Young Chef: Advice You'll Need When You Start Culinary School

You can't just walk into culinary school and say, "I want to be a chef!" There is no magic recipe or magic wand that can be waved to transform your love of cooking into a viable career. If you want to earn the right to wear the toque and slip into the clogs, you will need to prepare yourself for a rigorous program that will require nothing less than total dedication on your part.

Put Some Experience Under Your Belt

The first thing you will want to do is to put some field work in. Spend at least a year in a position where you are able to get a feel for the flow of a professional kitchen. Study the terminology, practice the skills, and firm up the basics that you will need to succeed.

Consider it a free work-study program where you get paid to practice the skills that will help you succeed once you sign up for culinary school. When you start school, you will have a firm base of skills and knowledge that can help propel you through your courses to the top of your class.

Define Your Goals

Culinary arts is a career that allows you to define your own goals. These can be anything you want. You might want to open your own restaurant someday, or you might want to become the most renowned sushi chef in the country.

Defining your goals will help you identify the skills you need to learn to successfully achieve your goals. As with any profession, there are many paths you can pursue and it is always advisable to explore your options and determine the most efficient way of reaching your destination.

Focus on the Goal

Culinary school isn't a "piece of cake." Contrary to what your grandparents might think, it is hard work. Your courses will be filled with math and science, all the way to psychology and culinary design. You will be drilled in business and marketing and will be required to memorize management methods and mantras that can help you operate an effective kitchen when you graduate.

You will get tired. There will be days when it is going to be hard. When you get tired and the hill gets steeper to climb, you need to stay focused on the end result you want to achieve. Learning how to do this in culinary school will help you do this when you enter the professional world and begin applying your classroom acquired skills within the kitchen.

Be Ready to Ask Questions & Listen to the Answers

Your instructors and your peers are a wellspring of information that you should tap into during each course. Students who ask questions are students who become experts in the culinary arts. You should also be prepared to answer questions as there are things you will know that can help your peers advance their own careers.

Asking questions and engaging in your courses has many additional benefits. These include networking and it is quite common for chefs to share job tips and professional opportunities along the way. The more connected you are to your instructors and your peers, the more possibilities will open up to you.

Sharpen Your Skills

No matter how much you know, you can always learn more. Becoming a chef means becoming a perpetual student. Your education won't end when you receive your diploma. Learning how to learn will help you accomplish amazing new heights in the kitchen. Culinary school gives you an opportunity to use your passion for food as a catalyst towards developing the habits you will need to achieve success.

Are you interested in earning an Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts? If you want to earn this degree, ECPI University's Culinary Institute of Virginia offers year-round accelerated education in this field. For more information on this exciting degree, connect with a friendly admissions advisor today.

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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