Culinary Schools & Culinary Colleges

Culinary students can customize training to their interests. Whether you'd like to pursue the focused culinary training of a chef school or the broad-based business education that's covered in a restaurant management course, culinary school offers a range of programs to fit your interests. Popular programs at culinary colleges include:

• Culinary Arts:   This basic training offers coursework in a range of disciplines, including baking, knife skills, and business classes.
• Baking & Pastry:   Learn the art of baking and creating pastries. Often, pastry courses focus on the techniques of one cultural region, such as France.
• Catering:   Mix business and culinary arts with coursework devoted to starting a small or large catering company.
• Bartending:   The art of mixology is the main focus here, with training in classic cocktails, alcohol awareness, and hospitality.
• Sommelier:   Learn the details and complexities of wine. Courses generally cover food and wine pairings, grapes from various regions, and the characteristics of wine.
• Restaurant Management:   This program allows you to focus on the business side of the culinary world. Training covers personnel management, food safety laws, hospitality, and more.

Of course, all culinary schools offer different programs and unique course options. Contact the individual schools for more information on the specific degree and certificate programs that are offered.

Once you've picked your specialty within a culinary school, you'll need to consider the different degrees and diplomas you could earn. Potential degrees and certifications include:

• Coursework/Certification:   Targeted coursework programs typically take a few months to complete and cover one specific skill in the culinary arts, such as knife skills or bread-making. Certification courses are popular among culinary workers, who must be legally certified in fields like food service safety or beverage sales.
• Diploma/Certificate:   These training programs can often be completed in a year or less and provide training for entry-level positions. Students may choose to hone their skills through a brief, focused diploma or certificate program.
• Associate's Degree:   This vocational degree typically takes about two years of full-time study to complete. Students take an in-depth look into the culinary arts, or focus on one aspect of training, such as catering.
• Bachelor's Degree:   Explore a wide range of training with a bachelor's degree program. This degree generally requires four years of full-time study to complete, and often focuses on a range of culinary subjects, such as business, general culinary arts, and management.

It's up to you to decide how you want to approach training at a culinary college. Do you want a wide-reaching general knowledge of the culinary world, or would you prefer focused coursework? Your decision will affect how you search for culinary programs as well as the schools you'll find.

You'll find a range of answers to the question of culinary school cost. In short, costs depend on the training program you choose and the school you attend. At one private culinary school requiring room and board, tuition and fees for first-semester freshmen averaged between $15,405 and $15,250. The cost of other chef schools and training programs can vary greatly; an entire course at a bartending school can cost under $1,000. Culinary arts schools in community colleges may also require less of a financial commitment, and it's important to note that costs can often be offset by the financial aid package you receive.

Paying for culinary school requires funding tuition, supplies, and other fees. In addition to tuition costs, new students often need to pay for supplies like a general culinary tool kit, a baking & pastry tool kit, textbooks, and uniforms.

Financing your culinary arts education is possible through grants, loans, and scholarships. Think about the following options for funding your culinary degree:

• Government loans and grants
• Community scholarships
• School-based scholarships
• Private loans

If you're attending an accredited culinary arts school, you may be eligible to access federal grants and loans.

As one of the nation's largest private-industry employers, the culinary world employs a wide-range of people, but there are a few characteristics that are needed to succeed. You need to have a passion for cooking and food as well as some key career skills:

• Perseverance:   You must be willing to work long hours for low pay in stressful situations. "The downside of professional cooking is that the work can be extremely difficult, the hours are long, and it exhausts you down to the bone," says Chef Lebovitz. "A typical work day is often well over 8 hours and you rarely get a break."
• Perfectionism:   A casual desire to finish your shift won't cut it in the fast-paced restaurant world. "My whole life, cooking has been about control," notes celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain on his Website. The most successful chefs are control freaks with a passion for the food that bears their name.
• Technical Skill:   Beyond personality traits, you need a level of technical knowledge that makes you the expert in any kitchen. From food safety and knife skills to specific cuisines and techniques, your skill speaks volumes for your success as a chef.

