When you think about it, the culinary community does have a lot to offer. Culinary schools in the United States and around the world offer different specialties in that field. It is more than just
the executive chef preparing the entire meal.
It is a group of individuals working together who make the final
product. Culinary arts careers are booming as more people watch reality food shows and want to be a chef. You can be a chef too or
simply keep it as a hobby.
Culinary arts careers offer a great number of choices for culinary students who are seriously interested in joining the culinary community. Students learn each step of the kitchen by
what is known as stations.
There are several different stations to be found in the kitchen, such as the meat,
appetizer, sauce, vegetable and dessert stations. By working together, the line chefs are able to produce the customer's
requested meal.
Many culinary students begin work as a line chef and then quickly move forward to each different
station in the hopes that they will become a sous chef someday. A sous chef is like the second in command. He or she can work
each of the stations and assists the executive chef in any way.
He or she is a vital part of the chain of command
and is a greatly respected part of the kitchen team. Sometimes, smaller kitchens will not have a sous chef, while larger operations
may have several.
Other positions within a restaurant include people to manage the finances and business of the
kitchen. These people are trained in Hospitality and Restaurant Management. Without these people the restaurant would not
be a success. They interact with the customers and can call out the orders to the chef in the kitchen.
If these
positions seem to be not exactly what you are after and you are not pursuing a culinary career position, then you may want
to consider attending a Thai cooking school or a French cooking school class. You can still learn different techniques but without the pressure to advance
the position of chef. They are great ways to add a different menu to your repertoire and dazzle your friends and family.
Culinary arts careers are not for everyone. Some people are very comfortable in their current jobs and just want to
learn more skills for their hobby. There is nothing wrong with that.
Others want to seek out the challenges of
the kitchen and eventually become an executive chef at a fine restaurant or resort. The most important factor is to love what
you are doing and learning.
A culinary arts
career is an inviting prospect for many people. For one thing, demand is up, as people's busy lives cause them
to eat out more and more. For another, a culinary education opens up a variety of possible careers, from running the kitchen
in a top restaurant to the very desirable option of owning your own business.
But many ask if there really is money
to be made in a culinary arts career. Most of us, when we think of cooks, think of the greasy hamburger flippers at the local
diner. There is a good reason that those jobs are normally filled with teenage employees, and that's because anyone with
a culinary education and a career plan sets their sights much higher. There are a number of culinary arts careers that offer
ambitious folk true earning potential.
Below is a list of eight top culinary arts careers available to those with
the appropriate education and experience.
Personal chef A personal chef typically works in a private home
for a private employer. Because of this setup, a personal chef often has more flexibility within his or her work environment,
not to mention more creative control over the menu. Full time personal chefs usually earn between $35,000 and $50,000.
Head cook or chef The head cook or chef is a culinary arts career that many cooks set their sights on. The head
chef at a restaurant is generally in charge of developing menu choices and managing a team of cooks. Although the average
salary is $34,000 annually, a head chef at a top restaurant can easily make as much as $60,000, or even more.
Restaurant
manager A restaurant manager is in charge of not just the kitchen and its cooks, but also the wait staff. Although a
restaurant manager's salary averages around $50,000 annually, a manager in an upscale restaurant can earn considerably
more. However, you should also keep in mind that many managers work long hours with little or no overtime compensation.
Pastry chef Believe it or not, being a pastry chef is another good culinary arts career. Pastry chefs' salaries average at about $50,000 annually, although the yearly income is a little less for those who are paid hourly
wages.
Executive chef Executive chefs are primarily found at upscale restaurants, and average around $75,000
annually. However, executive chefs can make as much as $120,000 annually in top restaurants.
Sommelier A sommelier,
also known as a wine steward, is usually present in upscale restaurants. Although a sommelier's income averages around
$60,000, it can sky rocket as high as $150,000.
Wine director A wine director does much the same thing as
a sommelier. The average income for a wine director is $85,000 annually.
World-class chef World-class chefs
are the ones you see and hear about every day. For example, Wolfgang Puck is a world-class chef who is well known for his
signature line of convenience foods. World-class chefs can easily make as much as $100,000, but that figure can increase exponentially
if you know how to market your signature lines via books, magazines, television, and other media outlets. A world-class chef
is the type of culinary arts career that most cooks fantasize about, and many self-employed caterers hope to eventually make a reality.
As you can see, there are many opportunities available
for you to find a high paying culinary arts career. Next time you talk about your dreams, and your friends or family say,
"There's no money in that," rattle off a few of these jobs and see if you can't change their minds.
A Culinary Career Taster As a taster, you could be called upon to
stand and be active for long hours. The work is often part-time and during the times when most other people are off work,
which means that holidays and weekend work can be common.
Becoming a Top Chef The benefits of reaching the pinnacle of this industry can be fame and rubbing elbows with other famous people. Many top
chefs have gotten shows on television like Rachel Ray or Gordon Ramsay in Hell's Kitchen. Top chef notoriety can generate
a lot of money, but this tends to be the exception than the norm. The more immediate benefits for most individuals are the
satisfaction of preparing and cooking quality food.
Beefing Up Your Education An associate's or bachelor's degree in the culinary arts can help build your career's foundation, although on-the-job training can be enough to start working in a food preparation job. Finding a chef to mentor you can be a tremendous
advantage; a number of famous chefs such as Mario Batali do just that. The greater your aspirations, the more education you may want to consider. To be a head chef or restaurateur often calls for quite a bit of business sense,
so a bachelor's degree in business or even an MBA can be a boon to your long-term success. Of course, nothing beats the street smarts of knowing
how to make connections with rich culinary aficionados to help back your restaurant ventures--just ask chef Tom Colicchio.
Whatever your path to culinary success, you'll want to learn the ropes and be absolutely passionate about cooking
great food.
