Things Culinary Students Should Know about their Field of Study

Are you always cooking up something new? Do your friends and family rave about your dishes and careful attention to detail? If you are passionate about preparing and presenting food, then you should consider joining the culinary industry.

Ask anyone who has worked in the culinary field and they will tell you that it requires long hours of work. However, the culinary industry is also exciting, fun, and rewarding.

What is It Like to Work in the Culinary Field?

If you thought that a chef’s responsibility is to cook all day, you will be surprised to know that is just part of their job. Being a chef encompasses much more than just cooking. Depending on where you will be working, you may become a businessperson, a part-time personnel manager, a special events coordinator, or a public relations manager.

A Typical Workday for a Chef

Early morning

The first task of a chef after arriving at the restaurant is to take inventory of the food and beverages. Most produce deliveries arrive in the morning, and the chef has to ensure that the fruits and vegetables are in good condition. Additionally, the chef has to also check the rest of the inventory and ensure that all the food, beverages, and condiments have not reached their expiration date.

Midmorning

Other staff members arrive into the restaurant after the chef and commence on dishes that may take longer such as desserts and soups. The chef is the supervisor of the other employees working in the kitchen and they need to ensure that all workers arrive on time.

Midday

Customers often start arriving at around 11:30 a.m. and the chef has to monitor closely how the staff is performing. The chef may have to provide instruction and help in any area of the kitchen lagging behind.

Early afternoon

The chef and staff have to take a lunch break after the midday rush. This is also the time that beverage distributors make their deliveries. The chef has to make sure that the deliveries include all ordered items.

Late afternoon

The kitchen staff starts preparing for dinner at this time. This involves chopping and slicing vegetables, making sauces, and cooking meat which takes longer to cook such as baked poultry or roasts.

Early evening

Dinner hours are the busiest time of the day and they begin from around 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. Due to the increased customer traffic during this time, there is a lot of activity in the kitchen which must be well coordinated and supervised by the chef.

Late night

As the kitchen employees clean up, the chef plans and review the next day’s menu. This is also the best time for placing orders that will be needed for the next day.

Benefits of Formal Education in the Culinary Field

To most people, enrolling in a college degree program can be a daunting task, but not to those who are passionate about cooking and want to turn their passion into a career. While you can get a position in the kitchen without a culinary arts degree, you will most likely have to start as a dishwasher.

A culinary degree and the practical experience you obtain could give you a competitive edge and qualify you for senior positions in high-end restaurants. Other benefits of a culinary degree include:

Networking with other culinary professionals: While you can get a job through a newspaper or online listing, most chefs get offers through professional connections.

Improve your culinary skills: One of the biggest reasons for pursuing a culinary degree is to sharpen your culinary skills. By working with other chefs and attending hands-on seminars, you will improve your cooking skills.

Learn new skills: Chefs do more than just cooking, and they need other skills such as leadership, accounting, and managerial skills.

Are you interested in a career in the culinary arts? If you want to earn an Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts, ECPI University's Culinary Institute of Virginia offers this course at an accelerated rate. For more information about this exciting program, connect with a helpful admissions officer today.

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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Gainful Employment Information – Culinary Arts - Associate’s

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