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Becoming A Chef - Culinary School Or On The Job Training...

So you are interested in the possibility ofimportant factor in the success of your
becoming a chef? You probably have manycareer. You may never see or prepare these
questions and are probably wondering whatdishes again, but the techniques that you
route to take. Are there any requirements forpick up in Culinary School can be applied to
becoming a chef? What education is needed formany of the dishes that you create in the
becoming  a  chef?future.
As the title of this article suggests, youDepending on the school you attend, your
basically have two options toward becoming acurriculum may include topics like pastry,
chef and learning the fundamentals ofnutrition, management, butchery and more. You
cooking. There are actually three options,can also receive job placement assistance.
but we will discuss the third later in thisYou will learn more about the various
article. You can either go straight toculinary organizations out there,
Culinary School and learn the art of cookingscholarships and other programs that may be
under the close supervision of educateduseful.
Chefs, or you can head out into the real
world and learn hands on cooking techniquesThe  Disadvantages  of  Cooking  School
in a fast paced restaurant setting. We will
now discuss the advantages and disadvantagesFor the most part, a Culinary school
of  both  options.education is theoretical learning. Cooking
school is not going to prepare you for the
ON  THE  JOB  LEARNINGbusy and stressful environment of a real
world kitchen, and this lack of preparation
The  Advantagesmay present a problem when you start looking
for  a  job.
The traditional method for becoming a chef
was quite different years ago. One did notCulinary Students have also acquired a bad
attend a Culinary School first before theyreputation over the years unfortunately. The
began working. Instead, a person learned bypopular opinion is that graduates from
working from the bottom up. This gave thecooking schools are in no way prepared to
cook hands-on real world experience,handle the stress of a busy kitchen. Why have
something not readily available in cookingCulinary Students been given such a bad
schools today. This real world experience isreputation? It is because many have tried and
more respected then a student fresh out ofquit when the going got rough. So the only
Culinary School, and I am sure you canway to overcome this is to prove yourself.
understand why. A restaurant owner is notYou will have to dedicate yourself no matter
going to be impressed by a resume filled withhow  hard  things  get.
all of the classes you took in cooking
school. He or she will be more interested inLastly there is the cost associated with a
whether or not you can perform in a busy andCulinary School Education. It can be very
stressful kitchen environment, and you willexpensive. Not only do you have to pay
only gain that experience by living and doingtuition, but you also have to pay for your
it  on  the  job.books, tools and other accessories. Things
can really add up. If you decide that it is
The  Disadvantagesnot the right career path for you, you will
have  lost  a  lot  of  money.
Working on the job also has its
disadvantages. In a restaurant environmentGOING  TO  SCHOOL  +  ON  THE  JOB  TRAINING
there is one main objective and that is to
prepare quality dishes in a timely manner soNow on to the third option that I told you we
that the customer is satisfied. Your headwould cover later in this article: working on
chef and co-workers do not have time tothe job while you are attending cooking
explain how a dish is made, or the historyschool. The advantage to this option is that
and culture behind the food that is prepared.you will be practicing what you are learning
It is simply too busy. So you will have toin school. You get to truly experience it and
seek out your education on your own, unlessnot  just  read  about  it  in some textbook.
of course someone is willing to take the time
and  teach  you, but this is rarely the case.This is by far the best option of course but
not for everyone. There will be many
CULINARY  SCHOOL  EDUCATIONsacrifices when taking this route toward
becoming a chef. Holding a job while going to
The  advantages of Attending a Cooking Schoolschool will be very difficult. You will be
exhausted both physically and mentally, and
Culinary school can be a truly rewardingif you do not work extra hard, your grades
experience if you keep your eyes and earswill suffer. If your grades suffer, then you
open and apply yourself. There is much to bemay get less attention from your instructors.
learned and exposed to. This is where theOn the flip side, you may impress your
history, culture and techniques regarding theinstructors with your hard work and interest.
preparation  of  the  food  comes  into play.
So whatever path you choose, remember the
You can learn where the dish came from andmost important thing is perseverance. Without
the variety of ways to create certain dishes.staying power and patience you will have a
You can learn how to purchase and store yourdifficult time making it as a chef. I wish
ingredients. You get to work together withyou all the best and God Bless.
other students as a team, which is a very



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