll find in the culinary world.

Lincoln Culinary Institute

However, being a fast food chef isn’t all about going to work at the fryer for eight hours every day. It is possible to work in the fast food industry and put your culinary education to good use.

•    Food Scientists: Every fast food company, from McDonald’s to Auntie Anne’s, has a team of chefs who work at the home office, developing new items for the menu and improving food quality. These new items can take years to perfect, and the process includes everything from doing market research and determining what sort of food is going to be the next big thing to coming up with ways to keep the food fresh and tasty on a mass-production scale.

•    Teaching: The fast food industry has a fairly high turnover rate for employees, and it’s necessary to train new recruits almost continuously. While the actual task of cook training generally falls on another lower-level employee at the store, the techniques used are developed by a team of experts. It requires quite a bit of culinary knowledge to come up with a basic skills training process that is both safe and effective.

•    Safety and Sanitation: All fast food restaurants are held to high standards of sanitation and food safety. As is the case with cook training, the techniques for food safety are developed at the national level and passed down to individual chain restaurants. Developing and monitoring safety and sanitation techniques often falls to higher-level specialists with culinary training.

Working in the executive or development offices of a fast food restaurant can be a very rewarding career. Not only do the hours tend to fall in the 9-to-5 range and offer a more relaxed workplace, but the pay can reach upwards of $80,000 per year. If you’re looking for great job stability that still taps into your culinary training, fast food can actually be a wise career move.

The Difference Between Chefs and Sommeliers

Published
by
admin
on June 14, 2010
in Culinary Career
. 0 Comments

culinary school abroad

One of the many specialty courses offered at top culinary schools is sommelier training, or wine stewardship. From a professional standpoint, becoming a Sommelier (with a capital letter) is akin to becoming a Chef (with a capital letter). It’s a designation that doesn’t come easily, and it requires years of training and experience, as well as a certification, to acquire the illustrious tastevin to wear around the neck.

What a Sommelier Does

A Sommelier is basically the individual in a restaurant in charge of ordering, storing, rotating, recommending, pairing, and serving wine. Due to the high-end nature of a Sommelier’s job, positions tend to be very rare and hard to come by, even when the professional has the education and experience to back up his or her skills.

The Sommelier is often considered a “wine manager” of sorts. He or she is responsible for training the wait staff on proper pouring and serving techniques, oftentimes going so far as to host wine sampling meetings that introduce the cooks and waiters to the varying wines so as to better serve the customers as a whole.

How Sommeliers and Chefs Work Together

It has long been understood that a good wine can be paired with a dish, making the flavors bolder and better, according to the undertones and quality of the wine. Chefs who work in fine dining restaurants often have some sort of formal culinary training regarding the pairing of wine and food, since they are catering to a clientele that will almost always order the two together.Along those same lines, many Sommeliers have attended culinary classes, if only to understand how the cooking process affects food flavors and the eating experience.

At present, there are two primary types of formal Sommeliers: Master Sommeliers (MS) and Masters of Wine (MW). The MS designation is a lot like a top Chef who doesn’t go to culinary school, instead learning on the job and through intense self-directed study and mentorships, while the MW is someone who takes a more formally academic route at one of the few locations offering the course. In both cases, it requires quite a bit of dedication; there are fewer than 400 MWs and MSs in the entire world.

Culinary School and Wine Training

If you plan on getting a culinary education, it’s not required that you take a wine course, but you may find that it’s a great boost to your resume. Knowledge of all food items – including beverages – can go a long way in making you more marketable as a culinary professional.

Learning to Cook Breakfast and Brunch

Published
by
admin
on June 7, 2010
in Cooking Techniques
. 0 Comments

culinary studentsFor many people, going to culinary school to learn how to cook usually conjures up images of elaborate, five-course meals with accompanying wine selections. For others, a culinary education is a way to get the training necessary to become a baker, making wedding cakes and desserts in a quaint, boutique-like atmosphere.

However, one of the most popular sayings among cooks is that the one true test of culinary skill is how well you cook eggs. This seemingly simple ingredient requires experience and skill in order to be used correctly, and the art of making eggs is something that many modern chefs hold up as the standard in culinary excellence.

Where to Get Breakfast Culinary Training

Most of the top culinary schools in the United States offer breakfast cooking as part of a larger education course, where it is mixed in with other specialized skills like working with cold foods or learning to prepare soup. Moderate cooking schools, like those you encounter at the community college level, may provide only cursory education on breakfast cooking, since it represents such a small portion of the current job market. In fact, if breakfast is something you’re really interested in learning, you may actually need to find an employer in the hospitality trade industry who will help you build the skills you need, since brunch is becoming an increasingly important focus of high-end hotel offerings.