For those with personalities and skills that meet the requirements, working in the culinary industry provides a thrilling daily challenge that offers lifelong career excitement. Seek out successful professionals in person (or online) to learn more about the personalities behind the job description.

Career options for culinary school grads are as varied as the restaurant industry itself. Graduates should have the flexibility to work in different kitchens as they establish a name for themselves as trustworthy, committed workers. Here are just a few career options for graduates of culinary schools:

• Food-service and short-order kitchens
• Catering and private production companies
• Fine dining and bar establishments
• Hotels, resorts, and cruise ships

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) notes that job opportunities for chefs, head cooks, and food preparation and serving supervisors are expected to increase by 6 percent between 2008 and 2018, slower than the average for all occupations due in part to intense competition. Career opportunities for bartenders are expected to increase about 8 percent over the same period of time, as 40,800 new careers are projected to enter the industry.

The American Personal & Private Chef Association reports that about 9,000 personal chefs currently serve over 72,000 customers, and industry experts predict this number to double in the next 5 years. Personal chef employment can be highly dependent on outside elements such as the state of the economy.

These foodie destinations can mean great job opportunities for aspiring chefs. Check out a few of the top culinary cities from around the country:

• Las Vegas:   This destination city boasts a large number of restaurants helmed by celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse. With fortunes made and lost each day, the fast-paced Sin City might seem like the ideal destination to any chef who lives life on the edge.
• New York:   The Big Apple is considered a melting pot of cultures, and the food reflects the city's attitude. New York City boasts about 6,650 restaurants within the city limits, ranging from exclusive restaurants featuring executive chefs to greasy-spoon burger counters.
• San Francisco:   This tourist destination is set in prime local produce country--and offers fine dining and short-order options alike. With over 2,660 restaurants within the city limits, culinary workers and hungry visitors have no shortage of foodie options.
• Dallas:   This city may not strike everyone as a top culinary city--but don't tell that to Dallas residents who love their BBQ and steakhouses. The Lone Star city boasts over 2,600 dining spots--about 1 restaurant per 450 people--making it the city with the most restaurants per capita in the country.

In general, large cities and tourist destinations have the most options for culinary school grads. What's more, carving out a career in the culinary world takes hard work in any city, and the highest-paying careers are typically also the most competitive.

Salaries vary greatly by work experience, location, training level, and other factors. Check out the median annual salary statistics for a few popular professions in the culinary industry, as reported by the BLS in 2008:

• Chefs and Head Cooks:   $38,770
• Supervisors of Serving Workers:   $28,970
• Restaurant Cooks:   $21,990
• Short Order Cooks:   $19,260
• Food Service Managers:   $46,320

Though the average salary for chefs and food workers is relatively low, many strive towards rare jobs, working as executive or personal chefs. The American Personal & Private Chef Association, which recommends education and formal culinary training for potential workers, reports that personal chefs generally report an income between $200 and $500 a day--putting them in the $70,000+ salary range.

Think of culinary training as a way to enhance your skills and guide your career, not as a guarantee of a good job or salary. As in all competitive industries, your performance on the job means more to your future success than any diploma or certificate. However, if training can improve your performance on the job, it may be the best option for you.

To train or not to train:   this long-debated question finds successful chefs and culinary workers on both sides of the issue. While no culinary school can guarantee you a career, the training you receive in a professional cooking program can enhance your skills and focus your future.

Pastry chef David Lebovitz, author of Room For Dessert, Ripe For Dessert, The Great Book of Chocolate and The Perfect Scoop, notes the difficulty of committing to a culinary school. "Going to professional pastry school is a big and sometimes expensive commitment," he wrote on his blog. "Only you can tell if the cost will be worth it." Lebovitz worked professionally for 20 years before taking any classes, but honed his skills with culinary training. "At that point, I had learned the basics and knew what I wanted to focus on, which became chocolate and confectionery," he recalls.

Note that you have a range of options for culinary training, so it may be easier than you think to find a program that fits your schedule--and your wallet. Lebovitz also mentions Eric Shelton, a well-known name in the San Francisco culinary world, who earned his training at a local community college culinary program instead of a big-name private school.

While your culinary education goes far beyond the classroom, formal training can help you enhance and broaden your skills.