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Culinary College Directory
Browse Culinary Schools Below. You will find
culinary job information at the bottom of this page. You can also
use out culinary
career guide as a resource when doing you research on culinary
programs and career prospects.
Lincoln Technical Institute * (Cromwell,
Shelton,
Hamden,
New
Britain)
After more than 60 years, New England Technical
Institute has earned the reputation of being a solid, stable and supportive
Connecticut technical school where individuals get trained to start jobs in
as little time as possible. Our career-focused training programs get you ready
for work without general studies courses. At New England Technical Institute,
you'll learn the things you need to get the job you want. Programs:
Automotive Technology, Computer, Electronics Technician, Computer, Electronics
Technician, Electrician, HVAC Technician Certification, Information Technology Specialist, Medical Assisting, Practical Nursing (LPN), Practical Nursing (LPN), Culinary
Arts, Culinary Arts, Medical Assisting, Practical Nursing (LPN).
Culinary Jobs: Culinary
Career Guide
TYPES OF CULINARY JOBS
Restaurants
There are many types of foodservice operations to choose from when
determining where to work, but restaurants are the most obvious
choice. It is often a restaurant or a chef of a particular restaurant
that inspires the decision to become a chef.
But not all restaurants are created equal! There are small, individually
run restaurants. These could be a Mom-and-Pop operation to a chef-owned
fine dining establishment. There are also much larger operations,
including restaurants that may have multiple outlets, or high seating
capacity, or are just high volume. Finally, there are corporate
restaurants - referring to those that have similar menus, management
and methods no matter where they are based.
Hotels/Resorts
The other obvious choice is the hotel and resort industry. Hotels
offer a great deal of variety in one location, allowing growth and
challenge without changing employers. Hotels and resorts usually
have several restaurants on premises as well as banquet facilities
and specialized service areas, such as a bakeshop or butcher.
Catering and Institutional
Other foodservice operations fit different needs. Catering companies
tend to have few full-time positions, but they are a great place
for temporary employment or side jobs to boost your income. Institutional
foodservice (retirement homes, corporate lunch rooms, hospitals
and schools) are not always on the cutting edge of culinary, but
they offer great hours and benefits.
The Personal Chef
The personal chef is becoming a larger component of the foodservice
industry. In the past, this job was mainly concerned with being
the chef for a person or family. It involved everything from shopping
to preparing the meals, and perks often included traveling with
the client, or extended periods of downtime when the client was
away.
Today, the personal chef industry has developed into a kind of
specialized catering company. Chefs often have several clients,
and, rather than cook on a daily basis, they prepare a series of
meals to last the week. This can be done in a client's home, or
at a centralized kitchen where meals are then packaged for delivery.
This style of personal service allows the chef to schedule their
own time and amount of work - a benefit that is reflected in the
increasing number of chefs in this category.
Other Culinary Careers
There are many other areas that you could pursue with a culinary
degree. Chefs can be found working for major food companies in research
and development, in research for large restaurant chains, or as
production chefs for specialty food producers. Chefs are also in
demand in hospitals, schools and corporate facilities.
Of course, culinary does not have to mean cooking either. Some
chefs take their knowledge of food and become restaurant managers,
food and beverage directors of hotels and resorts, sommeliers or
even professional wait staff. Some chefs who tire of working in
the kitchen, but want to stay connected become food sales representatives.
They may represent a specialty grower, or producer, or they may
be a rep for a large foodservice purveyor.
Still others combine their culinary education with their personal
and professional interests, such as writing or photography, which
can lead to careers in food writing for newspapers, magazines or
cookbooks. And, of course, there is also food styling, the profession
that makes food look its best and/or authentic in front of a camera
to produce both still-pictures and video productions that we see
of food.
SKILLS TO PRACTICE - Culinary
Education
At graduation from cooking school, the future is wide open. The
decisions that you make from this point on will affect the direction
of your career. Often times, after working for a few years in restaurants,
it is difficult to move into hotels and vice versa. Banquet chefs
find it difficult to move into a restaurant position - the skills
needed are different.
There are four basic categories of skills that every chef uses
during his or her career: technical, culinary, organizational, and
managerial. Each builds upon the other.
Technical
The most basic skill, the one that schools are designed to teach,
is the technical. These skills are the basis of every chef's talent
- knife skills, cooking methods, timing, mise en place, and (the
ultimate technical skill) making cooking on the line graceful, even
during the rush.
Culinary
The other skill taught in school is culinary. Most chefs have a
good palate to begin, but training for the nuances of flavor and
seasoning, new flavor combinations, creative plates and presentations,
delving deep in to a cultures cuisine all take training and practice.
Organizational and Managerial
The other two skill sets are what distinguish a cook from a Chef.
A Chef is concerned with more than his/her own piece of the kitchen
- they have the whole kitchen as a responsibility. With this in
mind, organization is key. How to stay organized (now, having more
responsibility than just one station), how to have the kitchen run
smoothly and efficiently, and how to conduct business (ordering,
scheduling, food costing etc.).
Hand in hand with organizational skills are managerial skills.
A chef understands how to work with people and get them to work
for him/her. These skills are the highest level because they involve
sharing knowledge and skill with those working for you. The most
often-seen method is training, but ultimately being a mentor to
a cook and to develop their career is the highest skill a chef can
attain.
CHOOSING
YOUR CULINARY CAREER PATH
Graduation is the best opportunity to assess the skills you have
and determine what you want or need to improve. Then, the choice
of what foodservice venue in which to concentrate your career will
be easier: The beginning of a career path should be based on the
skills needed to be practiced.
Yes, "practiced." Even a chef who is doing 95 percent
managerial work needs to keep the knife skills toned and ready for
use. A finely-honed palate needs adjusting and testing to stay tuned.
Cooking school has taught the basic skills, and the first few jobs
allow for the development of those skills. If your industry experience
is minimal, it is advisable to start with a job that will give you
the opportunity to practice your basic skills. A line cook job may
indeed be the perfect place to start.
So, with all of these choices, where is the best place to start?
Well, take the time to evaluate your skills:
Do you need or want to be better technically? If so, this may lead
to a job in a high volume restaurant.
Are you ready to develop your palate? If so, that may mean more
exotic cuisine or a more fine-dining establishment.
Have you been working for a while and want to move into management?
Catering or banquets may teach organizational skills without jumping
into the management scene totally.
CONCLUSION
The first few years of a culinary career are an exploratory period.
You get paid to keep practicing your skills and to explore your
new vocation for what really excites you.
Eventually, there will come a time when you choose one path. It
may be in the hotel environment, or independent restaurants, or
in catering. It is best if you are conscious of the choice, and
not, as an afterthought, find yourself asking a few years down the
road, "How did I end up here?"
Part of what can make your choice a conscious one is finding the
place you are challenged the most and can grow the most. A "culinary
graduate school," as it were.
No, there won't be a certificate at the end. No graduation ceremony.
What you will get is a clear path for you future in the culinary
world, and a solid grounding of all the skills you learned in cooking
school.
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