Another option is to attend a certification course through a school like The Culinary Institute of America in New York. Because the CIA is such a well-known name in the culinary field, they offer a professional skills development course that draws in students from all over the world. This particular course, Breakfast & Brunch Cookery, will give you hands-on experience with egg dishes, quick breads, and breakfast salads.

For many chefs and cooks, breakfast represents just part of a huge repertoire of skills and abilities. If you’re interested in learning to cook breakfast for personal reasons, you may want to turn to online videos and cookbook training. If you’re interested in learning to cook breakfast as a way to boost your culinary resume and advance your skills, it’s worth looking into local and non-local culinary schools that might offer a brunch and egg course, or simply to find a mentor chef who might let you do some job shadowing.

Related Topics

Finding a Culinary School

Why Culinary Training Is Considered an Art

Published
by
admin
on May 13, 2010
in Culinary Schools
. 0 Comments

Culinary 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

Published
by
admin
on May 3, 2010
in Culinary Schools
. 0 Comments

If 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.

Molecular Gastronomy and Culinary Schools

Published
by
admin
on April 28, 2010
in Cooking Techniques
. 0 Comments

One of the hottest new trends in the culinary education and professional market is molecular gastronomy. Although the name calls to mind evil scientists and laboratories with petri dishes full of bacteria, there is actually much about molecular gastronomy that appeals to chefs and diners of all ages.

In reality, molecular gastronomy is just another cooking technique that can be taught at culinary school, much like classical French training. It focuses on different types of cooking processes, especially as they can be improved upon using chemistry. Everything from liquid nitrogen to vacuum pressure cookers are used, allowing food to evolve into a new type of experience. In fact, chefs may use any combination of the following to get their dishes just right:

  • Thermal immersion circulators
  • Vacuum chambers
  • Miniature smokers
  • Liquid nitrogen
  • Thickening chemicals

Not all of molecular gastronomy is about new technologies, though. Some chefs are proponents of simply using kitchen materials in a new and interesting way. For example, making soup out of a juicer or cooking salmon by curing it on one side and applying heat on the other might also be considered part of the molecular gastronomy craze.

What’s important to note about molecular gastronomy is that it usually needs to be taught at the culinary school level or under the direction of a chef experienced in the field. After all, because chefs are potentially working with chemical reactions, it can be dangerous (to the chef and to the diners), if there isn’t enough training in place. And because it is such a relatively new field, molecular gastronomy is typically only taught at the bigger name schools like the Culinary Institute of America.

While there is much to recommend any type of culinary training that pushes the limits of human creativity, it’s important to remember that a good culinary base needs to be in place before adding molecular gastronomy to the list. If it’s a field you might be interested in learning more about, be sure and ask the culinary schools you’re considering if there is a class or chef-instructor on staff who can help you learn more about this exciting new field.

Culinary Schools and Regional Markets

Published
by
admin
on April 21, 2010
in Culinary Schools
. 0 Comments

Most top chefs depend on fresh produce, non-frozen cuts of meat, and newly-caught seafood to put out the best possible products in their restaurants. After all, a dish is only as good as its ingredients, and in the culinary world, fresh is better. That’s why places like Maine are known for their lobster, Seattle and San Diego consistently put out top seafood, and your favorite restaurant might rotate the vegetables it serves depending on the season.

What many aspiring chefs don’t realize, however, is that regional markets play a role in getting a quality culinary education, too. Not only are a higher concentration of culinary schools available in foodie centers like New York, California, and Texas, but much of the education you get in these locations is based on what types of ingredients are readily available both seasonally and year-round.

It can be difficult to make sushi in the Midwestern states unless there is a transport system that brings seafood directly from the coast, unfrozen and in the peak of its season. It can be equally difficult to make a Southern style BBQ with authentic flavors if you’re living off the coast of Alaska.

If you’re interested in learning about a specific type of cooking (classical French, Italian, molecular gastronomy) or specific ingredients (seafood, organic and/or vegan foods), you might want to consider the regional markets before you choose which culinary school to attend. Many schools offer specialty classes or even concentrations that go above and beyond basic training to target those interested in niche culinary markets. Many of them also promote regional flavors and products as a way to draw in a student base that much more serious about getting a good culinary education.

The prevalence of regional markets can be considered a drawback or advantage to shorter culinary programs, as well. For example, a six-month training course might have you learning either in the summer or in the winter, with very little overlap between the apples, pomegranates, and butternut squash that mark the fall months or the strawberries and asparagus of the spring. And while you might still learn basic techniques and food properties, you’re not getting the hands-on and palate training of fresh, seasonal produce.

Culinary Schools in Big Cities vs. Smaller Cities

Published
by
admin
on April 16, 2010
in Culinary Schools
. 0 Comments

It’s a big, wide world out there, and the opportunities for your culinary education are endless. While many career paths will take you to the big city, that’s not always the case with culinary school. Every town and city has their own recipes and flavors, and you can find inspiration and some top culinary schools in smaller cities as well as in the big cities. So, how do you know which environment is the right place for you?

You probably already know the dynamics of a big city. They tend to be bustling and are filled with people, culture, and things to do.  Being so large, however, it’s easy to feel like you’re lost in a crowd. Attending cooking school or baking school in a large city can really give you a diverse education and set you up for working in a city with tremendous opportunities. Some of the things you should think about if you plan to attend culinary college in a big city are:

  • Lots of job opportunities after you graduate
  • With so much variety in cuisine, it’s easier to specialize
  • The variety of cuisines allows you to learn almost anything
  • More culinary colleges in the area, so there are more graduates
  • With so many professionals in the area, it’s harder to network

Smaller cities don’t have to be one-stoplight towns, however. While they may not have the range of cuisine that a larger city offers, they make up for it with in-depth experiences in regional flavors as well as with a closer-knit society of professionals to learn from and network with. If you are thinking about attending culinary arts school in a smaller town, here are some things you should consider:

  • A smaller group of professionals can offer better mentoring
  • Fewer cooking school graduates mean your skills are in demand
  • More comprehensive experiences with regional cuisine
  • Less opportunity to specialize in cuisine uncommon to the area

No matter which way you look at it, smaller cities and big cities each have plenty to offer an institute of culinary education graduate. Just take the time to decide what environment suits you best, as well as where you plan to take your career after culinary arts school. You’ll be able to figure out where the best place is for you to attend cooking school and begin your exciting career.

The Difference Between Baking School and Pastry School

Published
by
admin
on April 13, 2010
in Baking School
. 0 Comments

Most of the time, “baking school” is an umbrella term used to describe everything related to the act of baking, including both baking and the pastry arts. After all, pastry and baking are really two sides of the same coin; each one includes a set of skills that leads to the creation of fabulous pies, cakes, and breads most often associated with the dessert course.

Although most schools offer baking and pastry arts as a combined course or diploma program, they are actually two different concepts. Both are required to become a truly accomplished pastry chef, but it is possible to focus on just one as a specialization.

Baking includes the real “meat” of the baking and pastry arts. It involves the creation of:

  • Breads
  • Doughs
  • Cookies
  • Scones
  • Pies
  • Tarts
  • Rolls

Pastry is really just the fancy stuff. It requires the hand of an artist and quite a bit of delicacy. It is the chocolate embellishments on top of the cake, the sugar-sprinkled flowers, and often times the delicate puff of a successful meringue.

When you’re looking for a baking and pastry school, make sure the courses contain exactly what it is you’re after. A straight baking course will probably skip over the small intricacies that make desserts fun and light. A straight pastry course might not teach all the skills you need to successfully integrate ingredients for mass production in an industrial kitchen. If you’re looking for just one or the other, that’s great, and you might be able to save quite a lot of time and money by only focusing on one aspect.

However, if you want a comprehensive culinary education that may lead to a restaurant job or the ability to open a bakery of your own, make sure both baking and pastry get a front seat role. Both sets of skills can go a long way in making your culinary career a success.

Cooking Class Options: Food and Wine Pairings

Published
by
admin
on April 8, 2010
in Cooking Classes
. 0 Comments

A good culinary education can mean a number of things. For students looking to learn everything at a big name school with big name post-graduation opportunities, it might be defined as a four-year program in which you live and breathe all things culinary. For students in search of a quick program that will teach them the skills needed to find entry-level kitchen work, a community college program or an intensive training course at a private vocational facility might be more the thing.

For students who simply want to boost one small portion of a larger interest in all things culinary, cooking classes provide a perfect solution. Offered through big-name schools, private chef tutors, and even continuing education courses, cooking classes tend to be both cost-effective and entertaining.

Cooking classes are usually defined as any program that lasts just a few in-kitchen hours. Some courses run over a period of six weeks, with students coming by for one or two hours in the evening one day a week. Other cooking classes are weekend or day programs, wherein students spend a few hours learning about a particular type of cuisine or skill.

Of these types of cooking classes, one of the most popular options is food and wine pairings. Thanks to a higher interest in gastronomic refinement than ever before, many home cooks and aspiring chefs are using wine pairings as way to bring a new level of fun and class to their food.

Many of the things you will learn in a food and wine pairing cooking class have to do with the wine itself (the sorts of things that sommeliers are experts at). You may learn how to:

  • Detect flavors and intensity in wine
  • Contrast and complement textures and flavors in the food
  • Distinguish between the different types of wine
  • Prepare and serve wine
  • Use appropriate glassware for service

Of course, one of the best things about a food and wine pairing cooking class is that you have to sample both the wines and the foods in order to make the best decisions for your palate! Whether you’re interested in furthering your culinary career or you want to explore new options in your personal accomplishments, cooking schools that teach these kinds of courses can provide the perfect solution for your lifestyle and  your budget.